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

\u3ci\u3eThe Devil and Tom Robot:\u3c/i\u3e The Use of Robotics to Impact Empathy in Secondary Students of American Literature

The purpose of this action research study was to evaluate the effect of a robotics-based intervention on empathy for students enrolled in secondary English and literature courses. Empathy, as a concept, is an integral component of reading comprehension and student motivation. A decline in reported individual levels of empathy among young adults can negatively influence longitudinal academic and career success. Robotics present a promising method in which to impact student learning in K-12 environments. Student manipulation of Wonder Workshop Cue robots in designed challenges was integrated within literature content standards for English III. The outlined study measured the impact of that intervention. The study measured student empathy levels pre- and post-intervention and gathered information related to student perceptions of the intervention. The study used a mixed methods action research approach to impact empathy with a robotics intervention centered around Washington Irving’s contribution to American Romanticism and early American literature. The study featured 13 students enrolled in English III at Sleepy Hollow High School during the fall semester of the 2021-2022 academic year. These students used robotic manipulatives to complete challenges featuring details from the text. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index was issued pre- and post-intervention. A Personal Reflection Survey was issued post-intervention. Behavioral observations and one-on-one interviews were conducted. Quantitative findings indicated that overall scores on the Interpersonal Reactivity Index were significantly impacted. Scores on the subscale of Fantasy were also significantly impacted. Additionally, scores on the Personal Reflection Survey indicated that participants understood the concept of empathy and the purpose of the intervention. Qualitative findings indicated that participants displayed an awareness of struggle during the intervention and responded to the struggle with empathy. Participants also developed an understanding of the robotics as an experience of embodied cognition

Understanding the effect of Robotics as an intervention strategy in a Technical Sciences class

In this study, the use of robotics was explored in a Grade 12 Technical Sciences class, to further understand it as an emerging pedagogy that allows learners to apply creative thinking and produce innovative solutions to problems in Newton’s Second law of motion. The study's conceptual framework was underpinned by constructivism, constructionism and the Cognitive Refinement Instructional Approach (CRIA), which supports the notion that through assimilation and accommodation, Lego Mindstorms robotics tools can be used as manipulatives to develop new knowledge. The learners participating in this mixed-method procedure of enquiry were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 21) that took part in the robotics intervention and a control group (n = 21) that continued with conventional extra classes. It was evident in the qualitative results that learner’s knowledge improved regarding the concepts of acceleration and net force, but misconceptions persisted in the concepts of frictional force and tension force. In the analysis of the quantitative results, the independent-samples t-test showed that there was a significant difference in the post-test scores between the control group (M= 3.19, SD= 1.16) and experimental group (M=4.57, SD= 1.43); t(40)= 3.42, p = 0.001. The study found that robotics does have a significant effect on the academic test scores of Technical Sciences learners than the traditional intervention in Newton’s Second Law. The scientific merit and significance of this study will contribute to teaching methods and learning of science in the technical-academic schooling stream.Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2021.Science, Mathematics and Technology EducationMEdUnrestricte