Programming an educational robot with 5-6 year-old children

Abstract

Computational Thinking is currently being introduced into formal education in many European countries. This has stimulated research on how to introduce computational thinking and programming in primary school and in early childhood education. This study describes a work in progress that aims to verify the potential of a programmable educational robot, Cubetto, for 5-6 year-old children in enhancing their classroom activities. The study was carried out in two Italian kindergartens (42 children) and one primary school (21 children). Preliminary results show that the efficacy of Cubetto is strongly dependent on the context of use during classroom activities. The degree of children's attention (in terms of duration) depends on the teacher's ability in involving and supporting children during tasks performed with Cubetto.