The Nuts and Bolts of Robotics in K-12 Classrooms: A Literature Synthesis
Tianshi Fu, Molly Hathaway Goldstein, Holly McIlwee Golecki · 2020 ASEE Virtual Annual Conference Content Access Proceedings · 2020
Abstract Robotics have been used in pre-college classrooms as well as out of school environments increasingly over the last two decades as an active learning approach to engaging and challenging students with STEM concepts. Recent studies have taken comprehensive approaches to understand and synthesize benefits of robotics education with respect to 1) general effectiveness of educational robotics; (2) students' learning and transfer skills; (3) creativity and motivation; (4) diversity and broadening participation; and (5) teachers' professional development. This current work in progress aims to take a step back from the clear benefits in order to categorize the different ways that robotics education is presented in and out of the classroom. Results from this study will inform the development of an assessment tool to understand the effectiveness of educational robotics for different contexts with respect to students' learning and transfer skills.