Educational Escape Rooms in Mathematics Didactics within Undergraduate and Master’s Education Degrees: A Systematic Review of Motivational, Cognitive, and Methodological Impacts

Educational Escape Rooms (EERs) have emerged as an innovative game-based learning strategy within Mathematics Didactics courses in undergraduate and master’s degrees in Education. This systematic review synthesizes empirical evidence on the pedagogical impact, methodological characteristics, and research quality of studies examining EER implementations in higher education contexts between 2016 and 2026. A total of 21 peer-reviewed studies were analyzed following structured selection criteria. The review focused on three core dimensions: (1) motivational and affective outcomes, (2) development of mathematical reasoning and didactic competencies, and (3) methodological rigor and research design quality.

Findings consistently indicate that EERs significantly enhance student motivation, engagement, and satisfaction in teacher education programs related to mathematics. Positive emotional activation, increased immersion, and perceived enjoyment were recurrently reported across quantitative and mixed-methods studies. From a cognitive perspective, EERs demonstrated potential to strengthen logical-mathematical reasoning, problem-solving skills, collaborative learning, and the ability to design innovative teaching strategies for mathematics classrooms. In both undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education, escape rooms were associated with improved conceptual understanding and greater awareness of active methodologies applicable to school contexts.

However, methodological analysis revealed variability in research design quality. While most studies employed quasi-experimental or descriptive approaches, fewer incorporated control groups or longitudinal measurements. Risk of bias and limited sample sizes were common limitations. Despite this, overall methodological quality ranged from moderate to high when assessed through standardized appraisal frameworks.

The evidence suggests that Educational Escape Rooms constitute a promising active-learning methodology in Mathematics Didactics within teacher education programs. Nevertheless, further rigorous experimental research is needed to consolidate causal evidence and determine long-term impacts on professional teaching competence.