ChemEscape: Redox and Thermodynamics─Puzzling Out Key Concepts in General Chemistry

Abstract

Gamification of learning in chemistry education is a growing field. Chemistry themed escape room activities, incorporating course learning objectives into puzzle solution, have become a popular tool allowing for students to apply course knowledge in novel settings. Escape room activities, like their public counterparts, provide subtle guidance to students through the introduction of clues and hints within the game. However, many students are met with mild frustration at the lack of direct questioning leading to time-restraints in puzzle solution. Here, we introduce a new series of ChemEscape Battle Box puzzles focusing on chemical equilibria, redox chemistry, and thermodynamics. By incorporating guiding, exam-style questioning into the puzzle we found students were more readily able to solve the puzzles within and related them back to course learning objectives.

Escape the Desert Island: Blended Escape Rooms in the First-Semester Problem-Based Learning

“…The students highlighted these in the comments (Table ) and during debriefing sessions. Besides that, some students noted that puzzles and clues were tricky and challenging, which can heavily influence the difficulty of the games . Nevertheless, the novelty of the learning experience afforded by escape rooms could arouse interest and curiosity in students .…”

“…A couple of them tried to brute-force the lock�similar observations were reported in recent ChemEscape activities. 13,27 The third and fourth shortcomings were related to the final puzzle. The antibiotic drugs are bulky penicillin structures consisting of multiple rings.…”

“…Current literature reports positive student perceptions of the escape room game across different types of escape roomsremote, hybrid, blended, and in-person activities. ,,− Benefits of educational escape room activities have been widely acknowledged in engineering, healthcare, social sciences, and pure and applied science courses. , Various escape rooms published in this Journal also reported benefits such as increased student motivation, greater confidence, and improved communication while promoting collaborative and critical thinking skills in chemistry courses. ,,− …”

“In Search of Prof. Aurum”─A Mobile Escape Room Setting for Youth Recreation

“…With the exception of pandemic lockdowns in the early 2020s, escape rooms have received increasing social interest worldwide over the past decade. − In addition to digital settings, escape rooms have been established in educational contexts, for example, in medical and pharmacy education , and STEM education in school and university contexts. − …”

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“…Several examples of “Escape Room” style review games have also recently been published. By incorporating storytelling and a mystery element the makers of ChemEscape and Chemical Escape found a novel way to engage students.…”