Exploring Skills Gained Through a Robotics Program for Youth With Disabilities

Abstract

Children with disabilities often have fewer opportunities to engage in science, technology, engineering, and math programs that can enhance their educational and career opportunities. This study explored the quality, experience, and skills learned in a group-based robotics program for youth with disabilities. Survey responses of 23 youth (16 males, 7 females), aged 9 to 14 with a disability, were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Our results showed that youth with disabilities who participated in a robotics program rated the quality of their experience, perceived impact of the program, and skills gained highly across most items. Children enjoyed participating in the program and especially building the robots and making friends. Clinicians should consider engaging children with disabilities in robotics programs to enhance their participation and skill development.

Educational Robotics and Attention to Diversity: A Case Study

“…At present, and specifically, in this Covid-19 situation where technologies have served as totally necessary means, we have been able to verify the need for the insertion of these technological means in all social sectors, so it is at increasingly younger ages, which allow students, regardless of their social, physical or mental condition, to build an educational process according to their characteristics. In this case, we have explained and substantiated how ICTs have become not only a fundamental factor for the promotion and (Cabero-Almenara & Llorente-Cejudo, 2010), but also a great means to support teaching (Sáez & Ruiz, 2014), to the promotion of personal and social development (Lindsay, 2020).…”

“…Over the last 10 years, robotics has undergone constant evolution, awakening great motivation in children in Infant and Primary Education (Llopis, 2017), making it a key element for the development of the educational process in the classroom, since, due to its factors and capacity for adaptation, it provides beneficial advantages. Thus, it improves communication and peer interaction (Pivetti et al, 2020), social problems (Lindsay, 2020), emotional problems (Roberts-Yates & Silvera-Tawil, 2019), motivation (Knight et al, 2019), among others. Authors such as Moorthy and Pugazhenthi (2017) found that the use of the robot improved students' attention.…”

“…There is, therefore, a need for change in the classroom, altering traditional and unidirectional practices towards more alternative ones where educational technology takes on great strength by providing different resources and didactic materials, finding two-way teaching-learning processes and taking into account the diversity of the student body. Robotics as a mediating element for the achievement of learning can be an excellent instrument for the educational inclusion of all students, developing their personal and social environment (Lindsay, 2020). In this line, in this study we analyse the case of an eleven-year-old boy diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and his improved attention span through educational robotics.…”

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

“…Both reported that children enjoyed participating in the training with a robotic presence, despite the experience being different. A study was conducted in a children's rehabilitation hospital with the purpose of a program to help young disabled children in STEM fields by engaging them in a group-based robotics program while also building essential skills (Lindsay, 2020). Results highlight that children agreed that the perceived impact of the program was good, particularly in helping them understand teamwork, solve realworld problems, and gain an interest in science.…”

Using Educational Robotics as a Cognitive Tool for ICT Teachers in an Authentic Learning Environment

“…The use of robots in education at all levels, from kindergarten to higher education, has attracted the attention of many researchers and trainers due to recent developments in hardware and software tools (Alimisis, 2013;Xia & Zhong, 2018). Even though robotics in education have been widely used in STEM/STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics/Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics), it is still in an interdisciplinary position in many other fields and has the potential to be used in different learning areas (Ardito, Czerkawski, & Scollins, 2020;Lindsay, 2020;Zhong & Xia, 2020). According to Eguchi (2010), the most important factor underlying the use of robots in education as a unique learning tool is that it ensures an attractive learning environment by providing practical and entertaining activities based on real life, and thus stimulates the students' interest and curiosity.…”