Educational Robotics and Computer Programming in Early Childhood Education: A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Elementary School Students’ Computational Thinking for Designing Powerful Educational Scenarios

Abstract

The researcher sought to synthesize data from studies on robotics programming experiences for children in the age bracket zero to eight, as well as for pre- and in-service early childhood educators, to identify possible contributions that robotics programming may make to teaching and learning of STEM (sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics) subjects. The investigation was initiated with inclusion of research articles as a result of search and assessment processes. All of these studies were selected such that they had the application of educational robotics in common. The synthesis of preliminary findings, study subjects, and potential advantages of educational robots in STEM education, especially in engineering and technology are discussed and dealt with in great detail. Additionally, the implications of educational robotics and robotics programming for educational institutions, curricular materials, and pedagogical techniques are incisively addressed. This review revealed that employing robots to teach computer programming may be a promising teaching tool for early childhood STEM education.