Escaping Online: Teacher Student Engagement in a Digital Escape Game

Escape games have become popular as a learning activity and are being used in a large variety of subjects (e.g., chemistry (Peleg et al, 2019), music (Babazadeh et al, 2022)). Research has shown that they are generally engaging for students (Veldkamp et al, 2020). However, the study of engagement is often limited to its observable aspect (e.g., the students are having fun; they are participating in the learning activity) or is not the focus of the analysis. Fewer studies are also investigating the use of escape games in fully online settings, when students are each playing from their own location. This research study is exploring engagement from the students’ perspective, within a fully online course in a teacher education program at a Norwegian university. Teacher students were invited to play Radioaktiv, a digital escape game for natural sciences on the topic of radioactivity. Six pairs of students also participated in guided interviews after playing. Reflexive thematic analysis of the interview data with the students was conducted to investigate what characterised the students’ experience of engagement while playing the online escape game Radioaktiv. Through this research question, the study is taking a closer look at what it means when the students say they were engaged in the game. Findings show four main aspects of the students’ experience of engagement. First, the time pressure was found to be a double-edged sword. Students found the timer engaging, but some were also too stressed by its presence to the detriment of learning outcomes. Second, students were engaged in completing tasks for their own sake, independently from other game aspects. Third, students appreciated having a read thread, but were not engaged in the specific narrative of the escape game. Finally, students positioned themselves as teachers and it strongly defined their experience of engagement in the game. They saw the game through the potential it held for their own pupils. These findings raise questions about the selection of escape games for learning in online environments and when and how to use them (e.g., discover a new theme, repetition, focus on soft skills).