The Wheels on the Bot go Round and Round: Robotics Curriculum in Pre-Kindergarten

Abstract

Executive SummaryThis paper qualitatively examines the implementation of an intensive weeklong robotics curriculum in three Pre-Kindergarten classrooms (N=37) at an early childhood STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) focused magnet school in the Harlem area of New York City. Children at the school spent one week participating in computer programming activities using a developmentally appropriate tangible programming language called CHERP, which is specifically designed to program a robot's behaviors. The children used CHERP to program "Robot Recyclers" that they constructed using parts from LEGO ® Education WeDo™ Robotics Construction Sets. The Robot Recyclers were designed to help carry, push, and/or sort recyclable materials found in the classroom. Researchers were participant-observers in the robotics lessons over the course of curriculum implementation. Each lesson was taught by the researchers, with classroom teachers present in order to facilitate classroom management and assist with small group work. A combination of interviews, video, photographs, and classroom observations were used to document the students' experiences. Classroom teachers were also interviewed and asked to complete anonymous pre and post surveys. Results from this study provide preliminary evidence that PreKindergarten children can design, build, and program a robot after just one week of concentrated robotics work. Additionally, results indicate that teachers were able to successfully integrate robotics work into their classrooms that included foundational math and literacy concepts while also engaging children in the arts. However, this study also highlights the difficulties and challenges that must be considered before implementing a robotics curriculum into a PreKindergarten classroom, including opportunities for one-to-one adult assistance during building and programming activities.

Debugging in Programming as a Multimodal Practice in Early Childhood Education Settings

“…The children in our study showed interest in the programming activities and exhibited both patience and willingness to follow the teacher's instructions. This is in line with previous research, which found that preschool children often find programming activities attractive and engaging [3] and something they explore in a playful and curious manner [20].…”

“…When comparing our study with previous research, the studies by Levy and Mouser [19] and Sullivan et al [20] share similar designs. These studies can hence be used as a basis for discussing our results and our study can also to some extent be seen as a replication of their studies.…”

“…They also show how this, for instance, resulted in children making plans and predictable actions in order to make the robots act in a desired way. Sullivan et al [20] show how children can design, build and program robots after a limited time of instruction. This could imply that children are susceptible to more than merely very basic instruction in programming.…”

“…This could imply that children are susceptible to more than merely very basic instruction in programming. Sullivan et al [20] go on to discussing how these results could aid in developing programming instruction, for instance by integrating it with mathematics and using programming for language development.…”

Systematic Review of Research Trends in Robotics Education for Young Children

“…The studies paid attention to the extent to which young children-including preschool and kindergarten children-were able to learn [31,[49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56]. Bers and her colleagues are key scholars in this area.…”