Spatial ability learning through educational robotics

Abstract

Several authors insist on the importance of students' acquisition of spatial abilities and visualization in order to have academic success in areas such as science, technology or engineering. This paper proposes to discuss and analyse the use of educational robotics to develop spatial abilities in 12 year old students. First of all, a course to introduce robotics to 6th grade primary school students was designed. The key intention was to prepare practical and motivating sessions in order to foster the students' involvement in hands-on learning. Hence, during the sessions of the course, challenges were provided for the students, in order to develop their capabilities as proficient problem solvers. The teacher assisted and guided the students, and the students were encouraged to solve the problems by themselves, working in 3-members teams. The main goal of this paper is to discuss and analyse the potential usefulness of educational robotics to develop spatial abilities. To carry out the analysis, students were randomly divided into an experimental group (EG), which participated in the robotics course, and a control group (CG), which did not take part in the robotics course. The extensive existing literature for spatial ability evaluation was analysed and reviewed and a pre-test and a post-test were prepared for use in the research study. Initially, the spatial ability of both EG and CG students was assessed with the pre-test. Then, after finishing the robotics course, the same sets of students were tested with the post-test. An extensive analysis of the results is provided in the paper. Results show that the positive change in spatial ability of the participants in the robotics course (EG) was greater than change evident in the students who did not join the course (CG). The improvement was statistically significant. The results also show that the overall performance of the students depends on the instruments used to evaluate their spatial abilities. Hence, this study manifests clearly the importance of the selection of those instruments.

Systematic Review of Research Trends in Robotics Education for Young Children

“…While engaging in robotics activities, the young children expanded their terminology and employed more complex sentence structures to explain robots' behaviors or explain their ideas. Julià and Antolí compared 6th graders who participated in a 10-week robotics course with ones who did not join the course [47]. Their study showed that the participating children developed statistically more advanced spatial abilities than non-participating children.…”

Categorizing Meaningful Keywords in Young Children’s Robotics Learning by Meta-Analysis

“…Julia and Antoli compared 6th graders who participated in a 10-week robotics course with ones who did not join the course [10]. Their study showed that the participating children developed statistically deeper spatial abilities than nonparticipating children.…”

Perceptions of robotics emulation of human ethics in educational settings: a content analysis

“…In the literature, the consensus is robotic technologies should not be viewed as ordinary tools but as tools to promote the development of innovative ways to enhance the learning environment. Though few studies exist in which educational leaders' perceptions on the role of ethics and the use of robotics are investigated, in the literature educators tend to agree that robotics learners engage in opportunities that enhance critical thinking skills ( Julià and Antolí, 2016). Additionally, educators note the importance of students' adaptation to a technical inspired society.…”