The Effect of Educational Robotic Applications on Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis Study

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the experimental studies regarding the effect of educational robotic applications on academic achievement by the meta-analysis method. Within the scope of the research, the studies carried out on educational robotic applications were scanned from national and international databases and selected according to inclusion criteria. The sample of the study consisted of 2606 participants with 1300 in the experimental group and 1306 in the control group. In the study, the effect size values and combined effect size of each study included in the meta-analysis were calculated by using CMA. As a result of the study, it has been found that educational robotic applications have a positive and low level effect on academic achievement according to the random effects model. As a result of the analyzes conducted to reveal the publication bias status of the study, it has been found that there is no publication bias in the meta-analysis study. In addition, it has been found that the effect size of educational robotic applications on academic achievement does not change depending on the subject area and duration of application but changes depending on the sample size. In the other studies to be conducted, the effectiveness of the students in different variables such as computational thinking skills, problem solving skills, attitude, motivation, and anxiety levels can be examined in addition to the variables studied.

The effectiveness of using educational robots in enhancing engineering mathematics skills among students in basic school

“…It was discovered how well using educational robots can improve the mathematical and engineering skills of elementary school children. According to this study, the employment of educational robots in the classroom had a positive impact on students' engineering mathematics skills (Talan, 2021) and the results regarding the integration of educational robotics into math lessons corroborate previous studies. The data obtained shows how employing instructional robots can help students to strengthen their mathematical and engineering skills while also advancing the field of instructional robotics with a beneficial new technique.…”

“…Additionally, students' dexterity improved, and the course was made more engaging by permitting the use of rich and readily available material, so the students were able to learn while having fun, which increased their learning (Lopez-Caudana et al, 2020;Negrini et al, 2023). However, other studies, such as Çakır, Korkmaz, İdil, and Erdoğmuş (2021) and Talan (2021) suggest that the engineering and mathematical skills of educational robots have not significantly improved, or have not significantly differed from other studies. Overall, the results of the study show a significant relationship between the students' engineering mathematics skills and demonstrate that learning with the educational robot greatly improved their skills in critical and analytical thinking, the ability to represent geometric shapes using equations, applying geometric transformations to modify and manipulate shapes and objects, applying mathematical skills to real-life geometric problems, developing problem-solving skills in geometry through training and practical application, and understanding counting, addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.…”

“…Since sophisticated educational robots have only been accessible since the 1980s, using robots as teaching aids in the classroom is a relatively new area of study. There are very few studies that investigate the use of educational robots as a teaching aid for mathematics (Lopez-Caudana et al, 2020;Talan, 2021). In most cases, computational thinking, engineering mathematics, motivation and creativity, cooperation and teamwork, and problem-solving are found to be benefits of educational robotics as a tool for teaching mathematics (Evripidou et al, 2020;Leoste & Heidmets, 2019).…”

Impact of Low-Cost Robot EducThermoBot vs. EXAO on Students' Motivation and Learning in Physical Sciences in Morocco

“…These results are consistent with previous studies that have found similar conclusions about the impact of educational robotics on students' performance. For example, a meta-analysis conducted by Talan [39] examined the effects of educational robotics in STEM fields and found that it improves students' problem-solving and critical thinking skills but does not have a significant effect on academic scores. Similarly, another study by Ferrarelli and Iocchi [40] on the integration of educational robotics in a science course showed that while students improved their understanding of physical concepts through robotics, this improvement was not significantly different from the control group.…”

Educational Robotics for Special Needs Students: Teachers’ Perspectives on Pre-service TrainingEducational Robotics for Special Needs Students: Teachers’ Perspectives on Pre-service Training

“…Several studies have documented the usefulness and effectiveness of ER in the education of typical students in general (Benitti, 2012;Mubin et al, 2013;Beltrametti et al, 2017;Athanasiou et al, 2018;Talan, 2021), but only a few have already explored the use of ER with special needs students (Damiani et al, 2013;Businaro et al, 2014;Agatolio et al, 2016). ER can be utilised as a tool to promote individual development, creativity, teamwork, and communication, as well as problem-solving and computational reasoning (Kandlhofer & Steinbauer, 2016;Rubinacci et al, 2017).…”