Spanish and Swedish teachers’ perspective of teaching STEM and robotics in preschool – results from the botSTEM project

Abstract

This article describes outcomes from the Erasmus + project botSTEM, involving a theoretical framework for Science, Technology, Engineering & Technology (STEM) and robotics and teaching activities for preschool teachers and teachers educating children 4–8 years old. Spanish and Swedish preschool teachers’ self-efficacy and views of teaching STEM and robotics are presented, using a mixed methodology based on a questionnaire and focus group interviews. The 3-year long project has improved the preschool teachers’ self-efficacy in STEM and robotics teaching, as described in a questionnaire answered by the preschool teachers after the project. Possibilities in STEM and robotics teaching experienced by them include an increase in children’s agency, knowledge and interest, and the obstacles are mainly structural or technical. Robotics teaching also supports children with special needs when interacting with peers. The results from the botSTEM project point to the benefit of supported long-term professional development for STEM and robotics teaching in preschools.

STEM education in early primary years: Teachers’ views and confidence

“…Initially, there is an agreement with research reviews (Margot & Kettler, 2019;Wan et al, 2021), which highlighted positive teachers' beliefs on early exposure to STEM and experimenting handson with materials. Indicatively, the view that young children are curious about STEM topics-phenomena (S13: 99.3% agreement) is in line with earlier research (Fridberg et al, 2022), while the belief on getting ideas from their young students-children for experimental and hands-on tasks (S16: agreement 96.4%) is in accordance with a recent study in Greece (Nikolopoulou, 2022a). The findings are also line with MacDonald et al (2021) with regard to positive views on early exposure to STEM and confidence in facilitating inquiry-based learning activities (mainly) in mathematics and science topics (a smaller percentage expressed confidence for engineering topics).…”

“…According to Swedish and Spanish pre-school teachers, robotics contributes to teachers' planning of STEM teaching, increases children's enthusiasm, and stimulates children's knowledge and agency (Fridberg et al, 2022). Teachers describe the great interest aroused among children for the chosen STEM activities, emphasizing their improvements in their understanding of science, mathematics and robotics concepts.…”

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

“…Still, for the complex multidisciplinary framework, the contributions of Scaradozzi et al (2019) and Fridberg et al (2022) propose studies that link STEM disciplines to educational robotics and, at the same time, help to confirm the close link with learning processes and instructional choices. Choices related, for example, to "two other methodologies, Coding and Tinkering, characterized by a similar hands-on approach.…”

Möjligheter med STEM-undervisning genom robotik i förskolan

“…Nedan presenteras resultatet av tre olika analyser som sammantaget belyser förskollärares undervisningsstrategier i programmeringsaktiviteter med och utan robotar [8], barns och förskollärares kommunikation i undervisningssituationerna [9] och förskollärarnas upplevelser av sin undervisning [10].…”

“…I en tredje studie valde vi att rikta ljuset mot de medverkande förskollärarna i Sverige och Spanien, de två länder där botSTEM-projektet beforskats, och mot deras upplevelser av att jobba med robotik och STEM [10]. För ändamålet besvarade tio förskollärare från Sverige och elva från Spanien en enkät och vi analyserade denna utifrån följande forskningsfråga:…”