Gamification in Higher Education: Learning Computer Science with an Escape Room

This paper presents a study that evaluates gamification as a strategy to improve learning in higher education. This research aims to determine the effects of gamification on the teaching-learning process by implementing a virtual educational escape room. This learning strategy was applied to four groups of students studying the Computational Modeling of Movement course in the first semester of the B.S. in Computer Science and Technology program at Tecnologico de Monterrey. To determine their perception of their experience in the activity of an escape room and the elements they find valuable in their learning, we performed a descriptive analysis based on an online questionnaire with items divided into three dimensions. The students' responses were measured with a Likert scale, and their reliability was confirmed using Cronbach's alpha coefficient. The results showed that the students positively valued the application of the escape room as a tool and a didactic proposal to improve the teaching-learning process. In addition, implementing the virtual educational escape room was perceived as rewarding by both students and teachers, motivating the latter to implement innovative teaching strategies that allowed them to strengthen their academic work.