This study aims to create a rubric based on the pedagogical properties of educational robots for pre-school students and determine the compliance level with educational robot sets. In this sense, the study is considered a first and significant step toward selecting robots based on pedagogical-driven factors. For this aim, a mixed-method research…

Coding (or computer programming) helps equip children with an intellectual structure that is valuable for their lifelong learning and development. The proliferation of innovative coding platforms, especially screen-free programmable robotics, has made it possible for coding to be integrated into early childhood education (ECE). However, how the…

This study aims to examine the effect of augmented reality-assisted programming education supported by participatory design on the basic and computational thinking skills of preschoolers. In the study, a pretest-posttest single-group semi-experimental design, which is one of the quantitative research methods, was used. The study group of the…

Background: As one of the mainstream forms of programming education, educational robotics (ER) have been a crucial way to develop K-12 students' programming ability. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to clarify the content of programming ability, to verify the effectiveness of ER as a teaching method to improve students' programming…

Tangible programming tools (TPTs) are promising teaching aids in programming courses due to their interactivity and ability to enhance early childhood students' computational thinking, spatial reasoning, and executive function skills. However, it remains unclear whether TPTs support these skills simultaneously. This study examines the impact of…

This article shows conditions for how an educational digital tool can open doors to an increasingly playful world -- and address some of the issues with introducing digital maths in early childhood education. Guided by a design-based research approach, the multimodal design of the educational app-based game DigiMat was iteratively created by a…

In this study, it was aimed to examine the pre-service pre-school teachers' opinions about using block-based coding/Scratch in education. 28 pre-service pre-school teachers were participated studying at a public university in a Marmara province region. Within the scope of the study, pre-service teachers were trained on the block-based coding…

This study aimed to explain the development stages of an online coding application engine (SIGUN) according to the R2D2 instructional design model to support and develop cultural transfer in social sciences education and popularize the national culture. During the definition phase of R2D2, analyzes of needs, learner, task and content were made. In…

Despite the fact that the sophisticated technologies are a substantial component of children's everyday environment, of the space within which they act, play and learn--the world of complex technological systems (their characteristics, and the knowledge and skills involved in operating, designing and programming them) is almost ignored in the…

While programming was introduced to mathematics classrooms in the 1980s, emerging robotic technologies have encouraged more widespread integration of these technologies to support the development of K-12 students' mathematical reasoning. The recent emphasis of programming and computational thinking in K-12 education has highlighted the need to…

We explored the potential of a robotics application in education as a measurement tool of child executive functioning skills. Sixty-five kindergarteners received assignments to go through a maze with a programmable robot, the Bee-Bot. Via observation we quantified how they solved these tasks. Their performance was successfully aggregated into a…

The availability of digital tablets in preschools has increased significantly in recent years. Literature suggests that these tools can enhance students' literacy and collaborative skills. As society becomes increasingly digitized, preschool curriculum reform also emphasises the subjects of technology and science as priority areas of learning.…

This study, a sub-study of a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded research project, applies a modified strategy of the U[superscript 2]MC for an eight-week afterschool robotics curriculum to promote upper elementary students' computational thinking in the second grade. Twenty-one students in second grade participated in a Life on Mars project…

This study examined what factors might have a positive impact on students' learning outcomes in mathematical understanding and computational thinking skills. Specifically, whether the proposed instructional design combining computational perspectives and an embodied approach in mathematics learning improves (a) mathematics learning, (b)…

This mixed methods study examined how engagement in robotics and game design influenced students' self-efficacy, STEM attitudes, and computational thinking (CT) skills. Predominantly African-American students engaged in engineering and computer science tasks during informal learning environments. Results revealed students' self-efficacy scores on…