"Look, it's turning!" Factors Affecting Structural and Functional Knowledge Acquistion in an Elementary School Robotics Classroom

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Chan, M., Black, J., Han, I.S., Vitale, J., Xia, Q., Subramanian, M., Du, M. & Kang, S. (2007). "Look, it's turning!" Factors Affecting Structural and Functional Knowledge Acquistion in an Elementary School Robotics Classroom. In C. Montgomerie & J. Seale (Eds.), Proceedings of World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications 2007 (pp. 1626-1631). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.
Retrieved from http://www.editlib.org/p/25589.

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Conference Information

World Conference on Educational Multimedia, Hypermedia and Telecommunications (EDMEDIA) 2007
Vancouver, Canada
June 25, 2007
ISBN 1-880094-62-2
  Craig Montgomerie & Jane Seale
AACE

More Information on EDMEDIA
Table of Contents

Authors

Margaret Chan, John Black, In Sook Han, Jonathan Vitale, Qing Xia, Mathangi Subramanian, Minghua Du, Seokmin Kang, Teachers College, Columbia University, United States

Abstract

The paper presents a study investigating how novices make transitions in understanding and developing appropriate mental models of robotics systems. In the course of a 9-week, after-school robotics club, 13 third and fourth grade students had the opportunity to view, construct, and program robots using Lego robotics. Students' drawings and videotaped responses to discussion questions were used to assess their knowledge of robotics. By comparing students' work from various sessions throughout the course, it was possible to recognize improvements in structural and functional knowledge among students who were highly engaged in programming. Evidence suggested that the process of programming facilitated the integration of various forms of knowledge -imagistic, declarative, and procedural – into working mental models, better enabling these students to design realistic robots, and make analyses and predictions of robot behavior. These findings provide insight into methods for guiding and assessing student development in the robot building process.

Keywords

• Elementary Education
• Students
• Programming
• Robotics

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