141 - Using Digital Escape Rooms to Teach Culturally Responsive Evaluation

Abstract Information: Serious games are a potential growing opportunity in the field of evaluation and can be defined “as analog or digital games used within a well-defined space, which have a clear primary purpose different from entertainment and intentionally transfer the game experience to reality” (Olejniczak et al., 2020, p. 345). An educational escape room is one example of a serious game. This simulated, collaborative environment allows for a game experience explicitly focused on learning goals, in addition to overall game design, concept, content, and learner experience (Nicholson & Cable, 2021).

This presentation will discuss an Unreal Engine-based digital escape room prototype aiming to educate players on Culturally Responsive Evaluation (CRE) considerations through a puzzle-based incorporation of Kirkhart’s (2021) eight-element multicultural validity checklist. Through the lens of CRE, players of the escape room are introduced to what it means for an evaluator to be responsive to the multifaceted nature of culture within a program and to be competent in choosing culturally appropriate methodologies (Hood, Hopson & Kirkhart., 2015; Kirkhart, 2021; Hood, Frierson, & Hopson, 2005). Through problem-solving puzzles, players will consider how cultural differences manifest within program evaluation and will reflect on their own personal commitment to social justice. Basing the escape room’s learning outcomes on understanding Kirkhart’s (2021) A Culture Checklist, the escape room environment allows the player to simulate considerations and questions raised in the checklist via solving puzzles and eventually ‘escaping’ the room. While this is a prototype of an idea, it shows the opportunities of playful learning, collaboration, and game-based learning environments for teaching CRE concepts to new and experienced evaluators, program staff, and program stakeholders.