Pedagogical Classification of Educational Robots in Pre School Teaching

Abstract

This study aims to create a rubric based on the pedagogical properties of educational robots for preschool students and to determine the level of compliance of educational robot sets. In this sense, the study is considered a first and significant step toward the selection of robots based on pedagogical-driven factors. For this aim, a mixed-method research design was employed. A qualitative method was used to create the rubric items, and the development of the rubric was also supported through a quantitative method by including expert opinions and ensuring the content validity. Furthermore, a descriptive survey model, one of the quantitative designs, was used to examine the suitability of educational robots for preschool education level. As an outcome of this study, a rubric consisting of four dimensions and 28 items, related to the pedagogical features of educational robots in preschool, was created. Widely used educational robots at the preschool level, such as Kidoboto, Lego Wedo, Mbot, Lego Spike, Lego Ev3, Matatalab, was evaluated by experts using the created rubric.