The Future of Education

Abstract: Vocational Electronics education increasingly requires pedagogical approaches capable of connecting conceptual understanding, practical reasoning, and learner engagement. However, teaching practices in this field often remain centred on transmissive models that insufficiently reflect students’ digital cultures, collaborative ways of learning, and the applied nature of vocational education. This study examines the pedagogical potential of a hybrid Educational Escape Room designed to support the learning of number systems, logic gates, and digital circuits among tenth-grade vocational students. Grounded in game-based and active learning principles, the intervention combined digital tasks, physical clues, collaborative challenges, and a culturally situated narrative inspired by Guimarães Castle and the historical figure of Mumadona Dias. The study adopted a mixed-methods design, integrating quantitative evidence on academic performance and usability with qualitative data on students’ perceptions, motivation, collaboration, and learning experience. The design was informed by prior research on educational escape rooms as structured game-based learning environments (Clarke et al., 2017) and by evidence suggesting that escape-room activities can enhance motivation and learning in computing and technical domains (Borrego et al., 2017). Results indicate gains in academic performance and high perceived usability, alongside strong student reports of engagement, collaborative participation, and consolidation of core concepts in digital electronics. Qualitative findings suggest that the hybrid format, narrative framing, time-bound challenges, and puzzle progression helped students attribute meaning to abstract technical content while developing transversal skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. The study contributes to current debates on innovation in vocational education by showing how hybrid Educational Escape Rooms can transform electronics learning into an active, situated, and motivating experience and offers a replicable pedagogical model for integrating cultural narrative, digital technologies, and electronics content in vocational classrooms.

Keywords: Educational Escape Rooms; Hybrid Learning Environments; Gamification; Vocational Electronics Education; Game-Based Learning.

References

Borrego, C., Fernández, C., Blanes, I., & Robles, S. (2017). Room escape at class: Escape games activities to facilitate the motivation and learning in computer science. Journal of Technology and Science Education, 7(2), 162–171. https://doi.org/10.3926/jotse.247

Clarke, S. J., Peel, D. J., Arnab, S., Morini, L., Keegan, H., & Wood, O. (2017). EscapED: A framework for creating educational escape rooms and interactive games for higher/further education. International Journal of Serious Games, 4(3), 73–86. https://doi.org/10.17083/ijsg.v4i3.180