Robótica en la enseñanza de conocimiento e interacción con el entorno. Una investigación formativa en Educación Infantil

Abstract

Technology is becoming more and more present in the classroom. In the latest international reports that \nanalyze the main trends in the integration of technology in educational contexts, robotics has been \nindicated as one of the emerging technologies with the greatest potential for application in learning and \nas a didactic instrument. The objective of this study is to see if the use of robotics in Early childhood \nEducation increases the motivation of the students regarding the content, helps better their learning \nand establishes more positive socio-emotional relationships. The study took place throughout a \nteaching unit in the area of “Knowledge of and Interaction with the environment” with 48 students in \nEarly Childhood Education, 5-6 year olds, and utilized a quasi-experimental design based on two natural \ngroups configured into a control group and an experimental group. The only difference between the \ntwo groups is that in the experimental group, robotics were used, whereas in the control group, \ntraditional methodologies were employed. The results revealed that the motivation, learning and \npositive socio-emotional relationships of the students were increased by the use of robotics as a didactic \ntool in the Early-Childhood Education classroom. These results show the need for bettering the \nformation of teachers in this type of technology with the aim of maximizing its use in the classroom