BREAKOUT EDU Wodonga Regional STEM Valerie Ratcliff Victory Lutheran College

What is BREAKOUT? Breakout is a way to ‘gamify’ your classroom that is both meaningful and purposeful. It utilises the tactics of an Escape Room to prompt students to revise curriculum, problem solve and collaborate Breakout EDU includes a large scale, collective set of ideas in a range of topics, suitable for both Primary and Secondary classrooms It challenges teachers to think laterally and creatively about how they can ask students to apply their understanding of curricula Breakout uses a basic kit, which can be purchased online, where students break in to locked boxes. The online community has many, many free resources and also offers a subscription for improved search-ability.

Why Breakout? How is it different? ACTIVE LEARNING Breakout EDU games transfer the ownership of learning from the instructor to the student, making it easy to observe how learners approach problem solving and apply their knowledge.   - Locus of control= student centred - Engaging- students find the challenge stimulating which increases motivation - GREAT for students who need to move to learn! -Encourages metacognition through the use of debriefing and reflection

Why Breakout? What are the Benefits? THE FOUR Cs In addition to the content knowledge needed to succeed in a specific game, all Breakout EDU games require critical thinking, collaboration, creativity and communication. - Critical thinking- many of the games require lateral thinking, and use or application of concepts in a way not possible through typical assessments - Collaboration- students work to their strengths and contribute to the goal of solving the problems posed by the game- often hidden strengths are revealed - Creativity- many of the games are unusual in their approach, requiring creative thinking and problem solving - Communication- for optimum teamwork, students have to listen to one another and contribute their ideas

Why Breakout? How does it Relate to STEM? CULTIVATING GRIT A Breakout EDU game provides learners with many opportunities to fail forward. Every unsuccessful attempt to open a lock forces the player to try again. - This concept of grit supports the emphasis of many STEM/ STEAM curricula where failure and reiteration are necessary to the process - Students are pushed in a supportive environment, and limited to using Hint cards only a small number of times, so need to ration their request for support

Other Advantages Exploring the Breakout EDU community is like free professional development! Teachers in the community are developing very clever tasks and challenges, using very innovative ideas. By exploring an using Breakouts you will develop in your ability to utilise available technology such as QR Scanners, Google Forms, etc. to generate whatever clues you need for your own version. Plus, it is really, really fun!

How Can I use Breakout in my class? 1. Obviously- as a simple team-building exercise (as exemplified in what we are doing here) 2. Revise important information, e.g. prior to a test, exam or SAC: many, many suggested topics online at Breakout EDU plus templates, suggestions and weblinks to assist you to make your own. 3. Assessment Task: once your students have experienced a breakout, you could use the platform as an assessment task for a topic. (See Biome examples) It’s also worth noting- there is an digital game platform that does not involve the need to purchase any of the physical game kits

How do I Breakout? 1. Gather tools: - several types of locks: e.g. directional locks, word and number locks, key lock - Lockable boxes - Hasp or similar to hold all the locks -UV pen and light - USB 2. Find a game: search the Breakout Edu website for ideas and resources 3. Set up and facilitate game- this will give you the confidence to start to design your own- which you can then feed back into the Breakout Edu community! 4. Reflect- use the reflection questions or debrief cards to debrief the experience, allowing students to reflect on their teamwork and problem solving

LETS TRY IT! Dr. Johnson’s Lab (Zombie Apocalypse!)

Feedback & Thoughts? 1. Did you enjoy it? 2. Did your team work together? 3. Were there some ways that your team could have improved? 4. Can you see this working in your classroom? 5. Any other thoughts/ feedback/ questions? Let’s take a look at the instructions for setting up this Breakout (see what’s in the box) https://platform.breakoutedu.com/game/dr-johnsons-lab

Good Resources To get you started Obviously, Breakout Edu: https://www.breakoutedu.com/welcome Great resources for generating clues: https://sites.google.com/site/digitalbreakoutjb/how-to Great ideas for how to set up your own Breakout for your classroom: http://jenerationed.weebly.com/blog/classroom-breakout-clues Breakout EDU Sandbox- all open-source teacher created Breakouts: https://sites.google.com/site/digitalbreakoutjb/sandbox Valerie Ratcliff- feel free to email me: vratcliff@vlc.vic.edu.au Video Link: A Y5 Teacher had his students design a Breakout game & create the boxes as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fSdiKin5q0