Using Educational Robotics Research to Transform the Classroom Establishing a Robotics Community of Evidenced-based Practice using MESH Guides and the TACTICS Framework

Abstract

Trends in the USA and UK insist that classroom interventions are supported by evidence of their efficacy. The body of evidence supporting the value of educational robots is growing. However, a perennial problem remains, how can such evidence impact everyday teaching and the use of educational robots in the classroom? MESHGuides are created by an international network of educators who are mapping the research base underpinning educational practice and making it readily available to teachers anywhere in the world. The TACTICS Framework sets a standard for how research information should be integrated into evidenced-based activities and how these activities can be used to inform research. This paper introduces these ideas and shows how they have been applied to the Turtle type educational robot, Roamer.