ESCAPE ROOMS: BREAKING THE MOLD FOR TEACHING AGRICULTURE
Teaching & Educational Technologies
Brooklyne Wassel
County Extension Agent
University of Georgia
Meansville
Abstract
Though well-documented to be less engaging and impactful than hands-on programming, PowerPoint presentations are typical in many Extension events as the foundation of the program due to tradition, time, ease of transport, and other factors. However, traditional lecture-based programs alone can be difficult to maintain audience engagement. Incorporating an interactive activity into programming requires participants to truly interact with the concept to progress through the material and class. This promotes active learning and increases engagement across audiences and topics. Following classroom escape models often utilized by teachers, the Pike County Extension Agent has created three interactive escape room curricula for pesticide safety, general horsemanship, and gardening in Georgia. Each program is self-contained inside a storage container which makes the lesson plan portable, easily shared, and replicable. Each escape room was created by selecting a setting, escape goal, learning objectives, and numerous puzzle types. These multifaceted puzzles have engaged over 100 participants who have successfully cracked the codes to reach the prizes inside their respective containers. Participants included 4-H Horse Club members, pesticide applicators, senior center patrons, parks and recreation personnel, and horse camp attendees. All participants, regardless of which escape room they were completing, were actively learning, communicating, and reinforcing their knowledge. Transitioning from lecture-only format to an active learning module has the potential to help with client retention, participant engagement, and increase post-program knowledge gain. Future plans include developing more escape rooms for targeted audiences and sharing the curricula for other Extension personnel to utilize.
Authors: Brooklyne Wassel
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Brooklyne Wassel County Extension Agent, University of Georgia , Georgia, 30256