Geometric concepts are fundamental to early geometry education, and developmentally appropriate practices are crucial for teaching them to young children. Robotic coding is an effective tool in many areas of early mathematics and has significant potential in teaching geometric concepts. This study aimed to test the impact of a research-based…

The study aims to compare the effect of a structured versus an unstructured educational robotics (ER) curriculum on (a) the frequency and type of programming errors made by students in block-based programming, (b) their ability to debug a programme, and (c) their engagement in the learning process. The authors' hypothesis is that, in programming…

This study aims to design an authoring system of robots and IoT-based toys for creating a scenario-based interactive learning environment for young English as a Foreign Language learners. This study adopts a design-based research approach to investigate the pedagogical needs, the critical features and usability of such a authoring system. Twelve…

With a growing number of ScratchJr usage, over 19 million users worldwide, we examined the use in the United States of the free ScratchJr programming language, explicitly designed for young children ages 5-7, to learn how to code. Our objective was to explore children's usage of the ScratchJr tablet app at home and school settings. We analyzed…

The purpose of this systematic review was (1) to synthesize findings from studies that provided programming experiences through robotics for children, between the ages of zero and eight, and for pre- or in-service teachers, of early childhood education and (2) to reveal the possible contributions of robotics programming for the integration of…

Digital competence and programming are actively highlighted areas in education worldwide. They are becoming part of curricula all over the world, including the Swedish elementary school curriculum, Children are expected to develop "computational thinking" through programming activities, mainly in mathematics--which are supposed to be…

Educational robotics are commonly present in kindergarten and primary school classrooms, particularly Bee-bot. Its ease of use allows the introduction of computer programming to young children in educational contexts from a science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) perspective. Despite this rise, there are still few…

As computational thinking becomes increasingly important for children to learn, we must develop interfaces that leverage the ways that young children learn to provide opportunities for them to develop these skills. Active Learning Environments with Robotic Tangibles (ALERT) and Robopad, an analogous on-screen virtual spatial programming…

Programming tools are being used in education to teach computer science to children as young as 5 years old. This research aims to explore young children's approaches to programming in two tools with contrasting programming interfaces, ScratchJr and Lightbot, and considers the impact of programming approaches on developing computational thinking.…

Children's television programming frequently uses interactive characters that appear to directly engage the viewers. These characters encourage children to answer questions and perform actions to help the characters solve problems in the televised world. Children readily engage in these interactions; however, it is unclear why they do so. To…

Computer programming is considered an important competence for the development of higher-order thinking in addition to algorithmic problem solving skills. Its horizontal integration throughout all educational levels is considered worthwhile and attracts the attention of researchers. Towards this direction, an exploratory case study is presented…

Teaching computer programming to young children has been considered difficult because of its abstract and complex nature. The objectives of this study are (1) to investigate whether an innovative educational technology tool called Scratch could enable young children to learn abstract knowledge of computer programming while creating multimedia…

This study investigates how young children master, construct and understand intelligent rule-based robot behaviors, focusing on their strategies in gradually meeting the tasks' complexity. The wider aim is to provide a comprehensive map of the kinds of transitions and learning that take place in constructing simple emergent behaviors, particularly…

Electronic Blocks are a new programming environment designed specifically for children aged between 3 and 8 years. These physical, stackable blocks include sensor blocks, action blocks, and logic blocks. By connecting these blocks, children can program a wide variety of structures that interact with one another and the environment. Electronic…

Over time children's educational television has successfully modified programming to incorporate research-based strategies to facilitate learning and engagement during viewing. However, research has been limited on whether these same strategies would work with preschool deaf children viewing videos in American Sign Language. In a descriptive…