The fourth Intellectual Output (IO4) of the Agro_EduGames project is an interactive Booklet of Good Practices integrated with multimedia content. The Booklet is the result of C1 Learning Activity, and the Local Training Sessions carried out to test the Escape Rooms/Break-out Boxes and the Escape Card Game previously developed during the project. The C1 Learning Activity was held in Athens, Greece and had 8 participants in total, consisting of 2 members from each of the four partner organisations. Meanwhile, a total of 96 participants in the Local Training Sessions, which were organized by each organization in the four partner countries, included young people, youth trainers/educators, established agroentrepreneurs, entrepreneurship coaches, escape room owners, and others.
Each training partner documented the participants’ experience as well as their own experience as organizers of these events by responding to separate questionnaires and providing their feedback. Moreover, with the agreement of participants, partners recorded the formers’ experience through pictures and videos, and finally compiled testimonial videos where the play-testing of the Agro_EduGames Escape Games can be observed. Based on the feedback provided during the Local Training Sessions and the experience gained in the preparation and observation of the activities, a set of Do’s and Dont’s has been formulated and is presented in the Agro_EduGames Booklet of Good Practices.
But what do Good or ‘Best Practices’ really mean and how do they fit in the sector of non-formal youth education?
Firstly, the Merrian-Webster Online Dictionary defines a best practice as
“a procedure that has been shown by research and experience to produce optimal results and that is established or proposed as a standard suitable for widespread adoption”
Indeed there already exist certain methods that have been proven and are widely accepted as very effective in the non-formal education of youth, including:
- Hands-on workshops
- Debates and Discussions, and
- Group Activities and Challenges.
You can probably see how an Escape Room/Break-out Box which allows players to work in a group to investigate, discuss the different options of their next steps, solve puzzles and riddles, unlock boxes, and overcome a challenge, can result in a productive active learning experience. Simultaneously, a collaborative Escape Card Game, such as the one created by the Agro_EduGames project, requires players to discuss and debate about the most possible solution, reach common ground, and, in the end, review how their proposed solution to a given mystery relates to the one given by the game.
Therefore, knowing that Escape Games are a powerful, effective non-formal educational tool, a youth trainer would need a set of guidelines on how to apply Escape Games in the most appropriate way in the context of their class and the topic of interest. Regarding the development of agro-entrepreneurial knowledge and skills in youth, this is where the Agro_EduGames IO4 Booklet of Good Practices comes in.
How can a youth worker organize a training session efficiently and maintain the players’ engagement? How can the youth trainer provide feedback to the participants and create trust between themselves and the learners, so that the latter become more receptive to the knowledge? In turn, how should the educators make use of the feedback received from the participants to improve their application of the Escape Games as educational tools?
Stay tuned for the upload of the Agro_EduGames Booklet of Good Practices on the project website to find out more!
References
Best practice. (n.d.). In The Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2022, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/best%20practice
Avik, M. (2021). Non-Formal Education. Youth Europa. https://www.youtheuropa.org/non-formal-education/