Unlocking learning using educational escape rooms

Speaker: Robert Ross
Affiliation: La Trobe University

Abstract

Educational escape rooms are a new frontier in team-based, highly engaging pedagogical practice. Educational escape rooms draw on the ideas of recreational escape rooms (time-limited, team-based, narrative infused problem-solving exercises) to build them as game-based learning activities. In this hands-on workshop participants will learn the what, why and how of educational escape rooms before giving educators a chance to experience an educational escape room firsthand. Robert has employed escape rooms with learners from primary, secondary, undergraduate and masters level to produce memorable and engaging learning environments.

Bio

Associate Professor Robert Ross is the Head of Electronics and Robotics Engineering at La Trobe University and the Director of the RAMPS Research Laboratory. He is an educational escape room pioneer having published six educational escape room papers, a book on creating educational escape rooms (Inescapable Learning: Unlock the power of educational escape rooms) and with his wife Sarah founded the company Escape Room Education (www.escaperoomeducation.com). His innovative teaching has been highly awarded with the 2021 Vice Chancellors Teaching Excellence Award, the 2021 Provost Teaching Excellence Award, the 2019 School of Engineering Mathematical Sciences Teaching Excellence Award and the 2017 Pro Vice Chancellors Teaching Excellence Award.