The student motivation and learning effectiveness are critical factors to reach academic success. Gamification has been proved to be a very powerful method to engage students and improve learning. Among the gamification techniques that can be applied in teaching, escape rooms combine elements of fun and challenge with the aim of promoting active learning, teamwork, problem solving and creativity. In the last few years, we have detected a low level of motivation and engagement of undergraduate students in lectures of Materials Science and Technology. To improve this, this study describes the implementation of a escape room as a gamification technique in this lectures, namely in a lecture devoted to review exam content, aiming at enhancing student motivation and their academic performance.

The escape room was conducted with students enrolled in the Material Science and Technology subject of the degree in Engineering in Industrial Technologies (2nd year) from Universitat Jaume I in Spain. The session chosen to perform the escape room was a lecture devoted to review exam content. The successful completion of the escape room provided the students an exercise that appeared in a final exam of previous years, which will be solved in the same session. The game consisted of three stages: the first one was based on solving crossword puzzles. The other two stages required the resolution of short problems associated with the content of the subject - mechanical properties and interpretation of phase diagrams. A post-intervention questionnaire was used to evaluate the success of the activity.

Results indicate a significant improvement in the motivation and engagement levels of students who participated in the gamified session compared to the traditional lectures (100% of students rated the escape room as positive and very positive and would repeat the experience). 63.6% of the students reported that the activity significantly helped them to review and consolidate key concepts of the subject. All students (100%) stated that it enabled them to identify areas of the syllabus that required further reinforcement, while 81.8% felt better prepared for the exam. Additionally, 90.9% of students rated the level of teamwork in the activity as high. Students reported increased interest and enthusiasm for the course content, highlighting the interactive nature of escape rooms as key factors. Furthermore, there was an improvement in practical assessment scores, suggesting that the technique not only boosts motivation but also facilitates a deeper understanding of the concepts studied.

In conclusion, incorporating escape rooms as a gamification technique in review lectures of Materials Science proves to be an effective strategy to enhance student motivation and improve academic performance. This approach enriches the educational experience by making it more dynamic and interactive while promoting essential transversal skills such as teamwork and critical thinking.

Keywords: Gamification, material science, escape room.