Background: Although human-robotic interaction is a rapidly burgeoning area of study within education, and social robots are being widely tested for use in schools, few studies have focused on early adolescent interactions with robots under actual classroom conditions. Objectives: We introduced an autonomous, social robot ('Pepper') into a…

To broaden participation in robotics education, a free, after-school robotics program has been designed and developed at a public university. As part of a longitudinal study, this paper reports the first iteration of the program, offered to 12 students from Grades 3 through 7 in spring 2022. Three preservice teachers were trained as…

This study was an action research analysis of a competitive, after-school robotics program in the Woodland Hills School District. A longitudinal quantitative analysis was used to measure the effects of the after-school program on academic achievement and student engagement in school. Grade Point Average was measured before the program began and…

Emerging technologies in the classroom are paving the way towards high-quality, hands-on distance learning. Augmented Reality (AR), which overlays virtual information into the physical world, provides a promising solution for the development and delivery of collaborative educational content. Frameworks such as ARkit, ARCore, have enabled AR…

This study set out to examine the effectiveness of Robotics and Weblog models in improving English as a foreign language (EFL) proficiency of terminal middle and secondary school graders. Another purpose is to suggest pedagogies required to integrate Robotics and Weblog models in the EFL curriculum and instruction. We collected data using the…

We recommend the conceptualization of computing as a critical literacy, and ground this conceptualization in considerations of historical and current realities in computing. The frameworks of connected learning and computational participation are recommended as guides for "doing" critical computing literacy. We present the findings from…

One result of the growing concerns over the numbers of young people moving into science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-related careers has been the expansion of formal and informal STEM education programming for pre-college youth, from elementary school through high school. While the number of programs has grown rapidly, there is…

This article presents a program evaluation of a six-week middle school pilot program focused on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) enrichment using robotics, specifically VEX Robots™. Two key questions guided this evaluation: (a) Does exposure to robotics influence middle school dispositions about STEM and careers in STEM? and (b)…

This article reports findings from a quasi-experimental study of the impact of a summer robotics program for urban middle-grade students. The study focuses on student engagement, measured by school attendance rate the year following the program. Program students, who were nearly all low-income minority students, were matched to comparison students…

In 2011 Baltimore City Schools submitted a successful proposal for an Investing in Innovations (i3) grant to offer a three year (2012-2014) summer program designed to expose rising sixth through eighth grade students to VEX robotics. The i3-funded Middle School Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Summer Learning Program was…

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.…

Background: Robot-math is a term used to describe mathematics instruction centered on engineering, particularly robotics. This type of instruction seeks first to make the mathematics skills useful for robotics-centered challenges, and then to help students extend (transfer) those skills. A robot-math intervention was designed to target the…

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education curriculum is designed to strengthen students' science and math achievement through project based learning activities. As part of a STEM initiative, SeaPerch was developed at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that instructs…

Attendance is probably the most fundamental behavioral indicator of student engagement with school. Though many students fall off-track to success for the first time in ninth grade, poor attendance patterns often begin increasing in middle school and become worse in high school. Missing school during the secondary grades can often be traced to low…

Multicultural Science has been a topic of research and discourse over the past several years. However, most of the literature concerning this topic (or paradigm) has centered on programs in tribal or Indigenous schools. Under the framework of instructional congruence, this case study explored how elementary and middle school students in a…