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Escape Rooms Create Epic Learning Opportunities

Escape rooms have come from nowhere to fast becoming a must-do activity. Often on a to-do list as part of a family holiday, birthday activities or group outings. The concept is simple. With a physical experience, you’re locked in a themed room with a group of family or friends. Participants must solve various puzzles using a series of clues to progress. The final showdown grants you escape from the room. Digital escape rooms follow the same concept but are often done alone and online. Most rooms have a time restriction to solve them. And usually, there is a back story such as the professor’s lab, crime scenes and many more.

Traditional Learning Methods

Handwriting skills comes from repetition and practice. In school days gone by, this would mean copying chunks of text from books and then answering questions to prove understanding (Yawn!!). This is why so many youngsters disengage in the traditional classroom setting. We hate to offer this type of approach. Children learn best when they are inspired. Our job, as occupational therapists and educators, is to light that fire. To show young people how learning can be so much fun that they actually forget they are working!

How Can Escape Rooms Aid Learning?

The one great thing about an Escape Room challenge is that it’s not trying to test intelligence. Yes, they can be tough. But they are about developing the skills of strategy, problem-solving communication project management, leadership and sometimes fine motor skills if they are done in person.

Gamification and using Escape rooms are the perfect example of how learning is changing.

Gamification for Learning

According to a paper looking at escape rooms as a learning strategy, they said: “The use of gamification and playful strategies improves motivational learning because it allows students to experience and discover while practising skills and learning in a playful manner”. This is not only good for learning but brilliant for confidence.

Durham Centre for Academic Development has produced much literature on the benefits of using escape rooms for learning and teaching, and they say that “Learners love the activities and designing, planning, and creating them can be great fun!”

It is much easier for students to thrive when a task is engaging and fun. Learning when done at its best is when we use our critical thinking skills to find solutions. Let’s stop regurgitating the same way of teaching handwriting year after year. Today it is time to shift up your child’s learning. Let’s inspire them with fun experiences like an escape room design challenge.

How do handwriting and escape rooms go together?

The use of escape rooms can offer epic learning opportunities but why do we rarely think of them as an educational tool? As we already know, escape rooms have a great universal appeal. The puzzles can be created appropriately for the age of the audience. So why not use them together to improve handwriting?

This is exactly what we have done. We ask our students to test and write a review of two existing digital rooms. Next, they have to plan out their own room and puzzles. By, of course, writing down their room theme and puzzle progression ideas. Lastly, we show them how to create an online digital room using Google Slides. They’re now ready to test it on their friends and family.

Conclusion

Without fun activities, we risk alienating students. And of course, risk losing the window of opportunity to improve their handwriting.

To find out more about our own escape room challenge, click here.

“As usual – great ideas!” and “Brilliant – great ideas and explanation, thank you”, Linda B.

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