Educational Robotics in the Stage of Secondary Education: Empirical Study on Motivation and STEM Skills

Abstract

Educational robotics (ER) is increasingly present in secondary education classrooms and has acquired greater projection, especially with the appearance of championships, such as FIRST® LEGO® League. These competitions are based on a globalizing focus of the different areas of the curriculum, therefore, we consider that it directly links with the achievement of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) skills. We present a research study that provides objective data based on the opinions of teachers and students that participated in this championship during the course 2017/2018 about its impact in the learning process. To this end, Spanish students and teachers answered questionnaires to collect their perceptions and assessments just after their participation. The results obtained allow us to conclude that both teachers and students believe this project promotes interest and scientific curiosity, as well as social skills through teamwork.

Developing an Interactive Environment through the Teaching of Mathematics with Small Robots

“…Robotics in education has been implemented in different countries of Europe and America as mentioned in [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11], among others, making the use of educational robotics more and more popular inside and outside the curricula of different educational centers around the world.…”

“…There are many benefits that are obtained in the long term if from the initial stages of primary education students are taught the use of robotics and basic programming so that a better understanding of the contents given in the classroom is achieved [4].…”

Robótica y Proyectos STEAM: Desarrollo de la creatividad en las aulas de Educación Primaria

“…En el marco de nuestra experiencia, hemos concebido la robótica educativa y los proyectos STEAM como un contexto de aprendizaje que promueve un conjunto de desempeños y habilidades directamente relacionados con la creatividad (Aris & Orcos, 2019). Gracias a las creaciones desarrolladas por los estudiantes, han recreado su cotidianeidad a través de simulaciones para resolver problemas en un tiempo y en un espacio determinado para facilitar las formas de vida.…”

The Nuts and Bolts of Robotics in K-12 Classrooms: A Literature Synthesis

“…One of the most common robotics activities in a K-12 context is competition. FIRST LEGO League (FLL) attracted more than 100,000 participants just two years after its inception and has quickly expanded to over 70 countries worldwide [12]. This rapid growth is partly due to the increasing demand for a STEM educated workforce.…”

“…Robotics competitions are believed to foster interest in STEM which can lead students to pursue related professions [15]. This competitive setting fosters a rigorous environment for students to learn various STEM concepts through designing and building robots [11] as well as an opportunity to practice problem-solving and decision-making skills [12]. There are two major groups of robotics competitions: FLL and VEX Robotics Competition.…”