Background: Although some researchers have applied both cooperation and competition in the practice of robotics education, most of these practices were not systematic, and there was no integration design for intra-group cooperation and inter-group competition. Objectives: The study aims to examine the effects of different coopetition designs on…

Background: Educational robotics (ER) is a means of teaching technology and engineering to students that offers an active learning environment by encouraging them to create meaningful and unique products. ER also gives students the opportunity to work collaboratively. Objectives: In this study, elementary school students' behavioral patterns were…

Finding context, examples, and ample hands-on experimentation is fundamental for understanding complex ideas in subjects such as science and math. Recent popularity of competitive robotics has become a catalyst in the development of DIY and hobby kits. Manufacturers have made available easy to work, re-configurable, and functional, structural…

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived sense of comfort and belonging of girl participants, aged 15-16, engaged within a school-based offering of the Marine Education Advanced Education (MATE) underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) program (MATE-ROV). MATE-ROV is a competition-based educational robotics (ER) program that can…

This paper presents a framework for implementing informal learning events through a multi-modal event. A specific example is provided using the Mars LEGO Robotics challenge during the global pandemic Novel-coronavirus-19 (COVID). Students in grades 4-6 typically develop Lego Mars Rovers and compete in a face-to-face large competition in three…

The international "FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL): Challenge" is a popular educational robotics and STEM competition designed to promote primary and early high school students' STEM interests and careers, and twenty-first century skill development. The "FLL Challenge" currently involves over 318,000 students (aged 9-16 years) in…

Background: Working effectively in teams is an important 21st century skill as well as a fundamental component of the ABET professional competencies. However, successful teamwork is challenging, and empirical studies with adolescents concerning how the collaboration quality of team members is related to team performance are limited.…

This study examining the robotic codings and robotic tournaments from the perspectives of Information Technology (IT) teachers was carried out using the qualitative case study method. In the study, a total of 20 teachers from private schools and state schools were asked for their views. The research data collected from the IT teachers helped…

Background: Robotics competitions are increasingly popular and potentially provide an on-ramp to computer science, which is currently highly gender imbalanced. However, within competitive robotics teams, student participation in programming is not universal. This study gathered surveys from over 500 elementary, middle, and high school robotics…

Educational robotics (ER) combines accessible and age-appropriate building materials, programmable interfaces, and computer coding to teach science and mathematics using the engineering design process. ER has been shown to increase K-12 students' understanding of STEM concepts, and can develop students' self-confidence and interest in STEM. As…

Recognizing the importance of both keeping middle school students engaged and improving their math skills, Baltimore City Public Schools (City Schools) developed a summer school STEM program involving not only math and science instruction but also the experience of building a robot and competing with those robots in a city-wide tournament.…

The POWERTECH contest in Taiwan was established in an attempt to promote inventiveness and technology to elementary school pupils. The POWERTECH contest is designed as a collaborative learning system for project design. Project design is comprised of technical processes, which include the construction of an artifact and improvement of its…

This article describes an after-school program at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf (HMS), the oldest public day school for deaf students in the United States, where almost half of the student body imagined and created bridge and robotic machines. The Deaf Robotics Engineering and Math Team, or the DREAM Team club, included HMS students in…

In this paper, we describe the successful implementation of an afterschool LEGO robotics program for elementary and middle school students that is annually offered by the Whitacre College of Engineering at Texas Tech University. Three events are held on campus: the kickoff, a trial run, and the competition, spread over a period of eight weeks. In…

Robotics competitions for K-12 students are popular, but are students really learning and improving their STEM scores through robotics competitions? If not, why not? If they are, how much more effective is learning through competitions than traditional classes? Is there room for improvement? What is the best robotics competition model to maximize…