G. Barbara Demo
Papers
8
Total Citations
78
H-Index
5
About
G. Barbara Demo is an educational technology researcher whose work sits at the intersection of computer science education, robotics, and cognitive development. Based in Italy, she has dedicated her career to exploring how educational robotics can serve as a powerful pedagogical tool across K-12 settings, from primary schools through secondary education. Her most influential work, "Concrete Programming: Using Small Robots in Primary Schools" (2008, 19 citations), draws on Piagetian theory to argue that simple autonomous robots offer young children authentic, hands-on programming experiences precisely suited to their developmental stage. Demo has been a consistent advocate for inquiry-based science education (IBSE) and constructionist learning methodologies, demonstrating through European classroom studies how robotics activities can bridge formal and informal learning environments. Her contributions extend to curriculum design in Italy, where she has helped reshape how informatics is taught in secondary schools following the 2010 national reform. Notably, she developed NQCBaby, a child-centered, Italian-based Logo-like programming language designed to put learners, not robots, at the heart of the experience. Across her body of work, Demo has championed robotics as a vehicle for building not only computational thinking, but also linguistic, logical, and mathematical reasoning in young students.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Concrete Programming: Using Small Robots in Primary Schools19 citations · 2008
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- 5Programming Robots in Primary Schools Deserves a Renewed Attention6 citations · 2008
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- 7From Mini Rover Programs to Algebraic Expressions4 citations · 2010
- 8University and Primary Schools Cooperation for Small Robots Programming3 citations · 2009