Contemporary guidelines in education are encouraging teachers to move away from traditional teaching approaches and use active learning methods that have a positive impact on motivation and retention of acquired knowledge. The escape room represents an innovative form of educational game that can be effectively incorporated into teaching and learning processes to enhance student engagement, problem-solving skills, and collaborative learning. In an educational escape room, students can successfully review selected learning material by overcoming challenges and connecting their knowledge to a broader context. In terms of learning content, the escape room presented in this contribution focuses on content related to the acquisition of knowledge in the fields of electricity, light and matter. It is important that the above-mentioned learning contents are addressed through a variety of activities, as they are often represented in articles and papers that deal with common misconceptions among students. We have designed and prepared an educational escape room with clear and concise instructions for preparation and implementation.

In this article, we present the results of a qualitative study conducted with fourth grade students in science class. We analysed how the students perceive the escape room and what the teachers think about the activity and the implementation of the educational escape room in science lessons in general. The study involved 17 fourth-grade students and four classroom teachers from four Slovenian primary schools. The data was collected through knowledge tests, semi-structured interviews and participant observation. The results of the study showed a positive attitude of teachers and students towards the educational escape room. Students were active and independent in the process of acquiring knowledge and showed interest in the work while developing cognitive, social and affective skills and abilities through play. Unfortunately, the more complex preparation and organisation are the factors that teachers identify as negative factors that prevent a more frequent inclusion of didactic games in the learning process. Nevertheless, results of this study prove that learning through didactic games has many advantages that outweigh the individual disadvantages, so that this type of activity has a positive impact on learning outcomes and leaves both students and teachers satisfied.

Keywords: Science education, educational games, escape room, electricity, light, matter.