This study aims to analyze how pre-service informatics teachers design learning scenarios with robotics to teach programming fundamentals and to promote computational thinking skills. A descriptive and exploratory case study design was implemented with 26 pre-service informatics teachers. Data were collected from the participants using qualitative…

This article describes an introductory computational thinking (CT) lesson that was implemented into five educational technology classes at a large university in the southern United States. A total of 88 undergraduate and graduate students participated in the lesson. The project was the result of a collaboration between education faculty and a…

The activities of the students during the summer holidays, learning losses or the forgetfulness of the return of the holidays have been discussed in the educational sciences for a long time. However, very little research is being done and has little place in educational policies. This is especially important in applications and continuity courses…

Computational Thinking (CT) is being promoted as "a fundamental skill used by everyone in the world by the middle of the 21st Century" (Wing, 2006). CT has been effectively integrated into history, ELA, mathematics, art, and science courses (Settle, et al., 2012). However, there has been no analogous effort to integrate CT into…

The research is devoted to the actual problem of upgrading the existing model of robotics training in connection with the urgent need for implementing a strategy for training highly qualified specialists in the most demanded and promising sectors of the future, taking into account the requirements of business, society, and the State. The aim of…

This paper presents a vignette of our development of a robot-based app sponsored by the corporation producing the robot. The discussion in this paper begins with the affordances of humanoid robots that enable transformative pedagogical approaches to address children's needs. Next, we present our design case, where we develop a humanoid robot-based…

Engineering career interest, especially that of young women, declines as they approach high-school graduation. We used expectancy-value theory, which emphasizes expectations for success and subjective value of experiences as antecedent factors to choice, as a framework for investigating new 9th grade soft robot design lessons. Compared to…

The provision of new opportunities to maximize learning is a fundamental right for all students. This paper explores the role of digital technology in the provision of educational opportunities for secondary age students who have been diagnosed with an intellectual disability and/or autism spectrum disorder. We describe a learning environment in…

Drawing on data from preschools in Australia and the United States, the authors highlight strategies to help teachers demystify the process of engaging young learners with tangible technologies and showcase how robotic manipulatives serve as catalysts for peer collaboration, socio-emotional development, and creative problem solving.

Contribution: Prior studies on tangible versus graphical user interfaces have reported controversial findings concerning children's preferences. This paper shows that their preference profiles in the domain of introductory programming are associated with gender and age for both interfaces. Background: The relevant literature mainly consists of…

The aim of this study is to evaluate the opinions of the Science and Arts Center (SAC) teachers regarding the in-service training course on "Robotics Education". In regards to this, the teachers were expected to evaluate their thoughts and expectations on the robotic education and how much of their expectations were met at the end of the…

It has often been found that students appreciate hands-on work, and find that they learn more with courses that include a project than those relying solely on conventional lectures and tests. This type of project driven learning is a key component of "Inquiry-based learning" (IBL), which aims at teaching methodology as well as content by…

Social robots are thought to be motivating tools in play tasks with children with autism spectrum disorders. Thirty children with autism were included using a repeated measurements design. It was investigated if the children's interaction with a human differed from the interaction with a social robot during a play task. Also, it was examined if…

This paper explores Computational Thinking (CT) through the experiences and interactions of sixth-grade students as they were engaging in a science lesson utilizing robotics. This robotics unit institutes the shifting from traditional to engaging hands-on activities coupled with CT skills that are exciting, intriguing, and inviting to students.…

Increased trade, commerce and business transactions at the international level are placing a substantial demand upon working professionals and college students who must learn English, the lingua franca of international business, in order to thrive in a competitive global workplace. Learning English as a second language (L2) can be a daunting task…