Arts design has been proven to enable designers to have a meaningful learning of STEAM, but research on a checklist for assessing Arts design based on evaluating entries in a STEAM contest is still rare. Therefore, this study developed a checklist for assessing Arts design for evaluating miniature robots in a STEAM contest. Using an example of…

Background: Educational robots are regarded as effective learning tools in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, and educational robotics competitions have become highly popular. Objectives: This study investigated the effects of participation in an educational robotics competition, the World Robot Olympiad, from the…

Rapid advances in science and engineering, and pervasive adoption of resulting technological products, are influencing every aspect of human living and fueling a growing demand for a workforce that is adequately prepared for the emerging occupations in STEM fields. Educating students for success in the modern technology-rich workplace requires…

Robotics competitions boosts the development of STEM education, but gender disparity in this field remains rarely addressed by researchers. This study focused on the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) and tried to explore the gender differences through investigation method. The research questions are as follows: RQ1, what is the tendency of girls'…

Educational robots have been widely used in STEM education because they are operable and programmable. Robotics competitions for primary- and secondary-school students are becoming increasingly popular. The World Robot Olympiad (WRO) is an international robotics competition; each group of participants builds a robot with LEGO based on a challenge…

The lack of participation of girls in programming robotics is well documented in the international literature on the subject. The Inspired Towards Science, Engineering and Technology (I-SET) is a community engagement project that promotes science engagement in predominantly disadvantaged communities. In this paper, we present the findings of an…

This paper presents a competition-based active learning approach that prepares undergraduate students for careers in the drone industry. The competition-based learning (CBL) approach focuses on preparing students for three key drone industry requirements (1) drone assembly, testing, and validation using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) parts, (2)…

Informal STEM education experiences can be invaluable to students as a means of developing their future career goals and career interests. Extracurricular programs in the form of clubs, competitions, teams, and activities provide a platform for these informal education experiences. There are many STEM-focused extracurricular options for students,…

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…

Millions of dollars and countless hours of effort have been invested by school leaders and other stakeholders worldwide seeking to increase students' enthusiasm toward science, technology, engineering, and mathematics through educational robotics competitions. The largest of these competitions is the VEX Robotics Competition (VRC). Little research…

This paper describes a study of students' meaningful learning of the engineering design process during their participation in robotics activities. The population consisted of middle-school students (ages 13-15 years) who participated in the FIRST® LEGO® League competition. The methodology used was qualitative, including observations and…

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…

This paper examines video data of a high school robotics team to explore practices that empower youth from underrepresented groups in engineering to disrupt traditional boundaries around what engineering is and who is considered competent to participate in its practice. We analyze in-the-moment positioning work with a focus on care and maintenance…

Background: Scholars have analyzed the possibilities that robotics-centered learning programs offer, including opportunities for developing collaboratively and engaging in authentic STEM professional practice. This work adds a sociopolitical perspective, explicating a case of a newcomer to a robotics team that elucidates the nuances of…