Escape Rooms and Gamification in the Classroom with Teresa Kwant [episode 74]

Kelsey

You are listening to episode number 74 of wife teacher mommy, the podcast escape rooms and gamification in the classroom need to find a way to get kids more engaged. Today we’re talking gamification in the classroom and the behind the scenes of how Teresa correct the code of escape rooms in the classroom, and how you can get started for free.

Kelsey

Welcome to wife, teacher, mommy the podcast. I’m Kelsey Sorenson, a former elementary teacher and current homeschool mom. And even though I’ve been a resource creator since 2014, I’ve realized that printables alone aren’t all you need in order to thrive as a teacher or homeschool parent. That’s why I also created this show and got certified as a life coach to help you finally kick burnout to the curb and feel confident with whatever challenges come your way. But the right mindset strategies and new teaching inspiration, you’re going to be well on your way to your best teacher life. Now let’s go.

Kelsey

My Hello, my teacher, friend, I’m so happy to be here today. And really, I can just say, I’m feeling so good today, the month of March was really a bit of a challenge for me, quite a few things came up for one, I lost my grandma at the beginning of the month. And that was definitely a challenge. And I appreciate the members who were understanding of when I needed to reschedule a call because of that I wasn’t quite ready. And I appreciate everybody for being so understanding. And we also were prepping for educating rejuvenate, we had lots of kids of tech things we were running into with our emails, we got them all sorted out. But it was just a lot happening all at once had traveling for life coach training, and even traveling to the Taylor Swift concert was great. But there was just so much going on. That by the time the end of March came around, I was just feeling in such a funk. And the weather we had like the longest winter in Utah we’ve had since like the 80s. So it has been just the winter blues were kind of like exaggerated. And while I’m a life coach, and I know that our thoughts are create our feelings. There’s also you know, knowing our nervous system and processing going through so much. It’s not always only about our thoughts. And as a life coach saying that I know that. It’s a big part of it. But it’s also you know, processing a lot at times. So if you are in a funk right now, just know the ACU. But while I’m here, feeling like I’m kind of coming out on the other side of that funk, I’m still processing a lot. But there is hope. So just know that if you’re in a funk at the end of the school year, it’s okay, you’re you’re going to get through it. Okay, so I am so excited to have Theresa on the show today, we are talking all about gamification in the classroom and how escape rooms can help you do that in your own classroom. Or even with your kids at home, I asked her like, hey, well, does this work for our homeschool mamas who listen, and she actually does one with her own kids too. So we’re mostly talking about using them in the classroom. But you can definitely apply all this if you’re doing it at home too. And I’m really excited to talk about these escape games with her. And I got to see a little bit of her journey doing this just because Theresa and I were actually friends, we live close, we met through Teachers Pay Teachers, but we connected because we’re both teacher authors who live in Utah. And we actually found we live really close to each other. So we’ve connected and it’s a lot of fun. She is incredible. So we got to see a little bit of her journey of her like trying to figure out these escape rooms and everything. But we got to kind of hear the full story today, which is really exciting. And if you love what you hear from her today, be sure to join us educate and rejuvenate where she’s going to dive even more into escape games and kind of the benefits and even more about how you can incorporate them and kind of more visuals and how you can really understand how to do it. And she’ll be there to answer your questions too. So it’s going to be a great time, be sure to go to educate and rejuvenate.com. And you’ll be able to join us. And I’ve really enjoyed interviewing These speakers each week leading up to the event. As you see we have such a wide variety of incredible speakers who are coming in. And if you go to the event page where you can learn more about the event, you’ll see even more of the incredible speakers we have it couldn’t even bring them all on the podcast just because we have so many amazing speakers and you get to kind of choose your own adventure like which sessions apply to your needs. You can kind of come to the event and be like, This is what I need to get out of it and you can pick the sessions that are the topics that you are the most interested in. And so we’re really excited for you to be able to come to this event and it’s been a lot of work, but it’s so worth it for us because we love putting these together and helping you feel rejuvenated and like that teaching fire under you, again make you feel excited about it. So that’s what it’s all about. Okay, but let’s get into today’s interview. So let me tell you a little bit about Theresa before we dive in. So Teresa Quan is a former teacher turned teacher, author, business owner, she graduated from the University of Utah in 2009, with a degree in elementary education. After graduation, she taught sixth grade and an elementary school for five years. Along the way, she found TPT and started dabbling in product creation. She now creates full time and specializes in gamification in the classroom and products like escape rooms and game shows with PowerPoint and Google Slides. And one thing we didn’t mention in this is she actually has the tech endorsement. So she’s really good at figuring out the tech and all that. And she’s incorporated that into her escape games, too. So I’m really excited for you to hear from her today. So let’s dive into the interview. Hi, Teresa. I’m so excited to have you on the show today.

Teresa

Yes, I’m so excited. This is gonna be great. Thanks for inviting me.

Kelsey

Yeah, I’m really excited to have Theresa on today. So Theresa and I were actually good friends. Like we went out to lunch recently. Although it had been like a couple years, it had been too long to only live five minutes away from each other. I know

Kelsey

what is up, but that was like COVID. Like, oh, but then like, you know, it’s 2023 now and time just goes by so crazy. Okay, so I’m just really excited to have you on though because not only are we friends, but also you are an amazing TPT author and blogger and resource creator. And you were kind of like the Pioneer, I would say I guess with the escape games in the classroom. So super fun.

Teresa

I like to think of myself that way. Thank you. That’s very,

Kelsey

I mean, that’s how I think of it. Like I don’t remember anybody who did it. Like when you did it, it was like it was a brand new, amazing, incredible thing. And people were like, Whoa, what is this? So it’s super cool. But first of all, it’s like kind of rewind a little bit. So tell me a little bit about like your background and teaching. And then eventually how that led you to get started doing what you do now.

Teresa

So I always wanted to be a teacher, I think a lot of teachers feel that way. So I went to the University of Utah, and I graduated in 2009, with my degree in elementary education. And I actually got my first teaching job and sixth grade, but it was an elementary school. So I taught there for five years, absolutely loved it. For the longest time, I thought I wanted to teach kindergarten. But I was given this opportunity to student teach in fifth grade, and I just fell in love with upper elementary students. So that’s where I ended up. And then when I started having kids, I wanted to find a way where I could be home more. And so that’s kind of what led me to TPT and being a teacher author, and I just kind of gone down that path now.

Kelsey

Yeah, that’s super fun. So did you like, were you like doing TPT while you were in the classroom? Or did you like transition to that? Like, how did that work?

Teresa

So I started doing TPT, it was 2013. And I stopped teaching in 2014. So I did start using or doing TPT in 2013. But it was brand new, I had never heard of TPT before, I was at a science conference and a teacher brought it up that he had made $50 a month on this website. And it’s enough for him to like buy a new outfit every month. And I was so impressed. And I was like, I want to do that. And I looked into it and I started creating my resources for my classroom and my first resources were actually language arts centers. And so I created those for my classroom and put those on TPT. And that’s how I got started.

Kelsey

That’s super fun. And yeah, it shows that like you were in the classroom, you were doing it, you start making these resources and and teachers love them. So that’s great. But now kind of one of the big things you’re known for I know you have like your centers, you have lots of amazing things are the escape game. So what and if we’re kind of not even just talking about your resources, but just in general, like what are escape games, and how do they work in the classroom?

Teresa

Oh, Escape Rooms are so much fun. I’m sure you’ve heard of one. They have like escape rooms all over where you get a big group of people. And there’s lock boxes and clues and you’re locked in this room. And there’s a time limit and you have to solve all the clues to escape. So it’s similar idea in the classroom, except the teacher is putting it together and think of it like kind of like a scavenger hunt on steroids. Like it’s way more fun. And there’s lots of clues and puzzles and the kids are working together in teams and they don’t really realize they’re learning or reviewing standards because they’re working together and having such a fun time solving all the puzzles and using all the secret to coders. So Escape Rooms are just a way to bring gamification into your classroom.

Kelsey

That’s all So speaking of gamification is like what is gamification in the classroom. signification is just

Teresa

taking your lessons taking what you’re doing in your daily teaching life. And adding game components, whether that’s competing, the students are competing against each other for points, or whether there’s different teams, and they’re trying to solve puzzles, or just adding a little bit more fun into your lessons. And I know sometimes that can be scary for teachers, because they think, Oh, my gosh, this is so fun, are we even learning, but school can be and should be both fun and educational. And you don’t have to have gamification all day every day. But it is fun to add it added in throughout your lessons throughout the month for maybe it’s for a special review before a test or right now, if you’re doing end of the year test prep, that’s a great time to add gamification to help review different topics you’ve learned throughout the year.

Kelsey

Yeah, I like how you mentioned that like, just find a way where it works for you to fit it in because like teachers can get well I can’t do this all the time, or this sounds really overwhelming. They don’t know where to start. So I think it’s good to just wait okay, you don’t have to do all the time. You can just find little ways to do it. Like especially like if you can see your students are kind of maybe their motivation is going down a little bit or they’re like, you know, maybe have a little more energy and like, Okay, I need to find some new way to teach this. That can be a good sign that okay, maybe now’s the time to like try it for a bit but it doesn’t mean that like, you have to do everything that way.

Teresa

Exactly, just make it work for you.

Kelsey

We will get right back to the show in just a moment. But since you’re listening to this episode, I bet you will also love our summer event, educating rejuvenate happening on June 27 and 28th 2023. With your ticket purchase, you’ll get live keynotes with Joe Dombroski, aka Mr. De and Christina coos Mitch to laugh and feel inspired, you would normally pay up to $75. Just to see one of these keynotes, you’ll also get a full speaker lineup with over 70 incredible speakers with a teacher track and apparent track. So you can choose your own adventure. And these sessions are pre recorded to do on your own time, you’ll have 10 full days to enjoy the pre recorded sessions with a general admission ticket, so you don’t need to feel rushed. You’ll also get live live coaching with me and certified coach Christine Nichols, we have both been certified by the Life Coach School, so you’ll know you’re in good hands, you’ll also get a separate workout with Brianna Smith, the co founder of stomach fitness, and a yoga slash meditation with Lizzie Langston, from the postpartum coach to jumpstart each day, you’ll also get a certificate of completion for the credit hours completed. So you might be able to use this as PD credit. All of this is just $19 it is a total steal. So go to educate and rejuvenate.com to grab your ticket today.

Kelsey

So where did you come up with the idea to start making escape games for teachers? Like I remember when you started doing this, and you told me a little bit about it then but I would like to hear a little more like, where did this idea come from? Because I’ve done an escape room. Like where you go get locked in a room? And you do I’ve done it just one time with my family. And it was so fun. But I never would have thought of like, oh, how do I do this in a classroom? Because this was before that was a thing. It’s a thing now, but it wasn’t when you started. So how did you kind of get started with that?

Teresa

Well, so like you, I have gone to some escape rooms with my husband and our friends. And I thought they were really fun. And then one day, I was talking to my aunt who also happens to be a teacher. And we talked about education all the time. In fact, she’s the one who inspired me to be a teacher. And so we were just talking and I was telling her about my weekend and how I went to an escape room. And she’s the one who was like, I wonder if you could do that in the classroom. Will you make me one for my students. And I was like, okay, like I was working on different like language arts centers. And I totally pivoted, and I just got so excited about it that weekend. And I was like, I’m going to figure out a way to do this. And I just sat down and I spent all weekend figuring out different plans. And in fact, that same template is the same template I use to this day to make my line of cracking the classroom codes. It just kind of was a spur of the moment inspiration, having gone to an escape room. And then having talked to my aunt who’s a teacher.

Kelsey

So cool. And I remember like you talking about you like brainstorming into like to some time for you to like figure out how to make it work. Exactly. It wasn’t like oh, cut and dry. Oh, yeah, I know exactly what to do. You have to kind of play around with it, right? Oh, yeah. Like I

Teresa

printed out every single game. And so I came up with the idea that one weekend and then I spent weeks like figuring out how do I do these clues and where how are we going to hide them and how does it make sense for the teacher so that they can put it together and how can we also make it so it’s student friendly. And can I do it in different grade levels? And so yeah, it took a lot of time but I feel like that helps me understand how a teacher would want to use it as well,

Kelsey

that is so cool. I just love hearing kind of the origin stories of how things got started, because I just find it so fascinating. I bet the teachers are like, they’re thinking, like, I have no idea how to get started doing an escape room, either, you know. So it’s nice that you’ve kind of done some of that prep work. And I know that you mentioned that you have, and we’ll get to that, but you have like a game to share with them, which will be so exciting. But before we get into that, first, let’s just kind of talk about general idea, like they want to do an escape game, how does that work in the classroom.

Teresa

So there are lots of different ways. And in fact, COVID invented even more new ways to do escape rooms in the classroom. So you have what I would call the traditional way, which would be the principal version, where a student or a teacher would print off the different clues. And I like to have them hidden around the classroom, and they’re in different folders or envelopes. And that’s just part of the game and part of the escape, and just makes it more interesting as they’re trying to unlock the clues or open the envelope. So there’s that way where you can do an escape room, then there’s also digital ways to do an escape room, which requires zero prep. And that might be very enticing to a lot of teachers, because it still has that element of teamwork and fun for the students while they’re also reviewing content. And those can be done on Google Forms or Google Slides. There’s lots of different ways. And in fact, I’ve even seen escape rooms where they intermix the two where they have a Google form they have to enter but the teacher has still hidden clues around the classroom. And that just helps lessen the prep because some escape rooms will take some prep to do and so teachers will save them for big end of the year test prep or end, after a test review. You know, they’re not going to do this every single day. But it’s a great way to get that testing and get that review in where you’re gonna get even your most reluctant learners excited about it because they get to be up and moving in the classroom. And so some, that’s just a great way to incorporate it, whether you want it to be principal, or digital.

Kelsey

And the great thing about those like the ones where they do take a little more prep is at least you’ve done a lot of the legwork with that. So like it’s just putting it together like they could put it together while they’re like listening to Taylor Swift or whatever they want to do, right.

Teresa

And one of the best things to do is just to also like laminate it, because then you can use it from year to year. So maybe it took 40 minutes to put this escape room together. But now you have it every year and it’s only going to take you 10 minutes to set it up in your classroom. So it really is like worth the prep if you decide to do a principal version, but I love escape rooms. I’ve done a lot of them with my own children, like I go into their classrooms, and we’ll do them with their teachers and the students just love them and have such a great time.

Kelsey

I love that. And and as you mentioned your own children. This made me think of a follow up question. So we actually do have like homeschool moms who listen and follow as well. And I think you’ve mentioned that you’ve done these just with your own kids at home too. Is that right? Is that possible?

Teresa

Like you can play with just once one student if you want, and obviously makes it fun if they at least have a partner to work it through with it. But I’ve done it with my son because I like to just test him to see how they go. And if he understands the wording that I’m using in the game. And so I’ll make him sit there and do it with me. And we have a great time. But yeah, you can do it by yourself too.

Kelsey

That’s great. So like whether you’re doing it in a classroom, or if you have a big class or a small class, or you’re doing it with like your own, like couple children at home, or just one child, it’s possible. And so how can we get started with these escape games.

Teresa

So I have them on my own website, just Theresa quant.com. And if you wanted to start them, I have a free membership trial where you just pay $1 for the first week, and you can download five full escape rooms of your choice, any files that you want. And so that’s a great way to test them out. But I also have a free trial of one of my games. It’s an entire game. It’s escaping the aliens, I think. But no, that’s a math game. And so it’s entirely free. And I’ll have the link for you, Kelsey that you can share perfect. And it’s a great way to test out how you like how you use an escape room. And if you’d like to use it with your students

Kelsey

That’s awesome. And yeah, I will put all of those links in the show notes. So you can grab that free game completely free or you can do the trial and get five games for just $1 and then see like her membership is awesome. It’s a great deal. So definitely check it out. You’re also speaking at educating, rejuvenate, too. So can you tell us a little bit about what you’ll be sharing there? Yes,

Teresa

I am so excited. So this was kind of like a preview. I’m going to show you and walk through how to use Escape Rooms in your classroom and why you should use them in your classroom and how to do it. So basically, this was just kind of a little introduction, but we’ll go through the different benefits, why you can use them and how it helps students beyond just reviewing content. What else doesn’t escape room teacher students, um, so excited

Kelsey

to hear about that. And I’m sure that all the educating rejuvenate attendees will find that to be a really fun session. I love the wide range of topics that we’re covering, like ways to teach, like language arts or math or like escape games that it’s like not even like subject specific because they know you can do it for like so many different things in the way of like coaching and burnout, like just so many different things. Why do you think our listeners should join us at the event?

Teresa

have put together such an amazing event. Kelsey, then like you said, there’s just a vast array of presenters with so much knowledge, not only do you offer free content, and prizes, and fun, other things to do, but teachers are also learning great ways to teach their students content in creative ways that maybe they haven’t seen before. So I think this event is really special. And I am so excited to be part of it. So thank you.

Kelsey

I’m so glad you were able to join us this year. I know you’re like so busy. And we’re I was just so excited when you were able to come and be a speaker and be part of this event. So we’re really happy to have you. So where can our listeners connect with you online if they’re like, Oh, I liked hearing from Theresa, I want to see more from her.

Teresa

So just on Instagram, I’m Teresa quant. And then also I have my website Teresa quant.com. Those are the two most popular ways to find me. But I also have a Facebook and I just started Tik Tok to I am trying to get into that

Kelsey

I still don’t completely get tick tock but I feel like I get it more as a user than I’m like, What do I need to post on but I guess it’s just like reels but you know, we’re not the young teachers. There’s the younger ones.

Teresa

Too funny.

Kelsey

But it’s okay. Right now

Teresa

it’s totally fine. So you find me on either Instagram or at truce upon.com. And I’d love to connect.

Kelsey

All right, thank you so much for taking the time to be on the show. And we will put all those links in the show notes to where you can do the free escape game, the membership trial and educate and rejuvenate and all of Teresa’s links that she just mentioned. So thanks again for taking the time to be on the show today.

Teresa

Of course. Thanks, Kelsey.

Kelsey

If you enjoyed this podcast, be sure to hit subscribe so you don’t miss an episode. And if you’re ready to take the next step, come grab your ticket to join me educate and rejuvenate the education event of the year on June 27 and 28th 2023. This year we have two incredible live keynotes. Joe Dombrowski, aka Mr. D, and best selling author and video creator Christina Kismet. We have over 60 incredible speakers speaking on topics such as math, language arts, reading, social emotional learning, classroom management, homeschooling, and tackling burnout. We start the day with a workout together each morning. We have panels with the presenters and you’ll even get to join live live coaching with me and even raise your hand if you would like to be coached. Plus, we give away tons of prizes throughout the event to it is the best PD you could ever attend. And all of this is happening from the comfort of your own home. It’s just $19 per ticket and past attendees that said that this is what finally lit a fire under them to enjoy teaching again and that it was well worth every penny go to educate and rejuvenate.com to learn more about the 2023 event or if you’re listening to this later that link will show you what’s up next is we will continue to do events like this. I hope to see you at educate and rejuvenate.