Abstract
Play in learning can enhance student engagement with course content. One way to integrate play into learning environments is through game-based activities. As College of Education instructors, the authors want to engage learners and also model resources that their students can use when they become professionals teaching their own students. Breakout EDU is a game-based educational translation of the popular immersive entertainment experience of escape rooms. In this chapter, the authors will explore how Breakout EDU can be used in online and face-to-face higher education courses to engage students in learning and model a resource that pre-service teachers can use in their future teaching.
TopIntroduction: Play And “Breaking Out”
The human desire for play has been discussed in multiple contexts, and the concept of play has further implied a metaphorical or actual “breaking out” of our taken-for-granted world. Kuhn (1962), for example, described the paradigm-shattering effects of play, when simple acts of toying with possibilities have led to monumental changes like the scientific revolution. Turner’s (1969) concept of liminality and communitas suggests that “play” has an important role in social groups, for good or ill. The term “liminal space” has been used to describe that “betwixt and between” experience where traditional social conventions do not have the same meaning or influence - where play can safely take place. More recently, Whitton (2018) employs Huitzinga’s (1955) term “magic circle” to describe a “safe” space “where the rules of the real world do not directly apply; where different norms and codes of practice emerge; and where new rules of behaviour, belief, and interaction are possible” (Whitton, 2018, para. 6).
A deeper discussion of the theory of play is beyond the scope of this chapter, but we contend this basic human tendency ought to inform efforts to introduce games into learning and instruction. That is, the play is important for both teachers and students, face-to-face or online. Our discussion presents an example of how we have collaboratively tried to break out of traditional teaching by bringing a spirit of play to serious topics in an online environment and face-to-face teaching.
When thinking about play in this manner, game-based learning tools are a way into using play in a classroom setting. As instructors in a College of Education, we value modeling technologies and other teaching and learning tools that our future teachers will be able to use in their own classrooms. This need to model means that our selection of gaming/play resources is not necessarily from the tools provided by our University but instead may be tools that will enhance the learning of our higher education students in their content areas while modeling innovative K-12 teaching tools. For example, in our Learning Management System, Moodle, our University technology team has developed a gamification module. Instructors can use this module to add points to assignments, create leaderboards to show student performance, create friendly course competition, and so on. While this gamification is of value, we are looking for gaming tools that students will be able to use when they become teachers and most will not have access to Moodle. Therefore, when thinking about bringing play through game-based learning into our classes, we looked for existing programs and resources that were free and appropriate for K-12 students as well as for college-aged students. We selected the Breakout EDU platform because it is appropriate for elementary and secondary students, can be used by teachers without paying a fee, and is very flexible in terms of content creation. In this chapter, we will explain the uses of Breakout EDU and how this game-based “tool” can be used to enhance the playful but meaningful learning experiences of college students.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Puzzles: In this chapter, the term puzzle is used interchangeably with challenge and refers to any activity in which students must use clues, knowledge, research, course content, etc. to come up with a solution that will solve a lock in a Breakout EDU activity.
Gamification: Occurs when an instructor adds points, badges, rewards, etc. to students when they complete course goals or learning objectives.
Breakout EDU: A modified version of escape rooms to be used primarily in educational settings to teach content as well as other skills like creative thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and so on. Teachers set up a series of locks on a closed box. Then the teacher provides puzzles and challenges for students to solve in order to open the box. A limited amount of time is provided for students to solve the challenges.
Play: As university instructors and former K-12 educators we believe that learning should be enjoyable, generally collaborative, and should lead students to want to learn more. Students should be given time to experiment with ideas - what can be called “play.” We do not mean that “play” in this sense is necessarily competitive, although we do not exclude the idea.
Escape Rooms: An immersive physical space in which a series of puzzles and challenges have been placed. Volunteers/participants are then locked in the space, and they must solve the challenges and puzzles in order to get out of the room. They are given a limited amount of time in which to “escape.”
Game-Based Learning: Occurs when a teacher uses games, challenges, competition, etc. in courses to teach material. This method of instruction can replace lectures or be used in addition to direct instruction to review, extend, etc. learning goals of a course.
Collaboration: Students working together to solve challenges. In this chapter, collaboration refers to more than just being in a group but rather using the skills and knowledge specific to each student in a group in order to be successful in completing a task.
Modeling: A method used in education courses to help undergraduate students learn with a resource that they will also have access to when they become teachers. Helping students learn the content of their college course with a tool that they can later use to teach elementary or secondary students.
Reflection: Learners applying questioning and discussion to an activity they have just experienced in order to make connections between the activity and course content or bigger picture ideas.