Presenter Profile

Xiaowen Liu

Session Title(s)

Enhancing Active Learning through Gamification: Developing Research Skills with an Escape Room Experience  

Biography

I work at the University of York as an Associate Lecturer in Skills Development. I design, coordinate, and deliver embedded skills provision at both the programme and module level, supporting undergraduate and postgraduate students in developing their academic and communication skills. 

Prior to this, I was a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leeds, where my doctoral project explored how study-abroad students in the UK decode the socio-cultural meanings behind language and negotiate their identities within second language communities. Alongside my research, I taught across multiple BA and MA modules in Education, as well as pre-sessional academic skills courses for students from a range of subject backgrounds. I also have four years’ experience working as an English as a Foreign Language teacher, materials designer, and teacher trainer. 

I have a strong passion for research related to student experience and creative pedagogy in higher education. My previous and current research and scholarship projects cover topics such as: 

• Using escape rooms in the classroom to enhance active learning 

• Study-abroad students’ use of translation software in the classroom 

• Students’ perception of ‘supervisor authority’ in higher education 

• Study-abroad students’ development of second language, identity, and intercultural awareness 

• Techniques to engage students in the classroom 

Last modified: 04/11/2025