Learning Unlocked in Escape Room Class “I love riddles and escape rooms and I really like to have the kids moving around. This allows the students the opportunity to be hands on—doing things and demonstrating their knowledge for what they learned,” said Harvey.
for the students in the higher-level courses. Sometimes the clues lead them to another spot in the classroom other times they’re in the hallway using the numbers they’ve uncovered in the clue to open a combination on a locker, where another clue is hidden inside. Here, failure is also part of the Harvey creates the escape room as a midterm, learning experience. The clock is with each of the eight puzzles representing ticking. a question from each of the units taught “Hopefully I’m teaching them skills that during the first half of the year. Chemistry can be applied later in life. It’s not always The puzzles are in place. skills are incorporated along the way, from about being right-I don’t care what the writing a hypothesis to extrapolating results are-communicate to me what Students are ready to break graphing data to finding density— you’re learning and what we can do free, but instead of pretending students need to prove they can do it they’re archeologists who need to make it different. As long as you to escape a tomb before they all in order to unlock each piece of the can do an analysis and a conclusion, succumb to an ancient puzzle. Once one clue is solved, students you’re still learning because the analysis curse, they’re using receive information leading them to the next is communication and the conclusion is clues provided which asks them to perform a new chemistry what’s important,” said Harvey. by their assignment. The process continues until each teacher group breaks free of each riddle, leading them to the The creation of the escape rooms are not difficult. to solve final lock where their grade is held. For those who don’t want to write their own science rooms, there are now online resources available experiments “This really forces you to apply what you’re and unlock their to help build them for little cost. Harvey started supposed to know, so you’re not just memorizing her escape room with a few pad locks and grades being but your applying it, and that’s how we learn in pencil case type bags from a local store, costing held hostage. This is Andrea Harvey’s this class,” said student Zach Piela. only a dollar each. She then wrote four classroom—her escape clues. The rooms have since expanded after room at Gray-New Born out of Harvey’s mindset that students a demand from the students to continue Gloucester High School. need to learn how to become critical learning in this hands-on way. thinkers rather than test takers, Harvey works to create unique escape rooms for each “It was interesting-I love being able to apply of her classes, even letting her honors students write the clues things I’ve learned,” said student Mike Twohig. 22
Maine Educator • September 2019
