Use of a Digital Escape Room (DER) to Assess Student Learning, Communication Skills, and Engagement in a Corporate Finance Course

Abstract

This research examines the use of a digital escape room (DER) to reinforce accounting concepts, strengthen interpersonal communication skills, and increase student engagement among business students. Upper-level undergraduate business courses build on concepts introduced in the first- and second-year requirements. In more advanced business courses such as accounting and finance, it is expected that students have a solid grasp of what data is shown on a firm’s financial statements as well as the relationships between the various documents. To aid in reinforcing accounting concepts, a hands-on digital escape room (DER) was designed and administered to students in a corporate finance course at a small comprehensive institution in the northeast of the US. This exercise reinforces content learned in basic accounting classes and promotes learning, communication, and engagement.