ERIC Number: EJ1313937
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021-Jul
Pages: 36
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0731-9258
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Qualitative Study Exploring Robots as a Potential Classroom Tool for Teaching Computational Thinking within a Sixth-Grade Class
Munn, Carol
Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, v40 n3 p229-264 Jul 2021
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. The constructionist philosophy, hands-on application learning, addresses social skills like collaboration, communication, and teamwork to provide an authentic, real-world learning experience. CT brings to the classroom exciting and innovative activities that infuse robotics with hands-on application platforms in the science and mathematics curriculum, but the education system has missed a core set of young open-minded eager students at the intermediate school level. With today's vision in education focusing on the 21st-Century learner, CT is emerging as a key component in the skill set necessary for the new generation of learners. CT poses a strong ideology based on problem-solving equally conveying an essential position in cross-curricular classroom activities. This session exposes CT through a study relating experiences and interactions by students when engaging in a science lesson utilizing robots. Focusing on how students engage the CT key concepts of: (1) abstraction; (2) decomposition; (3) pattern recognition; and (4) algorithm when participating in robotics activity.
Descriptors: Robotics, Grade 6, Units of Study, Science Instruction, Educational Philosophy, Constructivism (Learning), Teaching Methods, Instructional Innovation, Computer Science Education, Class Activities, 21st Century Skills, Interdisciplinary Approach, Concept Formation, Pattern Recognition, Thinking Skills, Abstract Reasoning, Decision Making, Coding, Computation, Programming, Computer Software
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. P.O. Box 719, Waynesville, NC 28786. Tel: 828-246-9558; Fax: 828-246-9557; e-mail: info@aace.org; Web site: http://www.aace.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 6; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A