The Impact of Participation in VEX Robotics Competition on Middle and High School Students’ Interest in Pursuing STEM Studies and STEM-related Careers

Hendricks, Cher C.; Alemdar, Meltem; Ogletree, Tamra

doi:10.18260/1-2--22069

Cited by 10 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Jackson et al (2019) found that the interest gains following participation in the robotics lessons were the same for both gender and lesson type. However, some mixed or anecdotal evidence has showed the success of robotics programs in influencing girls' engineering perceptions (Hendricks et al, 2012). Moreover, some other findings observations regarding robotics and gender noted that educational robots might contribute to decreasing gender gaps in STEM fields (Diekman et al, 2011;Terry et al, 2011).…”

Section: Moderator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Robots Improve K-12 Students’ Computational Thinking and STEM Attitudes: Systematic Review

Zhang

Luo

Zhu

et al. 2021

Journal of Educational Computing Research

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Due to the interdisciplinary nature of robotics, more and more attention has been paid to its effectiveness in the field of education in recent years. This systematic review evaluated existing studies in improving K-12 students’ computational thinking and STEM attitudes. Research articles published between 2010 and 2019 were collated from major databases according to six criteria, and 17 studies were eligible. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of educational robots in terms of standardized mean differences (SMD) or mean differences (MD) of test scores as outcome measures. The overall effect size was medium (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.23–0.69). Subgroup analysis found that some groups to have better effectiveness. Specifically, the effect of STEM attitudes (SMD = 0.01) was smaller than computational thinking (SMD = 0.48). Educational robots had more significant effect on boys (MD = 0.39) than girls (MD = 0.27). The effect in primary school (SMD = 0.27) was higher than in middle school (SMD = 0.04), and the effect was great on short-term instruction with educational robots (SMD = 0.35). Based on these results, the study makes some recommendations for educators about strengthening the influence of educational robots on STEM attitudes, improving the persistence of their learning effects, and further exploring their application models.

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Section: Moderator Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Robots Improve K-12 Students’ Computational Thinking and STEM Attitudes: Systematic Review

Zhang

Luo

Zhu

et al. 2021

Journal of Educational Computing Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Students are taught how to build and program robotic devices in engaging and hands-on ways and promote learning in a playful environment (Johnson, 2003;Malec, 2001;Yuan et al, 2019). The findings on the impact of robotics/robotic devices in education show that it generates a significant level of students' interest and desire to pursue STEM careers (Chen & Chang, 2018;Hendricks et al, 2012;Nugent et al, 2010). Afari and Khine (2017), in their study exploring the educational use of robotics in schools, concluded that the use of robotics improved students' problem-solving and computational skills.…”

Section: Robotics-based Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Newtonian physics with LEGO EV3 robots: An integrated STEM approach

Addido

Burrows

Walwema

2023

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed

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This paper investigated the effect of using LEGO EV3 robots to teach Newton’s second law with conceptual understanding to a group of 14 to 18-year-olds in an after-school STEM education program. 74 teenagers participated in this research study. A quantitative methods approach involving descriptive analyses, paired-sample t-test, and repeated measures ANOVA were used to answer the research questions. The results showed that the LEGO EV3 robots positively affected participants’ understanding of Newton’s second law of motion and their interest in pursuing STEM education and careers. In addition, the descriptive analyses from the pre- and post-interest questionnaire revealed that participants were more confident and willing to learn with robotic devices after the activity than before. Repeated measures ANOVA analysis indicated that scaffolded programming tasks affected participants’ computational thinking skills. Implications include the purposeful use of LEGO EV3 robotics and potentially other educationally focused programmable devices (e.g., micro:bit, Spheros, Arduinos, etc.).

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“…One way of fostering the development of these CT concepts has been to implement classroom‐based activities using educational robotics, especially in K‐12 STEM education (Chevalier et al, 2020). Since the collaboration between LEGO Group and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab to develop educational robotics, education research has exploded in the number of studies investigating the academic impact of ERs (Alimisis, 2013; Eguchi, 2014; Hendricks et al, 2012; Witherspoon et al, 2016).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimenting with computational thinking for knowledge transfer in engineering robotics

Chichekian,

Trudeau,

Jawhar

et al. 2023

Computer Assisted Learning

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BackgroundDespite its obvious relevance to computer science, computational thinking (CT) is transdisciplinary with the potential of impacting one's analytical ability. Although countless efforts have been invested across K‐12 education, there is a paucity of research at the postsecondary level about the extent to which CT can contribute to sustainable learning outcomes.ObjectivesThe current study examines how a series of Arduino‐based robotics learning activities capture the fuller essence of concepts related to CT.MethodsCollege students (n = 50) completed a series of six robotics learning activities. Think‐alouds, student reflections and performance scores were used to assess students' CT through a robotics challenge in virtual and physical learning environments.Results and ConclusionsStudents verbalized CT concepts related to algorithmic thinking much more than abstraction, problem decomposition and testing and debugging. Students exposed to active learning performed better in a virtual robotics challenge compared to their peers in a traditional‐oriented classroom. Students' scores on the physical robotics challenge increased as a function of the number of references they made to CT concepts during the think‐alouds. It is possible to design pedagogical experiences that tap into various dimensions of CT at incremental levels of complexity through a series of Arduino‐based robotics activities. With the integration of an online simulation, students can visualize and transfer their CT skills between a virtual and physical learning environment, thus leading to more sustainable learning outcomes.

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The Impact of Participation in VEX Robotics Competition on Middle and High School Students’ Interest in Pursuing STEM Studies and STEM-related Careers

Cited by 10 publications

References 2 publications

Educational Robots Improve K-12 Students’ Computational Thinking and STEM Attitudes: Systematic Review

Educational Robots Improve K-12 Students’ Computational Thinking and STEM Attitudes: Systematic Review

Teaching Newtonian physics with LEGO EV3 robots: An integrated STEM approach

Experimenting with computational thinking for knowledge transfer in engineering robotics

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