Abstract:

The psychological interview is an essential resource for any professional in psychology, whatever their field of action. However, a few available resources allow training the skills required for its correct application in a playful environment, where the students can learn from their mistakes to favor the learning process. The present work intended to create a virtual escape game through the Genially® platform. An overarching element of the escape game consisted of going through a series of tests related to the subject contents, which finally gave access to a final test in which the students must use the acquired strategies. The participants were 150 students in the 4th year of the Psychology Graduate Program at the University of Valencia. With the data obtained, descriptive analyzes of each of the missions were carried out considering content difficulty, the liking of the activities, the usefulness for learning, the motivation generated, the attractiveness of the format, and the generation of both pleasant and nasty emotions. The results indicate that the students were satisfied with this tool; it generated positive emotions, and they thought it improved their knowledge acquisition. In conclusion, this methodology encourages student participation in their own learning process, creating a flexible teaching tool that allows the acquisition of useful practical skills for their professional future.

Keywords: educational innovation; learning; motivation; interview; educational game; university student; psychology