Kendra Poszywak, a math teacher at West Creek High School, received a Great Idea Grant to design original escape rooms for her students.
Although digital escape rooms are great, she wanted to allow for hands-on components so that the project reaches more students in their learning styles. Through a Great Idea Grant, she created a math-based “Where in the World is Carmen San Diego” themed escape room. Students solve complex problems to find locations on the map and finally discover where the treasure is hidden. Initiatives like this encourage students to persevere through a problem instead of just guessing or quitting. The escape room allows students to apply their understanding of a variety of math topics, including polar math, vector math, and trigonometry. The more students are engaged in the learning, the more the students will retain and be able to apply concepts to a variety of applications.
