Examining Teachers’ Intention to integrate Robotics-based Storytelling Activities in Primary Schools

Abstract


 Though expanding computational thinking to primary school students has become more prevalent, there is a lack of appropriate didactics. Educational robotics offers a possible approach. However, innovations can only find their way into the classroom if teachers find them feasible and meaningful. Thus, appropriate training and further education of teachers are becoming a necessity. This paper reports on investigating professional development for teachers in programming robots by integrating the method of storytelling in their teaching. It draws on the Technology Usage Inventory (TUI) model to explore how an interdisciplinary intervention with programmable robots, combined with the storytelling method “Tell, Draw & Code” can influence the intention to use them in the classroom. Comparing the pre-and post-test and the qualitative data analysis shows a significant increase in positive attitudes towards the use of robots. The learning scenarios produced by the participants show how successful implementation can succeed. These findings highlight the need for teachers to explore, reflect, and experience the potential of new technologies as part of their teacher development to implement innovations sustainably. The quasi-experimental study shows that this problem-based and interdisciplinary didactic setting is particularly well received by teachers because it promotes computational thinking, narrative, and reading skills in primary school students in equal measure, and it can be easily taught and transferred.

Virtual robotics in education: The experience of eighth grade students in STEM

“…It is important to point out the benefits associated with using virtual robotics in a webmediated learning process that is cited by the participants, including: achieving the desired outcomes related to STEM skills and knowledge; mobility and fixability; more student accessibility; lower costs; reinforcing knowledge through trial and error with no consequences; critical thinking; promoting interpersonal skills; improving team work; and improving problem solving and reasoning skills. These outcomes are also associated with learning with physical robotics, as established by many studies ( Witherspoon et al, 2016;Anwar et al, 2019;González-García et al, 2020;Lamb et al, 2020;Wright et al, 2021;Mistretta, 2022;Tengler and Sabitzer, 2022). The main barriers that were noted were associated with web-mediated cultural norms, lack of interest, and regulations/policies promoting positive practices related to virtual learning with robotics.…”

“…Moreover, many studies have indicated that teaching STEM with robotics might be a successful solution for achieving outcomes that are difficult to achieve through conventional classroom methods (Kopcha et al, 2017;Angeli and Valanides, 2019;Shan et al, 2019). Additionally, cost, flexibility, mobility (Alsoliman, 2018;Hammack and Ivey, 2019;Tengler and Sabitzer, 2022), and, more recently, unpredictable global circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are factors that should be considered when deciding on which STEM teaching methods, facilitated by robotics, should be implemented. Studies have highlighted that virtual robotics can compensate for the lack of physical presence by offering features like mobility, flexibility, and accessibility to all students (Gucwa and Cheng, 2017;Lamb et al, 2020).…”

A scoping review on the relationship between robotics in educational contexts and e-health

“…The teachers can be in service or students preparing to be teachers (Esteve-Mon et al, 2019;Angeli, 2022), mainly in primary school (one case also in kindergarten). The number of subjects involved in the studies varies from 4 and 350, just like the kind of research that can be organized as experimental or quasi-experimental with pre-post tests on computational thinking, digital competencies, algorithmic thinking, and debugging skills (IN-COTIC and CT test in Esteve-Mon et al, 2019, Technology Usage Inventory, TUI in Tengler and Sabitzer, 2022) or according to qualitative or mixed approaches. For example, the study of Chalmers (2018), one of the three most cited among those selected in the review, is structured as multiple case studies on four teachers in Australia whose goal is to examine the perceptions of teachers in the implementation of WeDo 2.0 robot kits in their classrooms.…”

“…The methods are related to using robotics to work on CT; the only interdisciplinary method to teach robotics together with storytelling is Tell, Draw, and Code (Tengler and Sabitzer, 2022). In the papers, together with unplugged activities, we find the use of robots such as Bee-bots, ozobot, mBots, software such as Scratch, and systems such as Makey-Makey and Arduino.…”

Autonomous Robotics Math Curriculum Development Using C Coding Language to Increase Student Attitudes and Learner Outcomes

“…As educators prepare students for college and career readiness, computational thinking skills, including coding and robotics, are being taught in the K12 educational environment. Educational robotics offers a possible approach to introduce computer science education at the primary level as a didactic tool to promote computational thinking (Tengler & Sabitzer, 2022).…”