Let’s Escape! The Impact of a Digital-Physical Combined Escape Room on Students’ Creative Thinking, Learning Motivation, and Science Academic Achievement
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Overall, the study is written in a well-structured way. The current format of manuscript needs more information to support the research argument. Some suggestions:
1. Some article already mentioned the same issue. Please check this article: "Connecting digital elements with physical learning contexts: An educational escape-the-room game for supporting learning in young children."
2. What are theoretical foundations behind the escape room? The authors needed to point them out.
Author Response
"Please see the attachment."
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Overall, I really appreciate this project. You've approached this question with the rigor needed to move things forward. It's in good shape, and just needs a little more before publishing.
The biggest thing missing is a full writeup of the games. This is a study, and the games are the treatment. I can't assess if the treatment was appropriate if I can't see what it is. I also could not replicate your study in other settings, which is an important part of science. What is presented gives me some concern (see below), so I would like to see the entire scripts for the games either available online or in an appendix. Treat the game as seriously as you would treat any other type of learning intervention and document what you have done.
This leads me to my second concern, which could be added to the discussion. From what I can see, you have used superficial applications of the learning concepts in the environment. Educational escape rooms are simulations, and as such, are most effective when the students apply what they have learned to real-world applications.
"Look around for hidden beakers and see which is acid/alkaine to get a code" makes no real world sense. It makes sense in the artificial "do this because I told you to" escape room logic, but it could be much better. When would someone use this concept to resolve an issue in the real world? How can THAT be the puzzle?
I hypothesize this is why there's no difference in the science learning - you used the same artificial situations that you use in the classroom, so the learning would be the same. But the escape room environment provides a much richer environment in which to set a challenges that are inspired by how the topic is used in the real world, and that's where we see the differences in learning. It helps the learners understand "Why" they need to learn the things. As it is, they don't get the "why" - it's just "you need to do it to get a code", which is as artificial as "you need to do it to get a grade".
Before you can make any claims about escape rooms, you need to recognize that you have a superficial integration of the learning outcome with the simulation of the escape room.... or at least I would guess this. I don't know, because you didn't document your games, so I can't assess this aspect.
It is a greater design challenge to think about the real-world applications of learning concepts in escape game design, but it's a key reason for using this type of activity. Many educational game designers don't do this, and many BreakoutEDU games aren't addressing this, which is why there are so many poorly designed games that are little more than classroom activities with locks to ensure the activities were done correctly.
Author Response
"Please see the attachment."
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
