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Say Yes to the Stress: Escape Rooms in Civil Engineering Classrooms

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Conference

2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Baltimore , Maryland

Publication Date

June 25, 2023

Start Date

June 25, 2023

End Date

June 28, 2023

Conference Session

Committee on Educational Policy Presents: Holistic Students

Tagged Division

Civil Engineering Division (CIVIL)

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

16

DOI

10.18260/1-2--44180

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/44180

Download Count

168

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Paper Authors

biography

Brett Rocha United States Military Academy

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MAJ Brett Rocha is a second year instructor at the US Military Academy in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from USMA in 2012, her M.S. in Engineering Management from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 2016, and her M.S. in Civil Engineering from University of Central Florida in 2021. She teaches mechanics of materials, design of steel structures, and design of concrete structures.

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biography

Kevin Francis McMullen United States Military Academy Orcid 16x16 orcid.org/0000-0002-2820-7682

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Kevin McMullen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY. He received his B.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of Connecticut. His research interest areas include bridge engineering, protective structures, and engineering education.

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biography

Michael Rocha United States Military Academy

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CPT Michael Rocha is a second year instructor at the United States Military Academy in the Department of Mathematical Sciences. He received his B.S. in Mathematical Sciences with Honors from USMA in 2012 and his M.S. in Statistics and Data Science from University of Central Florida in 2021. He teaches probability and statistics.

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Abstract

Over the last two decades, escape rooms have emerged as a social and team building activity. Participants must work in a team to solve complex puzzles by finding clues within the event space. These puzzles can range from word finds, math problems, riddles, or identifying clues. Escape rooms vary in difficulty. They should be difficult enough where they cannot be solved by a single participant, but easy enough that they can be solved in less than an hour. Recently, educators have explored implementing escape rooms as an active learning activity for secondary and higher education. Multiple studies have been conducted in STEM classes. The goal of this study was to investigate the use of escape rooms in civil engineering courses to improve students’ ability to solve an ill-defined problem and connect clues to the course content. The escape rooms required students to work as a team, communicate their solutions effectively, and increase their engagement and interest with the course material. Two different escape rooms have been developed and implemented: one in a mechanics of materials course and one in a design of reinforced concrete structures course. Both escape rooms were implemented as end of course review session where students were tasked with solving multiple linked, but separate puzzles on cumulative course topics. These puzzles assessed whether the students could identify the type of problem and key information and solve the problem by connecting the clues to course concepts. The escape room activity was assessed based on student survey feedback, instructor feedback, and student performance on the final examination. While participation in the escape room did not have a significant impact on the students’ performance, the students found the escape room to be an engaging activity which encourage teamwork and collaboration as well as review of the course material. Upon completion of the escape room, students had identified concepts that they needed to review prior to the final examination. This paper presents the design, creation, execution, and results of an escape room activity implemented in these two civil engineering courses.

Rocha, B., & McMullen, K. F., & Rocha, M. (2023, June), Say Yes to the Stress: Escape Rooms in Civil Engineering Classrooms Paper presented at 2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Baltimore , Maryland. 10.18260/1-2--44180

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