All across Buncombe County Schools educators are finding creative and unique ways to enhance students' learning experiences. James Sapp teaches seventh grade math at Charles D. Owen Middle School. He is just one of the many teachers who work hard to bring hands-on activities to his classroom.
Recently Mr. Sapp took the idea of an escape room challenge and applied it to a math escape box challenge. Students were given a challenge to crack the lock combinations in a certain amount of time to reach their prize. The twist, they had to solve math problems they’ve learned in class to discover the lock combinations.
“I discovered this fun learning activity at a professional development training I attended a while back,” Mr. Sapp said. “When I did the challenge myself I thought it was a lot of fun, and I knew I had to bring this to my students in hopes to make math more fun.”
Students raced against the clock as each group worked together to solve the math problems. Many students said they would love to do this more often, and Mr. Sapp is happy with how successful it turned out to be.
“I have never seen my students more engaged in math than they are while doing this challenge,” he said. “Every unit I plan to bring this activity out to help students practice new content they’ve learned.”