Learning with a digital escape room game: before or after instruction?
Josef Buchner1, Martina Rüter2, Michael Kerres1
1Learning Lab, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätstraße 2, 45141 Essen, Germany.
Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning
|March 21, 2022
Summary
Learning copyright and media law through digital escape rooms is more effective when explicit instruction precedes gameplay. This instruction-first approach enhances knowledge retention and self-efficacy while reducing cognitive load, unlike problem-solving before instruction.
Area of Science:
- Educational Technology
- Cognitive Psychology
- Legal Education
Background:
- Escape room games are complex problem-based learning environments.
- Cognitive Load Theory suggests explicit instruction before problem-solving aids learning.
- The productive failure paradigm posits problem-solving before instruction is more effective for knowledge application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of an instruction-first versus a problem-solving-first approach using a digital escape room for learning copyright and media law.
- To investigate the impact of these approaches on knowledge retention, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and knowledge application.
Main Methods:
- An experiment was conducted with two groups: instruction-first (N=20) and problem-solving-first (N=21).
- Participants engaged with a digital escape room game focused on copyright and media law.
- Learning outcomes, including knowledge retention, self-efficacy, cognitive load, and transfer tasks, were assessed.
Main Results:
- The instruction-first group demonstrated significantly better knowledge retention and higher domain-specific self-efficacy.
- The instruction-first group also experienced lower cognitive load compared to the problem-solving-first group.
- No significant differences were found between the groups in the application of knowledge on transfer tasks.
Conclusions:
- Implementing digital escape room games after explicit instruction is an effective instructional strategy.
- The instruction-first approach is superior for knowledge acquisition, retention, and self-efficacy in this context.
- While effective for acquisition, the instruction-first approach did not show advantages over problem-solving-first for knowledge application in novel situations.
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