Robotics has emerged as a popular interdisciplinary pedagogical approach in the field of education to teach children STEM concepts. By providing playful learning experiences, the use of robots engages children in an active learning process, making it an effective tool to promote their targeted knowledge, skills, and disposition towards STEM,…

Computational thinking, which includes foundation skills such as matching, sequencing and decomposing, is increasingly becoming an educational focus with young children (Strawhacker, Lee, & Bers, 2018). This research focusses primarily on the nature of young children's play with tangible coding technologies (TCTs) and the role of multimodal…

Educational robotics (ER) uses robotic kits as a channel for education and collaborative learning in a play setting. Thanks to adaptability of robots, ER could facilitate inclusion of special-needs children, such as children with Down syndrome (DS), in learning programs. In a previous study, we provided evidence that ER could promote superior…

Taking place within the Science Through Technology-Enhanced Play (STEP) design-based research project, this paper describes how first- and second-grade students use their bodies to imaginatively become microscopic particles inside of a collaborative simulation of state change (e.g., liquid to gas) and within two distinct play spaces: a…