Using Project Based Learning to Engage Third -Fifth Grade Students in Robotics Education

Includes bibliographical references (pages 36-40)The purpose of this graduate project was to examine the engagement of third through fifth grade students using Lego?? robotics as the catalyst in project based learning. Robotics educations has been on the rise in the last 10 years, but in the elementary schools it has been the driving force for many teachers on how to engage students in todays??? technological advances. Using project based learning and Lego?? robotics creates an engaging environment for students and teachers to cover Common Core States Standards along with the Next Generation Science Standards. This project was created to help guide teachers, administrators and after school counselors with the materials and resources needed in order to start a robotics program at their own location

Using remote access laboratories to enhance Queensland pre-service primary teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching technologies education

Education for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is acknowledged as a priority around the world. However, many primary teachers are inadequately prepared for teaching the Australian Curriculum: Technologies because of their limited exposure in their own schooling and teacher preparation. Remote Access Laboratories (RAL) offer hands-on and remote experiments to students and teachers in schools, especially those in remote locations. They also have potential for influencing teachers’ capacity and capability to teach the Technologies curriculum. Bandura’s self-efficacy theory was the theoretical framework for this research, which explored the use of Remote Access Laboratories (RAL) as a vehicle to influence Queensland pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) self-efficacy to teach the Australian Curriculum: Technologies. Mixed methods were used to investigate how engagement with the Remote Access Laboratories for fun, innovation and education (RALfie) project influenced teachers’ self-efficacy for teaching the Technologies curriculum. The Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument-B (STEBI-B) used to measure pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy to teach science was modified to create the Technology Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument (T-TEBI) to measure pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy to teach technologies. The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) was used to measure pre-service teachers’ emotional status. Using pre-test and post-test survey data, the research investigated changes in pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy as measured before and after engagement with RAL. Interviews, PSTs’ comments and reflections were used to investigate factors affecting their self-efficacy in greater depth. The pre-test results of T-TEBI and PANAS (N=119) demonstrated the reliability of the instruments. Comparison of the pre-test and post-test results of T-TEBI and PANAS (N=41) showed that there was no significant difference between PSTs who engaged with the RALfie experience and PSTs who did not engage with the RALfie experience. Subsequently, the individual results for pre-test and post-test comparison were examined to identify interview participants for further analysis using qualitative data to further understand the quantitative data. The themes that emerged from the pilot study and the main study were very similar. A case study approach was used to explore the changes of self-efficacy associated with the RALfie experience for individuals. The qualitative data from this research revealed that PSTs’ self-efficacy can be affected by their engagement with successful experience, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and emotional status in the context of working with RALfie. This study showed that hands-on events were more powerful than remote experiences. Hands-on experiments were concrete and better suited to PSTs who were at a beginning level of robotics. This study also showed that the lack of background knowledge of technology in PSTs’ schooling can cause anxiety, and technical issues occurring while using RALfie can result in frustration

Collaborative Robotics, More Than Just Working in Groups: Effects of Student Collaboration on Learning Motivation, Collaborative Problem Solving, and Science Process Skills in Robotic Activities

Robotics in education has shown the potential to positively benefit student learning and attitudes towards learning. However, a necessary part of robotics instruction is group collaboration. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine what collaborative scaffolds, or interventions, produce positive effects for students working on collaborative robotics projects for science process skills, collaborative problem solving, and motivation. In addition, the study examined the impact students’ prior robotics experience had on science process skills, collaborative problem solving, and motivation. The study had two experience levels, Novice and Experienced, and three intervention conditions. The interventions included Assigned Group Roles, Classroom Discussion, and Previous Instructional Practices, which followed practices from prior years without any additional collaborative supports. All the participants experienced problem-based learning during the collaborative robotics project with collaborative scaffolds based upon their intervention conditions. The goal of the study was to identify what collaboration interventions can best support the collaborative nature of robotics instruction and create a beneficial learning environment for students by supporting student collaboration and possibly improving student motivation, collaborative problem solving, and science process skills. Furthermore, the study sought to identify impacts of different robotics experience levels to fully understand collaborative robotics projects for students as they progress through a continuing robotics curriculum. The results of the study indicated experience level and collaboration interventions can have impacts on students. Assigned Group Roles had positive effects on students’ motivation and collaborative problem solving. Experience level also had effects upon student motivation and collaborative problem solving with the Novice level demonstrating higher outcomes. A collaboration intervention was identified that has the potential to produce positive effects for students in collaborative robotics projects as well as assist classroom educators in the purposeful design of collaborative robotics projects with scientifically based strategies to improve the attitudinal outcomes for students of various robotics experience

A Systematic Review of Studies on Educational Robotics

There has been a steady increase in the number of studies investigating educational robotics and its impact on academic and social skills of young learners. Educational robots are used both in and out of school environments to enhance K–12 students’ interest, engagement, and academic achievement in various fields of STEM education. Some prior studies show evidence for the general benefits of educational robotics as being effective in providing impactful learning experiences. However, there appears to be a need to determine the specific benefits which have been achieved through robotics implementation in K–12 formal and informal learning settings. In this study, we present a systematic review of the literature on K–12 educational robotics. Based on our review process with specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a repeatable method of systematic review, we found 147 studies published from the years 2000 to 2018. We classified these studies under five themes: (1) general effectiveness of educational robotics; (2) students’ learning and transfer skills; (3) creativity and motivation; (4) diversity and broadening participation; and (5) teachers’ professional development. The study outlines the research questions, presents the synthesis of literature, and discusses findings across themes. It also provides guidelines for educators, practitioners, and researchers in areas of educational robotics and STEM education, and presents dimensions of future research

Creating DYOR: Do your own robot an educational robotic toy kit

[EN] This project presents DYOR: an educational robotic toy kit how it helps the school students to get better understanding of the aspects of engineering before they get ready to choose their career. It provides an ideal platform enabling school students understand various elements like science, manufacturing technology, mathematics, design and apply their knowledge in these areas effectively with additional inputs like programming, logical analysis to create solutions for the given task.[ES] Este proyecto presenta DYOR: un kit de juguete robótico educativa cómo ayuda a los estudiantes de la escuela para obtener una mejor comprensión de los aspectos de la ingeniería antes de que se disponen a elegir su carrera. Proporciona una plataforma ideal estudiantes de la escuela que permite comprender diversos elementos como la ciencia, la tecnología de fabricación, las matemáticas, el diseño y aplican sus conocimientos en estas áreas eficazmente con entradas adicionales como la programación, análisis lógico para crear soluciones para la tarea encomendada.Singh, H. (2016). Creating DYOR: Do your own robot an educational robotic toy kit. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/67515TFG

Educational Robotics and Computational Thinking in Elementary School Students

This study examined the role of educational robotics in fostering computational thinking in elementary settings, both in classrooms and extracurricular programs. Among growing concerns over K–12 students’ computational thinking deficits, the research evaluated the impact of Lego EV3 and VEX IQ platforms. Data was sourced from lesson plans, student work surveys, and teacher interviews and then subjected to thematic analysis using a qualitative approach. The participants were Texas educators engaged in robotics instruction, even though specific robotics statistics are absent in the Texas Education Agency. Instructional strategies varied from hands-on experiences to translating mathematical concepts into robotic actions. A key finding was robotics’ role in advancing computational and critical thinking skills. Teachers believed that robotics went beyond a mere science, technology, engineering, and mathematics introduction, promoting advanced computational thinking and linking creativity to real-world application. Robotics challenges were seen to enhance students’ computational and critical thinking capabilities. The study drew from constructionism theory, which promotes learning through action and knowledge creation. In conclusion, educational robotics, reinforced by constructionism, is essential for equipping students for a technologically advanced future. Early exposure to robotics equips elementary students with vital 21st-century skills, enhancing their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics preparedness

Robotik destekli programlama eğitiminin problem çözme becerisi, akademik başarı ve motivasyona etkisi

06.03.2018 tarihli ve 30352 sayılı Resmi Gazetede yayımlanan “Yükseköğretim Kanunu İle Bazı Kanun Ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılması Hakkında Kanun” ile 18.06.2018 tarihli “Lisansüstü Tezlerin Elektronik Ortamda Toplanması, Düzenlenmesi ve Erişime Açılmasına İlişkin Yönerge” gereğince tam metin erişime açılmıştır.Bu araştırmanın amacı robotik destekli programlama eğitiminin, öğrencilerin problem çözme becerilerine, akademik başarılarına ve motivasyonlarına etkisini incelemektir. Bu bağlamda, araştırmada nitel verilerle desteklenmiş, nicel araştırma yöntemlerinden ön-test son-test kontrol gruplu yarı deneysel desen kullanılmıştır. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu, Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi, Eğitim Fakültesi, Bilgisayar ve Öğretim Teknolojileri Eğitimi bölümünde eğitimine devam eden, 2016-2017 eğitim öğretim yılı Güz yarıyılı Programlama Dilleri I dersini alan 50 üniversite öğrencisi oluşturmuştur. Çalışma grubu, 25 öğrenci deney ve 25 öğrenci kontrol grubunda olmak üzere seçkisiz (yansız) atama yapılarak gruplara ayrılmışlardır. Deney grubunda, robotik destekli programlama eğitiminde LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 eğitim seti ile ROBOTC programlama dili eğitimi gerçekleştirilmiştir. Kontrol grubunda ise, temel C programlama eğitimi gerçekleştirilmiştir. 8 hafta süren araştırma kapsamında, deney grubuna LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 eğitim seti ile ROBOTC programlama diline yönelik etkinlikleri içeren ders planları oluşturulmuştur. Araştırmanın amacı doğrultusunda veriler, araştırmacı tarafından geliştirilen başarı testi, Keller (1993) tarafından geliştirilen, Acar (2009) tarafından Türkçe'ye uyarlanan Öğretim Materyali Motivasyon Ölçeği, Heppner ve Peterson (1982) ve Heppner (1988) tarafından geliştirilmiş, Şahin, Şahin ve Heppner (1993) tarafından Türkçe'ye uyarlanan Problem Çözme Envanteri, yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme formu ve öğrenci günlükleri vasıtasıyla toplanmıştır. Nitel veriler NVivo 8 yazılımı yardımı ile içerik analizi tekniği kullanılarak çözümlenmiştir. Nicel verilerin analizinde SPSS 22.0 paket programı kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada elde edilen verilerin analizinde kullanılan Mann–Whitney U, Wilcoxon İşaretli Sıralar Testi, iki ortalama farkın önemlilik testi (t-test) ve Kovaryans Analizi (ANCOVA), normallik varsayımlarını karşılama durumlarına göre belirlenmiştir. Yapılan analizlerin ardından etki büyüklüğü hesaplanmış ve elde edilen anlamlı farklılıklar etki büyüklüğü ile yorumlanmıştır. Verilerin analizin tamamlanmasından sonra nitel ve nicel veriler karşılaştırılarak incelenmiş ve tartışılmıştır. Yapılan analiz sonucuna göre, araştırmaya katılan öğrencilerin, son test puanlarına ilişkin problem çözme becerileri düzeylerinde, deney grubu öğrencilerinin, deney öncesi ve deney sonrası puanları arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ve olumlu yönde yükseldiği görülmüştür. Ayrıca, araştırmaya katılan deney grubu öğrencilerinin ön test ve son test puanlarına ilişkin akademik başarı düzeylerinde; kontrol grubu öğrencilerinin ön test ve son test puanlarına ilişkin akademik başarı düzeylerinde; grupların düzeltilmiş akademik başarı son test puanları arasında anlamlı farklılık olduğu belirlenmiştir. Bunun yanında, motivasyon düzeylerine ilişkin deney ve kontrol grupları arasında, deney grubu lehine anlamlı farklılık olduğu bulunmuştur. Nitel verilerin analiz sonuçlarına göre, LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 ile robotik destekli programlama dili eğitiminin merak uyandırıcı, eğlenceli ve zevkli geçtiği; kişisel anlamda verimli ve ilgi çekici olduğu; çağa ayak uydurmak adına güncel bir konu olduğu; konunun anlaşılabilir ve beceri geliştirebilme potansiyeline sahip olduğuna ilişkin olumlu görüşler olduğu belirlenmiştir. Uygulama süreci sonunda, LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 ile robotik destekli programlama dili eğitiminin, bir nesne üzerinde uygulama sonuçlarının görülmesi olanağına sahip olunması ile motivasyonu artıran, problem çözme becerilerini geliştiren, akademik başarıyı artıran, zevkli bir eğitim süreci olduğu belirlenmiştir. Nitel görüşler ile daha önce programlama hakkında bilgi sahibi olmayan öğrencilerdeki önyargı ve başarısız olma korkusu kırılmıştır. Araştırmanın sonunda uygulamaya ve araştırmalara yönelik önerilerde bulunulmuştur.The aim of this study is to study the influence of robotic assisted programming education on students' problem solving skills, academic success and motivation. In this context, supported by qualitative data, pre-test post-test control grouped quasi-experimental design one of quantitative research methods, was used in this research. Study group of the research is composed of 50 university students who continue their education in the department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies in Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University College of Education and who the the programming languages I course during 2016-2017 academic year fall semester. 25 of students were chosen in the experimental group and the 25 of them were added in control group through random assignment. In the experimental group, in the robotic assisted programming learning, robotic programming language education was practised with LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 education set. In the control group, basic C programming education was practised. Within this scope of research that lasted for 8 weeks, lesson plans including the activities of ROBOTC programming language with LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 education set for the experimental group was developed. In the direction of the research objective data was collected by the achievement test developed by the researcher, Education Material Motivation Scale developed by Keller (1993) and adapted for Turkish by Acar (2009), by Problem Solving Inventory developed by Heppner and Peterson (1982) and Heppner (1988) adapted for Turkish by Şahin, Şahin and Heppner (1993) and by semi-structured interview forms and student reflective journals. Qualitative data were analyzed with NVivo 8 software using content analysis technique. In the analysis of the quantitative data SPSS 22.0 package programme was used. Mann-Whitney U, Wilcoxon signed rank test, Independent Sample t-test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) which were used in the analysis of the data collected throughout the research were identified according to their normality assumptions. Following the analysis carried out influence quantity was calculated and significant differences gathered were interpreted as influence quantity. After the completion of data analysis qualitative and quantitative data were studied and discussed comparingly. According to the result of the analysis, problem solving skill levels of the students who took part in the research and pre-experiment and post-experiment grades of the students in the experimental group were statistically high in a meaningful and positive way. Furthermore, it was understood that there was a significant difference in the students' pre-test and post-test scores related to their academic levels in experimental group and also in control group and finally between the groups' corrected academic achievement post-test scores. In addition, there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups regarding the motivation levels in favor of the experimental group. According to analysis results of the qualitative data, there were positive opinions about the robotic assisted programming language with LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 as it was intriguing, entertaing and funny and it was individually efficent and interesting also it was seen as an up-to date issue especially for modernisation, and finally it was stated that the learning tool was understandable and had the potential for developing different skills. At the end of the practice process, it was identified that robotic assisted programming language education with LEGO® Mindstorms EV3 was an entertaining training process which increases motivation, develops problem solving skills, increases academic success especially because it has the possiblity for seeing the results of practice on an object. Thanks to qualitative opinions prejudices and fear of failure of the students who never experienced programming before was broken down. At the end of the research recommendations on research and practice were given

The Effect of Group Interactions and Group Structure on Achievement in Elementary School Robotics Classrooms

Jung and Won\u27s (2018) review of elementary school ER found a lack of understanding of instructional practices for ER with young children. Other researchers have called for further studies into what effective classroom orchestration and interaction look like within ER classrooms (Ioannou & Makridou, 2018; Xia & Zhong, 2019). This study was conducted to understand the effect of group interactions and group structure in terms of gender on achievement in elementary school robotics classes. Knowing the effect that interactions have on students\u27 achievement can help inform instructional practices and pedagogies in educational robotics activities (Kucuk & Sisman, 2017). The study was conducted at a primary school in Nonthaburi, Thailand. The participants included 103 second-grade students (44 male, 59 female). A mixed methods embedded research design was used as a framework to make observations of interactions, conduct a robotics assessment, and analyze the data from the assessment. Cooperative learning (CL), which is the use of instructional small groups to maximize learning (Johnson et al., 1999) was used as a lens for observing student interactions. Group processing, positive interdependence, and promotive interactions are some of the primary elements of CL and used as classifications of student interactions in the robotics classrooms and during the assessment. The robotics assessment consisted of multiple challenges where students were given a score in their skills of generalization, algorithmic thinking, and their Level of Achievement (LoA). The LoA was the sum of all the challenges completed. The mean scores of the students’ assessment results were analyzed using separate one-way ANOVAs to explore the effect of group structure and interaction types on achievement. It was found that the types of interactions in a group can have an effect on achievement depending on the types of robotics challenges. It was also found that gender did not have an effect on the student\u27s LoA during their robotics assessment, but it did have an effect on the types of interactions seen among students. It is recommended that for simpler robotics challenges that utilize basic generalization skills, instructors should try to facilitate promotive interactions within the classroom groups. For more advanced robotics challenges that utilize algorithmic thinking skills, instructors should try to facilitate group processing within their classroom groups

Improving student attitudes towards STEM education by building self-efficacy through robotics education

The United States must grow its science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) trained workforce in order to fill the jobs projected to be in demand. One of the ways in which this can be done is to tap into the vast population of minorities and women who are underrepresented in the STEM fields. The United States has been looking for ways to improve STEM participation in these groups for many years now, through outreach, legislation and innovative academic programs. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact that a robotics education enrichment program had on elementary, predominantly Latinx students in an inner-city public school in Orange County, California. The study was framed using self-efficacy theory to build approach behaviors towards STEM fields within these students. Student attitudes were measured using the S-STEM survey. In addition, field notes about the students, as well as notes from community of practice meetings amongst the co-sponsors were analyzed to see the impact of the enrichment program on students. The S-STEM survey had no statistical change between pre- and post-treatment survey results. In addition, the subgroups of GATE students, EL students and female students were too small to analyze individually. However, the qualitative data showed some positive outcomes for most students

Learning Programming Through Robots: A Mixed-Methods Study on the Effects of Educational Robotics on Programming Comprehension and Motivation of Preservice Teachers

The purpose of this action research was to evaluate the effect educational robotics have on the programming comprehension and motivation of preservice teachers. Computer science is increasingly being integrated into K-8 curricula across the country. However, there are few teachers trained to teach basic computer science concepts. Core subject teachers are being asked to shoulder the load of integrating computer science concepts into their instruction. Educational robotics have gained attention for their potential to aid users with comprehension and motivation while learning to program. This convergent parallel mixed methods research thus investigated (1) the effect of educational robotics on preservice teachers’ comprehension of programming concepts, and (2) how and to what extent that educational robotics influence preservice teachers\u27 motivation related to programming. This study utilized educational robotics to teach preservice teachers (N = 18) programming. Data were obtained through a pretest/posttest Programming Comprehension Assessment, a pre/post Programming Motivation Survey, individual interviews, and field notes. Paired sample t-tests, Wilcoxon signed-ranks tests, and inductive analysis were used to analyze the data. Quantitative data exhibited significant score increases from pretest to posttest, and significant motivation increases from pre-survey to post-survey. Qualitative data revealed five themes; (1) participants perceived that a problem-based robotics curriculum improved their intrinsic motivation toward programming, (2) participants agreed that knowing programming as a skill had advantages as a teacher, (3) participants experienced self-determination toward programming in the face of robotics challenges, (4) participants perceived that the gradually increasing level of difficulty in the robotics curriculum improved their self-efficacy about programming from initially low levels, and (5) participants perceived programming as a viable fit in their future classrooms. The findings of this study indicate that preservice teachers’ comprehension of programming concepts and motivation related to programming can be improved through educational robotics. This research has implications for informing preservice teacher educators integrating programming concepts into their instruction. Recommendations are provided for programming curriculum design