ESCAPE ROOM AS RESOURCE FOR TEACHING SCIENCES: DESCRIPTION AND EMOTIONAL ANALYSIS OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS SAMPLE

 

Míriam Andrea Hernández del Barco¹*, Jesús Sánchez Martín², Maria Antonia Dávila Acedo³, Florentina Cañada Cañada⁴

¹Ms, Department of Science Education (Universidad de Extremadura), SPAIN, mhdelbarco@unex.es

²Dr, Department of Science Education (Universidad de Extremadura), SPAIN, jsanmar@unex.es

³Dr, Department of Science Education (Universidad de Extremadura), SPAIN, mdavilaacedo@unex.es

⁴Dr, Department of Science Education (Universidad de Extremadura), SPAIN, flori@unex.es

*Corresponding Author

Abstract

Last decades have been characterized by rapid changes and transformations that have led to the renewal of European educational policies and the implementation of the Bologna process. Students become the centre of their learning process, while the teacher guides them. Several evidences of the implementation of different methodologies show their benefits in the students’ affective and cognitive domains. The use of games as a classroom method has experienced exponential growth over the last decade. In this work an Escape Room experience is described which have been carried out with 36 prospective teachers. The Escape Room was designed for the review of the different contents worked on in a science subject (density, fluids, chemical reactions…). At the end, prospective teachers were asked to write about how they felt and whether they would be willing to implement an Escape Room as teachers in the primary classroom. The qualitative analysis reveals that it is a methodology that prospective teachers are willing to carry out an Escape Room as a teacher. After the Escape Room experience had finished, most of participants expressed to feel surprised and curiosity. In general, they felt joy, fun, and curiosity in handling laboratory equipment and in experiencing something new and unusual that they had never done before. Some causes mentioned for positive emotions were (i) learning science through this methodology, (ii) working in groups, and (iii) seeing how their own learning evolved. Carrying out practical activities with prospective teachers not only improves their emotional dimension, but also their cognitive dimension in its aspects of the acquisition of knowledge and the development of such scientific skills as the manipulation of tools. This makes learning more motivating and generates greater tranquillity and well-being for the prospective teachers. Significant implications arise from this fact, the implementation of active methodologies throughout primary and secondary education would help to encourage scientific attitudes in students, which are necessary to reverse the current trend away from the study of science. An instructor's methodological approach has a considerable influence on their students' affective component. Getting students involved in the subject and adding dynamics to the theoretical content is necessary to facilitate a good classroom environment that encourages meaningful learning and an improvement in the prospective teachers' confidence. That prospective primary school teachers know their emotions is the first step towards being able to act and make the pertinent modifications to their attitudes through reflection and awakening them to the importance of their performance in the classroom as teachers. In addition to meeting the requirements of the curriculum of the degree course, in this way the prospective teachers become familiar with such methodological alternatives as Escape Room. This is of particular interest in the degree in Primary Education due to the repercussions it will have for their future work in teaching.

Keywords: active methodologies, scientific literacy, emotions, self-efficacy