Electricity is an integral part of daily life. Children, like adults, infer the effects of electrical conductivity. They see the illumination of a lightbulb or feel the emission of warmth from an electric stovetop but may not understand the role electrical circuits play. Focusing on the concrete aspects of electrical energy transfer helps improve…

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…

This research was supported within the scope of TÜBITAK-4004 Nature Education and Science Schools Program with Project number 121B899. In this research, it is aimed to evaluate the "Artvin gets Color with Science and Robotics 2" project, which was carried out with 30 secondary school 6th and 7th grade students between 2-8 August 2021…

The perspective that computing and computational thinking (CT) are necessary competencies for the 21st century is increasingly pervasive. Computational concepts and methods--problem solving, designing systems, refining the steps in a process, and tinkering toward creative solutions--are relevant in nearly every discipline, profession, and…

This paper presents findings from an on-going international study (Australia and Finland) of preschool teachers' beliefs and pedagogical practices in the integration of technology to engage young children in learning science. Scarcely used in early childhood education research, this study is framed using Mishra and Koehler's (2006) Technological…

In a kindergarten classroom, exclamations like "Oh no!" may be causes for concern. However, when the students in Mrs. Grabia's classroom shouted "Oh no!" and "Uh oh!" during an engineering-infused 5E lesson, it meant that a persistent little robot had pushed its way out of the fences they had created. It also meant…

In this paper, we propose some of the strategies and methodologies for teaching high-school physics topics through an educational robotics show. This exhibition was part of a set of actions promoted by a Brazilian government program of incentive for teaching activities, whose primary focus is the training of teachers, the improvement of teaching…

Autonomous vehicles are poised to become part of our everyday lives. Scientists are now studying ways to integrate similar robotic technology into living organisms. Insect and rodent cyborgs could one day be used for military intelligence, earthquake rescue operations, and as models for neurological studies. As this technology spreads, we need to…

In order to prepare students to become the next innovators, teachers need to provide real-world challenges that allow children to exercise their innovation muscles. Innovation starts with a problem and innovators work to solve a problem by planning, creating, and testing. The real-world innovation process does not happen on a worksheet, and it…

A wide variety of out-of-school time (OST) programs across the U.S. offer science education opportunities that cover many scientific disciplines and use diverse pedagogical practices (National Research Council [NRC], 2009). However, to improve youth's scientific literacy, OST educators need to "have the disposition and repertoire of practices…

Despite the growing popularity of robotics competitions such as FIRST LEGO League, robotics activities are typically not found in regular K-12 classrooms. We speculate that, among other reasons, limited adoption is due to the lack of empirical evidence demonstrating the effect of robotics activities on curricular goals. This paper presents a mixed…