Abstract:

Experience with the application of the Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) strategy in the educational process of future teachers indicates that it is an effective solution for engaging students in learning processes and acquiring the didactic skills that are necessary for their future pedagogical practice. The interest and efforts of the students, declared in the survey questionnaire that we presented at the EDULEARN 23 conference, in the paper STUDENTS' OPINIONS ON APPLICATION OF DIGITAL GAME-BASED LEARNING STRATEGY IN EDUCATION AT FACULTY OF EDUCATION, were a challenge for the development of learning content through methods with the application of games in an online environment. This process was even more challenging because the target group was adult students. We considered methods that would be effective in higher education, based on the triangulation of J.A. Comenius and his three principles of thinking - scire (know) - velle (want) - posse (able). We chose the principles of the escape game (escape room), which met all the required criteria. We present and characterize them in more detail in the paper. The starting point was the finding that the students had no previous experience with various online platforms and applications that would support their desire to create their own didactic (educational) materials. We therefore followed up on the findings of the 2023 survey and implemented teaching with the application of the DGBL strategy in courses focusing on art didactics in primary education and courses focusing on digital technologies. Then we conducted a survey of the opinions of students who completed the courses, using a questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale, with the verbal anchors of 5 (Strongly Agree), 4 (Agree), 3 (Neither Agree nor Disagree), 2 (Disagree), and 1 (Strongly Disagree). The conducted survey forms the basis of a quantitative-qualitative study focused on the application of escape game principles as an educational method in acquiring didactic skills for students of teacher study programs. The main goal of the paper is to present the results of the survey and analyze the strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of the application of this method in the training of future teachers.

Keywords:

Digital game-based learning, escape game, university education, digital educational game, didactic (educational) materials.