Mapping K-12 Computer Science Teacher’s Interest, Self-Confidence, and Knowledge about the Use of Educational Robotics to Teach

Abstract

This paper reports a case study, developed in K-12 Portuguese Education, that aimed to analyze the computer science teachers’ knowledge, interest, and self-confidence to use educational robotics and other programable objects in classroom activities to teach computer science concepts and to promote students’ computational thinking skills. The research design was organized into a descriptive and exploratory quantitative approach. The participants were 174 in-service computer science teachers of Portuguese public education. The data was gathered from the participants, through the online application of the Robotics Interest Questionnaire scale (RIQ). Very positive levels of teacher’s knowledge, interest, and self-efficacy to use educational robotics for teaching purposes were reported in the study outcomes. These constructs were underlined in several studies as relevant factors to promote the use of educational robotics and other similar technologies by the teachers. Despite the study limitations and the small context, a set of relevant results was highlighted on computer science in-service teachers’ interest and preparation to use robotics and to support their students in learning activities with these artifacts.

Implementation of learning by design in a synchronized online environment to teach educational robotics to inservice teachers

“…Especially when it comes to robotics, studies report that teachers have insufficient knowledge to incorporate robotics into their classroom teaching (Benitti & Spolaor, 2017;Mataric et al, 2007). Dorotea et al (2021) showed that knowledge and self-confidence are indicators of effective application of educational robotics by inservice teachers to improve their use in students' learning activities. Because a lack of content knowledge or experience in applying robotics projects may be correlated with low self-efficacy and lack of confidence in teaching with robotics (Piedade, 2021), our primary goal in the present study focused on teacher training, to first help teachers to gain content and pedagogical knowledge.…”

“…This finding echoes the results of Piedade (2021) in that teachers' content knowledge and confidence in the knowledge of robotics and teaching with robotics are all correlated dimensions. Especially in STEM disciplines, subject content knowledge in combination with higher teacher self-efficacy and confidence levels is crucial for the successful implementation of educational robotics activities in the classrooms (Dorotea et al, 2021;Schina et al, 2021).…”

“…Educational robotics, when combined with sound pedagogical approaches, promotes students' thinking skills and knowledge through problem-solving tasks (Dorotea et al, 2021). Since it is generally teachers who design learning activities to promote their students' target skill sets and content knowledge, it is imperative to establish practical guidelines derived from an instructional design model that promotes teachers' development of knowledge in robotics, higher-order thinking skills, and meta-level reflective thoughts to support their instructional decisions (Han et al, 2019;Noh & Lee, 2020).…”

“…Further, while online instruction has historically offered efficient and convenient ways to access learning regardless of learners' geographical location or timescale (Regmi & Jones, 2020), there is a shortage of research on delivering robotics instruction online. Teachers who are not familiar with robotics lack prior knowledge and self-confidence about integrating robotics in teaching activities (Dorotea et al, 2021). To adequately support and prepare teachers to integrate robotics in pedagogical contexts, it is essential that teacher training programs expose teachers to effective and feasible robotics problem-solving tasks.…”

The Influence of Robot-Assisted Learning System on Health Literacy and Learning Perception

“…Hence, if information and communication technology can play the role of providing correct health information, it will help fill the gap in health education and enable people to obtain adequate and correct health information and services. Furthermore, scholars consider that robots have great potential as a learning technology and can be applied to various types of educational purpose [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ]. An educational robot has five basic educational applications, i.e., language education, robotics education, teaching assistance, social skill development, and special education, as well as guided learning through feedback [ 9 ].…”