This paper aims to present a systematic literature review on state-of-the-art Educational Escape Rooms (EERs) with the use of digital technologies. More specifically, the focus of the study is to present the current developments and trends concerning Digital Educational Escape Rooms (DEERs) and investigate how they foster learning outcomes for online learners. Additionally, the present study provides insights into the design process of such technology enhanced EERs. This review is attributed to identifying and covering research gaps since the current literature has focused on the pedagogical aspects of Escape Rooms (ERs) in education, but no studies seem to have been conducted in regard to the pedagogical implications of Digital Escape Rooms (DERs) in educational environments. Based on the exhaustive literature review, an agenda for future research is promised and the implications for designing innovative ER approaches have been highlighted. The anatomy of the fundamental components of conducting systematic literature reviews was followed. The results of the review could be addressed to multidisciplinary teams related to education, game researchers, educational researchers, faculty members, scholars, instructors, and protagonists of educational systems to encourage them to thoroughly study the core elements of DEERs and how they can be applied in virtual educational contexts to facilitate students’ learning achievements.
Educational escape rooms (EERs) are increasingly used in education as learning innovations for non-digital and game-based learning (GBL) since EERs positively influence student motivation. They are common in educational fields where skills developments are vital such as STEM subjects and healthcare. However, EERs are marginally implemented in entrepreneurship education (EE) because there is a lack of evaluated design elements to guide the creation of EER in this context, which hampers their wider adoption. Therefore, in this study, we evaluated design elements for EERs in EE. We are particularly concerned with experiential EE since EERs are well suited for experiential learning. We used a research-through-design approach and created an EER based on 11 design elements derived from the literature on social cognitive theory, entrepreneurship competence, and gamification. We created and evaluated the EER in two cycles with two diverse groups of students at a university of applied sciences in the Netherlands. We contribute to the literature and practice of experiential EE by presenting evaluated design elements for EERs. We show which design elements work well and which do not. We also present a comprehensively designed EER that educational professionals can implement in their experiential EE programs.
Game-based learning (GBL) and gamification can improve the learning experience of students by making learning more fun, interesting, and motivating. However, integrating games in practice is challenging for many teachers as it requires competences that not necessarily are part of their teaching repertoire. Game-based pedagogy (GBP) refers to the teaching methods and learning processes involved in learning with games. Research stresses the need for adequate professional development and teacher education on GBP. However, there is a lack of empirical knowledge on effective methods to prepare pre-service and in-service teachers for using game-based learning. The aim of our research is to gain insight into the design of effective GBP learning experiences for teachers. The guiding research question was: What design elements of a course on GBL impacted in-service teachers' GBP competences and teaching practice? We investigated this question in the context of a teacher education program in the Fall 2023. We conducted an empirical study in which a course on GBL was designed, implemented, and evaluated in practice. The participants were 16 in-service secondary teachers from different disciplines in secondary education, from which 13 agreed to participate in this study, and three course leaders. We investigated participants’ and course leaders’ experiences, participants’ competences in GBP, the impact on participants’ teaching practice and the way design elements contributed to it. The data consisted of participant reflections, transcripts from participants and course leaders’ interviews and answers to a questionnaire. The data was collected and analysed using quantitative and qualitative methods between January and April 2024. Results reveal that in-service teachers’ improved their competences on GBP and increased their use of GBL in practice. Qualitative data analysis provides insight into the course's design elements and on participants’ learning process. This study contributes to GBP-education by offering a possible design solution and framework for developing effective teacher education.
