The consequences of robotics programming education on computational thinking skills: An intervention of the Young Engineer's Workshop (YEW)

Abstract

The present research is part of the government funded project called Young Engineer's Workshop (YEW), a 2‐week‐long summer camp for youngsters to stimulate their interest in coding, electronics and robotics subjects in particular and STEAM fields in general. The YEW curriculum included basic electronics, block‐based programming and robotics through Scratch and Arduino, and student projects on building robotics systems. This experimental study aimed to investigate the cognitive and affective consequences of YEW on the development of middle and high school students' computational thinking (CT) competences. The research methodology was based on a one‐group pretest–posttest model within a quasi‐experimental design. Participants were 17 students from grades 5–6 and 15 students from grades 9–10 in a southwestern city of Turkey. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through the YEW application form, a scale for CT, a satisfaction questionnaire, and student diaries. The results showed a significant increase on algorithmic and critical thinking factors of CT whereas no significant changes in creativity, cooperation, and problem‐solving factors of CT. Students reported affective gains including high satisfaction and enjoyment of YEW activities, increased interest, and career planning in programming and robotics fields, and improved self‐confidence in robotics project development. In conclusion, the study suggests that teaching programming can be an effective way to foster CT to some extent but not an adequate or complete solution. Educators need to seek more suitable teaching methods for a more comprehensive learning of CT that can be transferable to noncomputing contexts.

Effects of technology‐enhanced learning approaches on learners with different prior learning attitudes and knowledge in computational thinking

“…This could facilitate identifying patterns and accordingly developing reusable solutions in addition to monitoring their solutions [9]. Such reasoning can be supported by results from previous studies reporting an effect of adaptive educational games (e.g., [29]) as well as games that target students' CT (e.g., [34]).…”

“…Even though these learning environments have succeeded in improving learning achievement and learners' motivation in early programming overall, they do not challenge learners enough when it comes to promoting deeper learning [35]. One possible reason is that such environments mostly do not provide students with enough opportunity to engage in the essential thought processes of problem‐solving; in other words, these environments are not properly aligned with the skills of CT, as during the learning process students might get overwhelmed and confused by the syntax of the programming languages used in these environments (e.g., [34]). Learning environments that aim to promote CT should focus more on solving problems through activation of thought processes and meaningful conceptualization, rather than using coding to deliver CT [4,7,24,35].…”

Effective instruction conditions for educational robotics to develop programming ability of K‐12 students: A meta‐analysis

“…At present, ER has become a programming education form that integrates mechanical principles, electronic sensors, computer software and hardware and many other advanced technologies. As an excellent practise platform in the STEM education (science, mathematics, engineering), the specific tools of ER utilized in curriculum include Lego Mindstorm EV3, LEGO WeDo, Bee‐Bot, Arduino and so on (Chen et al, 2018; Yilmaz Ince & Koc, 2020). Also, a variety of hybrid interface (physical environment and visual environment) was developed to satisfy the programming teaching requirement (Qu & Fok, 2021; Relkin et al, 2021).…”

Robotics in Education: A Scientific Mapping of the Literature in Web of Science

“…It can be said that the main purpose of educational robotics is to teach students to design and create a programmable robot [21] capable of performing various actions, including moving, responding to environmental stimuli, or communicating through sound, light, or images [22][23][24]. In addition, the application of robotics in the educational field involves other associated factors in the education of students [25], including contributing to the development of logical thinking, psychomotor skills, and spatial perception of students [26], promoting student autonomy through the development of their own projects [27] and the active involvement of students in the teaching and learning process [28], promoting creativity, research, and understanding oriented toward the computer world [29], generating students' problem-solving skills [30], encouraging the development of students' digital competence [31], associating it with other pedagogical methods, such as project learning, collaborative learning, or cooperative learning [32], and encouraging functional learning given that it generates resources that can be applied in the social environment [33].…”