Escape rooms as an educational methodology to prevent disinformation in primary and secondary school students: the case of Learn to Escape

Abstract

Introduction: Information disorder affects the health of public opinion in democratic countries. To prevent this phenomenon, numerous initiatives have emerged in recent years in the field of Media and Information Literacy (MIL). In addition, the emergence of gamified teaching methodologies has given rise to ludified proposals like educational escape rooms. These immersive experiences offer a playful and collaborative approach to exploring complex subjects. Methodology: The main goal of this article is to determine the perceptions that generate the use of educational escape rooms as a methodology to develop on MIL among primary and secondary school teachers. To this end, six Spanish educative centres that have participated in the Learn to Escape teaching proposal, an escape room about MIL launched by the Spanish transfer initiative Learn to Check, have been interviewed. Results: It is observed that teachers appreciate the use of educational escape rooms for their ability to motivate and arouse students' emotions and promote multidimensional and discovery-based learning. This aspect is also valuable for the MIL field. Discussion and conclusions: Escape rooms dynamics and, specifically, the one-off Learn to Escape, convert them into a valuable methodology for introducing the problem of the circulation of misinformation and strategies for detecting and counteracting it in young people. It is a catalytic proposal that fosters a critical spirit and the acquisition of digital skills that can be transferred to the everyday environment of its participants, in line with MIL objectives.