Room Escape: Gamification Proposal in the Physiotherapy Degree

In line with current learning theories, teaching in Higher Education increasingly employs approaches and activities that place the learner at the centre of the learning-teaching process. One such approach is gamification: the use of principles normally encountered in games in a non-game context for educational purposes. This paper considers the use of a gamification activity, Room Escape. The activity is used in the context of the subject General Procedures in Physiotherapy in the Physiotherapy degree programme at Universidad San Jorge. A Case-based Learning approach was adopted and the habitual characteristics of Escape Room activities were adapted to facilitate the desired learning outcomes. An anonymous, online questionnaire measuring the students perceptions of their learning gains and the efficacy of the activity as a learning tool, was completed by students after the activity. Results show a positive assessment, particularly in terms of the degree of motivation and effort made by students to complete the task, aspects key to successful learning. Learners recognized that they could have been better prepared for the activity but that it was indeed an activity that facilitated learning with its case-study approach and allowed them to consolidate their understanding of concepts related to the subject.