The Potential of a First LEGO League Robotics Program in Teaching 21st Century Skills: An Exploratory Study

摘要

Business and political leaders in the US call for schools to teach 21st century skills. In the meantime, researchers call for more research to develop curriculum that teach 21st century skills. In this study, the authors examine the experience of a First LEGO League (FLL) robotics team to explore the potential of FLL for teaching 21stcentury skills. We found that the program provided opportunities for learning many 21st century skills such as systems thinking, decision making, problem solving, teamwork, conflict resolution, flexibility, perseverance, and selfmanagement. We also found that instructional strategies such as modeling, coaching, scaffolding, examples and case studies were important in providing successful experience to children. For children to retain and transfer these 21stcentury skills, articulation and reflection are critical.