This past summer I attended a 2-day class on teaching with Breakout EDU kits, which essentially are the excitement and challenge of an Escape Room combined with the learning goals of a classroom. I was hooked as I imagined the multiple applications of these kits in my Spanish classes and the benefits my students would derive from them.
The biggest draw of using Breakout EDU kits is the motivation that my students would have to engage in Spanish and its cultures. Communicating in Spanish and taking virtual fieldtrips become a lot more fun and meaningful when you´re working with a team to beat the clock or your classmates to solve clues you hear in a song, read on the website of a Mexican clothing store, or see in a 360 degree view of a room in a Madrid art museum, for example.
My students seem the most engaged and excited when they´re “playing” and competing, and Breakout EDU activities take those to the next level. On top of that, Breakout EDU activities not only engage the students in the content but, as others have noted, are inquiry-based and student-centered, build inference and critical thinking skills, promote collaboration and team building, and teach students to persevere and work under pressure—all important elements that are transferable to any other school subjects and types of learning .
While it´s ideal to have about one Breakout EDU kit per group of five to six students, there are ways to work around this so that three would be enough for a class of 36 students. These kits could also be shared amongst the other teachers in the World Language department, or in the school for that matter, so they would benefit many more students than just mine.
About my class
This past summer I attended a 2-day class on teaching with Breakout EDU kits, which essentially are the excitement and challenge of an Escape Room combined with the learning goals of a classroom. I was hooked as I imagined the multiple applications of these kits in my Spanish classes and the benefits my students would derive from them.
The biggest draw of using Breakout EDU kits is the motivation that my students would have to engage in Spanish and its cultures. Communicating in Spanish and taking virtual fieldtrips become a lot more fun and meaningful when you´re working with a team to beat the clock or your classmates to solve clues you hear in a song, read on the website of a Mexican clothing store, or see in a 360 degree view of a room in a Madrid art museum, for example.
My students seem the most engaged and excited when they´re “playing” and competing, and Breakout EDU activities take those to the next level. On top of that, Breakout EDU activities not only engage the students in the content but, as others have noted, are inquiry-based and student-centered, build inference and critical thinking skills, promote collaboration and team building, and teach students to persevere and work under pressure—all important elements that are transferable to any other school subjects and types of learning .
While it´s ideal to have about one Breakout EDU kit per group of five to six students, there are ways to work around this so that three would be enough for a class of 36 students. These kits could also be shared amongst the other teachers in the World Language department, or in the school for that matter, so they would benefit many more students than just mine.
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