EDUCATIONAL ROBOTICS AND DEVELOPMENT OF SPATIAL THINKING: A TEACHING EXPERIENCE WITH PRESCHOOL CHILDREN


Published: Jun 14, 2021
Keywords:
Educational robotics spatial skills technology
Σπύρος Κούριας (Spyros Kourias)
Abstract

In this paper we focus on if and how possible is for spatial skills to emerge for preschool children through their engagement in collaborative scenarios of designing and programming the movement of a robot within the context of a teaching experiment.  The children who participated in the teaching experiment were engaged in a series of activities that required collaborative pseudocode synthesis practices. The data we collected is based on field observation diaries, interviews, "flowcharts" created by the children and aimed to systematically capture their overall experience. The data analysis and interpretation lead us to the conclusion that the development of specific spatial skills of preschoolers is possible if they are actively engaged in educational robotics scenarios that provide them access to a variety of mental tools and favor social interaction between children as a basis for knowledge building.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Young Researchers
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Author Biography
Σπύρος Κούριας (Spyros Kourias), University of Thessaly

Phd in Early Childhood Education, Researcher

References
Alimisis, D. (2013). Educational robotics: Open questions and new challenges. Themes in Science and Technology Education, 6(1), 63e71.
Bers, M. U., Ponte, I., Juelich, K., Viera, A., & Schenker, J. (2002). Teachers as designers: Integrating robotics into early childhood education. Information Technology in Childhood Education , 123-145
Bers, M. U. (2008). Blocks to robots: Learning with technology in the early childhood classroom . NY: Teacher's College Press.
Bers, M. U., Flannery, L., Kazakoff, E. R., & Sullivan, A. (2014). Computational thinking and tinkering: Exploration of an early childhood robotics curriculum. Computers and Education, 72, 145e157.
Bruner, J. S. (1985). Vygotsky: A historical and conceptual perspective. Culture, communication, and cognition: Vygotskian perspectives, 21, 34. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Chronaki A. & Kourias, S. (2012). Playing Robots: Doing Mathematics and Doing Gender. Paper for CIEAEM 64 Conference "Mathematics Education and Democracy: learning and teaching practices", Rhodes, Greece, 23-27 July 2012.
Cobb, P., Confrey, J., DiSessa, A., Lehrer, R., & Schauble, L. (2003). Design experiments in educational research. Educational researcher, 32(1), 9-13.
Cole, M., John-Steiner, V., Scribner, S., & Souberman, E. (1978). Mind in society. Mind in society the development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Glasersfeld, E. (Ed.). (2006). Radical constructivism in mathematics education (Vol. 7). Springer Science & Business Media.
Hussain, S., Lindh, J., & Shukur, G. (2006). The effect of LEGO training on pupils' school performance in mathematics, problem solving ability and attitude: Swedish data. In Educational technology and society (Vol. 9, pp. 182e194).
Kazakoff, E. R., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2013). The effect of a classroom-based intensive robotics and programming workshop on sequencing ability in early childhood. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(4), 245e255.
Κόμης, Β. (2004). Εισαγωγή στις εκπαιδευτικές εφαρμογές των Τεχνολογιών της Πληροφορίας και των επικοινωνιών. Αθήνα: Νέων Τεχνολογιών
.
Kress, G. 2010. Multimodality: a social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. London & Νew York: Routledge.
Kumpulainen, K., & Wray, D. (Eds.). (2002). Classroom Interaction and Social Learning. From Theory to Practice. London: Routledge/Falmer.
Mercer, N. (2002). Words and minds: How we use language to think together. Routledge.
Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, Computers and Powerful Ideas. Brighton: Harvest Press
Piaget, J. I., & Inhelder, B. (1967). The Child's Conception of Space. The Child's Conception of Space WW Norton, New York, 9-55.
Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., & Elam, G. (2003). Designing and selecting samples. London: Sage.
Rogoff, B. (1998). Cognition as a collaborative process. In W. Damon (Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 2. Cognition, perception, and language (pp. 679-744). Hoboken, NJ, US: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Φεσάκης Γ., Τασούλα Ε., (2006). "Σχεδιασμός χειριζόμενης μέσω ΗΥ εκπαιδευτικής ρομποτικής διάταξης για την οικοδόμηση μαθηματικών εννοιών και ανάπτυξη δεξιοτήτων αντίληψης χώρου από νήπια", Περιοδικό "Αστρολάβος" της ΕΜΕ, τεύχος 6, Ιούλιος-Δεκέμβριος 2006, σελ.: 33-54
Χρονάκη, Α. (2010). Το "Διδακτικό Πείραμα": Η ποιοτική μελέτη της μαθησιακής διαδικασίας στο πλαίσιο της διδακτικής πράξης. Στο Πουρκός Μ. Α., Δαφέρμος Μ. (επιμ.), Ποιοτική έρευνα στην Ψυχολογία και την Εκπαίδευση. Επιστημολογικά, μεθοδολογικά και ηθικά ζητήματα. Αθήνα: Εκδόσεις Τόπος.
Χρονάκη Α. & Σ. Κούριας (2011). Παιδιά, Ρομπότ και Lego Mindstorms: Καταγράφοντας το ξεκίνημα μιας αλληλεπιδραστικής σχέσης. Στα πρακτικά του 2ου Πανελληνίου Συνεδρίου "Ένταξη και χρήση των ΤΠΕ στην Εκπαιδευτική Διαδικασία". Πάτρα, 28-30 Απριλίου 2011