A framework for creating educational virtual escape rooms to teach computational thinking

Abstract

Due to the looming Fourth Industrial Revolution, massive changes in occupations are predicted that will require a new set of skills from the next generation. As a result, educational systems are struggling to equip students with the right skills to thrive in the future. The Institute for the Future identified Computational Thinking as one of the essential skills that will be critical for success in the future workplace. Although there is no clear definition for computational thinking, many researchers have come to accept Wing’s definition as an approach to solving problems, designing systems, and understanding human behavior by drawing on concepts fundamental to computer science. However, integrating computational thinking into the curriculum remains an educational challenge. Escape room games could potentially aid in the development of computational thinking skills because they immerse learners in a narrative-based, problem-solving scenario. Nicholson defines an escape room as a live-action adventure game in which players find themselves locked in a room, or series of rooms, from which they must escape within a limited amount of time.

This research study aims to illustrate a virtual escape room for teaching of computational thinking, reflect on its usefulness as a teaching tool, offer guidance on where to make improvements, and present a framework that educators can use to create their own virtual escape rooms. This research followed a Design-Based Research methodology that consisted of three iterative cycles. During the cycles, participants were given a pre-test before the virtual escape room and a post-test after the virtual escape room. Although the findings do not show a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test results, participants indicated that the experience with the escape room increased their motivation to learn more about computational thinking. This paper recommends that virtual escape rooms be investigated further since they could provide significant insight for learners in computational thinking