View Content #27748

By Linda Forrest, Director of Research, CASLS

Last week’s Topic of the Week discussed how ideas from escape rooms led to the development of breakout boxes, boxes locked with one or many locks which can only be opened by using clues to solve puzzles. Today we’ll look at the organizational structure of a breakout box and see how it can be used to create a complex learning scenario (CLS) for language learners, incorporating the ingredients of narrative, puzzles/tasks, language content, interaction, play, and reflection.

A CLS begins with a narrative, an overarching story which guides the development of the puzzles, clues and content. The narrative sets the stage thematically and provides the goal for the activities. Are learners trying prevent an art theft in Buenos Aires or stop a bomb from exploding in a secret lab in Siberia?

The narrative moves forward as learners solve a series of puzzles or tasks. Puzzles can utilize realia, such as paper goods and other physical objects, as well as augmented reality overlays. Ideally, the nature of the puzzle itself is not immediately obvious. For example, a booklet might contain five red letters scattered through its pages. Learners will need to notice the oddity and recognize that the letters could be unscrambled to provide the code for a 5-letter lock. Importantly, clues for multiple puzzles are mixed together at the beginning of the scenario, and some clues are not even available. Learners will need to work with their team members to sort out the confusing details. Solving one puzzle will provide clues for other puzzles and new developments in the narrative.

Of course, many of the puzzles will involve language content. The content is chosen to help learners interpret and produce a particular language function. For example, learners may need to ‘make a request’ of a character in the narrative. By drawing on information in the narrative, learners can uncover critical grammar and vocabulary as well as strategies for making pragmatically appropriate requests. Note that language content is both focused (to provide concentrated practice) and embedded within the narrative (to provide a meaningful context).

The narrative, puzzles/tasks, and content provide a venue for learner interaction.  It is through this meaningful social interaction that learning takes place. By working together on the puzzles/tasks, learners develop higher-order cognitive skills, take risks, and co-construct meaning. This experience leads to the acquisition of critical knowledge and skill sets needed to master the content at hand.

Reflection and play are the final essential ingredients. For information on the relationship between play and language see these InterCom Topics of the Week: Digital Games and Langauge Learning, Digital Games as an Example of Goal-Orienting Behavior, and A Literacies-based Approach to Digital Games. We will discuss reflection next week when we delve into how to teach with complex learning scenarios.