The effect of an escape room game on students' academic self-efficacy and motivation for critical thinking: oncology nursing course.

Objective: This study investigated the effect of an escape room game on oncology nursing course students academic self-efficacy and motivation for critical thinking.

Methods: This study adopted a one-group pretest-posttest experimental research design. The sample consisted of forty-two nursing students. Data were collected using a personal information form, the Academic Nurses' Self- Efficacy Scale, and the Critical Thinking Motivational Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson-Spearman, Wilcoxon test.

Results: None of the nursing students had played an escape room game for educational purposes before (100%; n = 42). The escape room game helped nursing students develop academic self-efficacy and boosted their motivation for thinking critically respectively (t = -3.252, p = 0.002; Z = -2.027, p = 0.043). More than 90% of the students reported that the escape room game helped them understand the subject, retain information, and apply it effectively.

Conclusion: Universities should incorporate escape room games within the scope of oncology nursing courses as an alternative teaching approach to help students enhance their academic self-efficacy and critical thinking motivation. Researchers should plan studies with different samples to investigate the impact of escape room games on academic self-efficacy and critical thinking motivation.