Exploring escape rooms as a game-based learning approach to promote student motivation

Abstract

This dissertation offers the results of a completed master’s project that used a mixed- method approach within a pragmatic paradigm and an exploratory sequential mixed- method design. The study aimed to research and enhanced student motivation by deploying a virtual escape room with a game-based learning approach. With the growing importance of student motivation, particularly in the global pandemic and online learning context, the research sought to address the challenge of understanding and engaging Generation Z effectively through innovative teaching and learning approaches enabled by technology-supported learning environments, such as an escape room.

The research intended to find trends and motivating elements leading to student motivation by conducting a case study focusing on a game-based virtual escape room. The researcher designed the escape room using an associated Microsoft Excel document containing the problems for the scenario. For the purpose of leaving the room, the terms “escape room” and “document” were used interchangeably. Following the game, the researcher collected data by administering a Qualtrics survey with 546 participants responding, and five participants were chosen for semi- structured interviews. Purposive, voluntary, and convenience sampling strategies were used to collect data. The survey data collected was downloaded as a Microsoft Excel file from Qualtrics and loaded onto SPSS to produce the tables and graphs. The semi-structured interviews were recorded via Blackboard Collaborate and transcribed using Otter.ai, and the transcriptions were organised into tables in Microsoft Word.

This study’s findings add to the theoretical knowledge of student motivation by shedding light on the potential of a game-based learning approach to improve motivation. Furthermore, this study informs future learning and teaching possibilities by revealing motivational variables and tactics that can be used to improve educational experiences. This study contributes to the field of educational gaming and instructional design by investigating student motivation through the lens of a game-based learning strategy within a virtual escape room.