ESCAPE the Boring Lecture: Tips and Tricks on Building Puzzles for Medical Education Escape Rooms

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Game-Based Learning
• Educational Psychology

Background:

• Escape rooms are an innovative game-based learning method in medical education.
• Learners solve medical-themed puzzles to achieve a learning objective within a narrative.
• A gap exists in literature regarding effective puzzle design for specific learning outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide educators with a framework for designing effective medical education escape room puzzles.
• To address the challenge educators face in creating engaging and learning-objective-aligned puzzles.
• To share practical puzzle ideas and supporting tools for escape room development.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Bloom's taxonomy as a theoretical framework for puzzle design.
• Developed a set of puzzle ideas and supporting tools.
• Presented a scholarly perspective on structuring escape room puzzles for educational purposes.

Main Results:

• A structured approach to designing escape room puzzles based on Bloom's taxonomy is presented.
• Practical examples of puzzles and tools are provided to facilitate educator adoption.
• The study offers guidance to overcome common anxieties associated with puzzle creation.

Conclusions:

• Bloom's taxonomy provides a robust framework for creating targeted and effective escape room puzzles in medical education.
• This approach empowers educators to design engaging, game-based learning experiences that meet specific learning objectives.
• Addressing puzzle design challenges can increase the accessibility and utilization of escape rooms in medical training.