The leading organisation of Intellectual Output 4 is Saint George’s University of London. This output will complement and validate the results of IO2, and will evaluate the training schema that informs the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from IO3.

There is a wide range of technology available to support collaborative learning, but these are often evaluated in isolation and used in self-directed settings, without thought being given to the context of the pedagogical approach and as collaborative experiences. There is some existing evidence identifying the feasibility of escape room experiences into training and some studies on the acceptance of such resources with promising results. However, all of these studies clearly define the need for further research in the area until the use of escape rooms in education become widely implemented, and especially no evidence is registered for the use of collaborative learning activities enriched by Escape Room (EscR) methodology in online mode of delivery.

This project will take the unique and innovative approach of evaluating the combination of inputs: the technology being used to deliver online teaching, escape pedagogies, and well-established collaborative learning methodologies such as Team-Based Learning (TBL). This output will provide evidence to guide the use of these approaches to support improved learning outcomes, and in particular to provide assurances that online collaborative teaching methods are both feasible and effective. Similarly, the evaluation will use data collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the training schema that informs the training MOOC, providing evidence to support iterative improvements.

Evaluating the effectiveness of innovative educational interventions allows us to measure the impact on learners and educators, and iterate ongoing improvements as needs evolve. This output is essential to understand the feasibility and acceptance of the innovative Combined Learning Activity (CLA) pedagogy. The evaluation will encompass implementations of CLA in each of the 3 partner institutions, delivered in different contexts with modified approaches and with different target learners. By considering the evaluation across these heterogeneous approaches, the project will ensure that the conclusions and findings of IO5 have great potential for transferability and wide applicability.