Prerequisites, practices, and perceptions to design effective robotics-based lessons
Purvee Chauhan, Vikram Kapila · 2023
The use of educational robotics in the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is attracting increased interest from K-12 educators. Prior research studies have documented myriad positive impacts of robotics-enabled lessons on student learning, motivation, engagement, and STEM career interest. Nonetheless, the mere use of robots in a lesson doesn’t invariably guarantee that all learning activities will lead to positive outcomes; instead, it is paramount to thoughtfully include instructional practices that engender active learning experiences for students. Along with the consideration of instructional practices, it is critical to ensure that the students are well-versed with the relevant prerequisites prior to using robots and perceive robots as legitimate learning tools. Collectively, prerequisites for using robots for learning, instructional practices leading to active learning, and understanding of student perceptions toward robots constitute the three fundamental factors that contribute to making robotics-enabled learning in classrooms successful. This chapter presents three studies that were conducted in middle school classrooms in the northeastern US and that investigated the fundamental factors of prerequisites, practices, and perceptions for designing effective robotics-infused STEM lessons. The outcomes of the studies are accompanied with recommendations that can be employed in classrooms leading to the success of robotics-based learning.