TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of Robotics Training on Children’s Spatial Ability and Attitude Toward STEM
AU - Sisman, Burak
AU - Kucuk, Sevda
AU - Yaman, Yavuz
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit of Istanbul University. Project number: BEK-2017-24541.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Nature B.V.
PY - 2020/4/13
Y1 - 2020/4/13
N2 - Robotics technology has gained significance in educational environments in recent years. Educational robotics provide students with the opportunity to collaborate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) oriented activities. This study aims to examine the effects of robotics training on children’s spatial ability and attitude toward STEM. A one-group pretest–posttest design, a type of pre-experimental design, was used in the study. The participants were 39 elementary school students (34 boys and 5 girls aged 8–12) who participated in a long-term (31 weeks) robotics course. The course had four main learning objectives related to STEM fields: mechanical design, electronics, algorithms, and robotics programming. The spatial visualization and mental rotation tests were used to determine the children’s spatial ability. The STEM attitude scale was used to reveal their attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and related twenty-first century skills. Data were analyzed using t-test and Wilcoxon signed ranks tests. According to the findings, the children’s spatial visualization and mental rotation test scores were significantly increased at the end of the course. Moreover, the children’s attitudes toward STEM were significantly improved. The results showed that educational robotics may improve children’s spatial ability and attitudes toward STEM. The implications of the study were discussed in detail.
AB - Robotics technology has gained significance in educational environments in recent years. Educational robotics provide students with the opportunity to collaborate in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) oriented activities. This study aims to examine the effects of robotics training on children’s spatial ability and attitude toward STEM. A one-group pretest–posttest design, a type of pre-experimental design, was used in the study. The participants were 39 elementary school students (34 boys and 5 girls aged 8–12) who participated in a long-term (31 weeks) robotics course. The course had four main learning objectives related to STEM fields: mechanical design, electronics, algorithms, and robotics programming. The spatial visualization and mental rotation tests were used to determine the children’s spatial ability. The STEM attitude scale was used to reveal their attitudes toward science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and related twenty-first century skills. Data were analyzed using t-test and Wilcoxon signed ranks tests. According to the findings, the children’s spatial visualization and mental rotation test scores were significantly increased at the end of the course. Moreover, the children’s attitudes toward STEM were significantly improved. The results showed that educational robotics may improve children’s spatial ability and attitudes toward STEM. The implications of the study were discussed in detail.
KW - Educational robotics
KW - Interactive learning environments
KW - Secondary education
KW - Spatial thinking
KW - STEM
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85083807687&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s12369-020-00646-9
DO - 10.1007/s12369-020-00646-9
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85083807687
SN - 1875-4791
VL - 13
SP - 379
EP - 389
JO - International journal of social robotics
JF - International journal of social robotics
IS - 2
ER -
