Exploring students’ perceptions of collaboration and critical thinking skills following an escape room experience.

Collaboration and critical thinking are 21st century skills employers value. Campus programming offers a space where, through intentional design, post-secondary students may develop critical thinking and collaboration skills. This study investigates survey data collected after a campus program that engaged participants in an escape room experience. Descriptive statistics were utilized to investigate students’ perceptions of collaboration and critical thinking skills use and improvement during the experience. Comparison analysis was employed to explore if the structure of the escape room produced any difference in results. Findings indicate the majority of participants reported being able to practice and improve collaboration and critical thinking skills in the escape room experience. Patterns suggest that the escape room structure may impact participants’ perceptions of collaboration and critical thinking skills. Limitations and recommendations for areas of future research are discussed.