Engaging Preservice Teachers in the Design of Digital Breakout Games in an Educational Technology Course

Abstract

Educators have recently begun using digital breakout games as an instructional strategy in K–12 and higher ed curricula. However, research has thus far explored outcomes associated with playing these games, rather than designing them. This study investigates what happened when 23 preservice teachers in a technology integration course designed digital breakout games for the secondary curriculum. By conducting a basic qualitative analysis, we found that digital breakout game design promoted skills, competencies, and perspectives in support of preservice teachers’ future practice such as TPACK development, 21st-century learning, and positive technology integration perceptions and intentions. We provide evidence and implications for these findings, as well as opportunities for further research. (Keywords: breakout game, escape room, digital breakout game, preservice teachers, escape game, teacher education, game-based learning, educational technology)

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren Weisberg

Lauren Weisberg is a doctoral student specializing in curriculum and instruction at the University of Florida. Her research is at the intersection of educational technology and teacher education with a focus on equitable, innovative, and student-centered pedagogy.

Kara Dawson

Kara Dawson is a professor in the Educational Technology program in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. Her scholarship focuses on the ways educational technologies and individual differences influence teaching and learning.

Nancy Fichtman Dana

Nancy Fichtman Dana is a professor in the Teachers, Schools, and Society program in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida. Her research focuses on practitioner inquiry as a professional development strategy.