Despite the proven potential of educational robotics as a learning tool to promote disciplinary and transversal skills needed in 21st-century society, robots are still underused in schools. Teachers’ ...attitudes towards educational robotics play an important role in whether or not robotics is implemented in schools. This study analyses the attitudes of 174 teachers towards educational robotics, differentiating by region, gender, age, school level and disciplines taught. The results show that teachers are interested in educational robotics and that they perceive potential in the use of robots for the development of transversal skills. Some factors that limit the implementation of robotics are the costs, the time needed to prepare the activities and the fact that technologies are massively present in our everyday life and therefore some teachers do not want to bring them into school as well.
Motivated by the recent explosion of interest around Educational Robotics (ER), this paper attempts to re-approach this area by suggesting new ways of thinking and exploring the related concepts. The ...contribution of the paper is fourfold. First, future readers can use this paper as a reference point for exploring the expected learning outcomes of educational robotics. From an exhaustive list of potential learning gains, we propose a set of six learning outcomes that can offer a starting point for a viable model for the design of robotic activities. Second, the paper aims to serve as a survey for the most recent ER platforms. Driven by the growing number of available robotics platforms, we have gathered the most recent ER kits. We also propose a new way to categorize the platforms, free from their manufacturers' vague age boundaries. The proposed categories, including No Code , Basic Code , and Advanced Code , are derived from the prior knowledge and the programming skills that a student needs to use them efficiently. Third, as the number of ER competitions, and tournaments increases in parallel with ER platforms' increase, the paper presents and analyses the most popular robotic events. Robotics competitions encourage participants to develop and showcase their skills while promoting specific learning outcomes. The paper aims to provide an overview of those structures and discuss their efficacy. Finally, the paper explores the educational aspects of the presented ER competitions and their correlation with the six proposed learning outcomes. This raises the question of which primary features compose a competition and achieve its' pedagogical goals. This paper is the first study that correlates potential learning gains with ER competitions to the best of our knowledge.
•A way for extracting mathematical thinking skills in educational robotics activities is suggested.•Various strategies were addressed in specialization and generalization dimensions of mathematical ...thinking skills.•Robotics problems are considered as non-routine problems for mathematical thinking skills.•The robotics features used for mathematical thinking were revealed.
This study aims to determine how mathematical thinking skills are exhibited in educational robotics activities. In the study, activities with Lego Mindstorms EV3 robot kits were designed and implemented. An exploratory case study is adopted with secondary school students. The data obtained from open-ended questions, observations, and interviews were analyzed by content analysis. The results demonstrated various strategies in specializations and generalizations in terms of mathematical thinking skills while solving robotics problems. In this framework, "noticing symmetry", "finding a relationship between angle and direction of rotation", "noticing obtuse angles, acute angles”, and “noticing the change of sign when changing the direction of angles” were found prominent strategies in the specialization dimension. The strategies of "finding solutions compatible with the problem", "using algebraic operations", and "making calculations" were found prominent in the generalization. We hope that the findings of this study will assist in the future design and implementation of the applications of educational robotics activities for mathematical thinking.
This work investigates the development of students’ computational thinking (CT) skills in the context of educational robotics (ER) learning activity. The study employs an appropriate CT model for ...operationalising and exploring students’ CT skills development in two different age groups (15 and 18 years old) and across gender. 164 students of different education levels (Junior high: 89; High vocational: 75) engaged in ER learning activities (2 hours per week, 11 weeks totally) and their CT skills were evaluated at different phases during the activity, using different modality (written and oral) assessment tools. The results suggest that: (a) students reach eventually the same level of CT skills development independent of their age and gender, (b) CT skills in most cases need time to fully develop (students’ scores improve significantly towards the end of the activity), (c) age and gender relevant differences appear when analysing students’ score in the various specific dimensions of the CT skills model, (d) the modality of the skill assessment instrument may have an impact on students’ performance, (e) girls appear in many situations to need more training time to reach the same skill level compared to boys.
•Students reach the same level of Computational Thinking (CT) skills development independent of their age and gender.•Computational Thinking skills in most cases need time to fully develop (students’ scores improve significantly towards the end of the activity).•Girls appear in many situations to need more training time to reach the same skill level compared to boys.•The different modality (written and oral) of the CT skill assessment instrument may have an impact on students’ performance.
We expect children to learn new words, skills, and ideas from various technologies. When learning from humans, children prefer people who are reliable and trustworthy, yet children also forgive ...people's occasional mistakes. Are the dynamics of children learning from technologies, which can also be unreliable, similar to learning from humans? We tackle this question by focusing on early childhood, an age at which children are expected to master foundational academic skills. In this project, 168 4–7-year-old children (Study 1) and 168 adults (Study 2) played a word-guessing game with either a human or robot. The partner first gave a sequence of correct answers, but then followed this with a sequence of wrong answers, with a reaction following each one. Reactions varied by condition, either expressing an accident, an accident marked with an apology, or an unhelpful intention. We found that older children were less trusting than both younger children and adults and were even more skeptical after errors. Trust decreased most rapidly when errors were intentional, but only children (and especially older children) outright rejected help from intentionally unhelpful partners. As an exception to this general trend, older children maintained their trust for longer when a robot (but not a human) apologized for its mistake. Our work suggests that educational technology design cannot be one size fits all but rather must account for developmental changes in children's learning goals.
The study examined the effects of learning with the Bee-Bot on young boys' and girls' computational thinking within the context of two scaffolding techniques. The study reports statistically ...significant learning gains between the initial and final assessment of children's computational thinking skills. Also, according to the findings, while both boys and girls benefited from the scaffolding techniques, a statistically significant interaction effect was detected between gender and scaffolding strategy showing that boys benefited more from the individualistic, kinesthetic, spatially-oriented, and manipulative-based activity with the cards, while girls benefited more from the collaborative writing activity. In regards to the children's problem-solving strategies during debugging, the results showed that the majority of them used decomposition as a strategy to deal with the complexity of the task. These results are important, because they show that children at this very young age are able to cope with the complexity of a learning task by decomposing it into a number of subtasks that are easier for them to tackle. The research contributes to the body of knowledge about the teaching of computational thinking. In addition, the study has practical significance for curriculum developers, instructional leaders, and classroom teachers, as they can use the results of this study to design curricula and classroom activities with a focus on the broader set of computational thinking skills, and not only coding.
•The study examined the effects of learning with the Bee-Bot on computational thinking.•A gender-friendly learning environment was designed.•An interaction effect was found between gender and scaffolding strategy.•Young children used decomposition as a problem-solving strategy during debugging.
We report a research project with a purpose of helping teachers learn how to design and implement science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) lessons using robotics. Specifically, ...pre-service teachers' STEM engagement, learning, and teaching via robotics were investigated in an elementary teacher preparation course. Data were collected from surveys, classroom observations, interviews, and lesson plans. Both quantitative and qualitative data analyses indicated that pre-service teachers engaged in robotics activities actively and mindfully. Their STEM engagement improved overall. Their emotional engagement (e.g., interest, enjoyment) in STEM significantly improved and in turn influenced their behavioral and cognitive engagement in STEM. Their lesson designs showed their STEM teaching was developing in productive directions although further work was needed. These findings suggest that robotics can be used as a technology in activities designed to enhance teachers' STEM engagement and teaching through improved attitudes toward STEM. Future research and teacher education recommendations are also presented.
•The preparation of elementary teachers to teach STEM via robotics was studied.•Integrative STEM education was highlighted.•The lens of engagement theory was used to examine teacher learning and performance.•Productive struggles while learning to program were showcased.•The potential of robotics to enhance teachers' STEM engagement and teaching is discussed.
Educational Robotics (ER) is known for its effects on academic achievement and scientific concepts. Few studies have demonstrated ER effects on cognitive skills and no evidence exists on the role of ...ER in promoting Executive Functions, key elements in early school readiness and cognitive milestone achievements. The aim of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, the short-term effects in Preschool children of an intensive ER training on Executive Functions. A sample of 12 children (age range: 5–6 years) took part to an intensive ER-Lab for 13 sessions (6 weeks) by using a bee-shaped robot, called Bee-Bot®. The children were tested three times (baseline, pre and post ER-Lab) with a neuropsychological battery. The main finding was a significant improvement in both visuo-spatial working memory and inhibition skills after the ER-Lab period, with a significant effect also on robot programming skills. These data provide scientific support to the hypothesis that ER is suitable in progressively improving abilities in planning and controlling complex tasks in early childhood, fostering executive functions development.
•Educational Robotics (ER) benefits on Executive Functions in preschool children.•Intensive ER training may improve working memory and inhibition skills.•This study integrates ER within a theoretical framework of cognitive development.
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