Educational Robotics: From Structured Game to Curricular Activity in Lower Secondary Schools

摘要

Abstract Many attempts have been made to introduce robotics into curricular activities, although these have largely been occasional and discontinuous experiences. These experiments are often organized to teach specific know-how, enormously devaluating the technology’s potential. Furthermore, they might be placed in the hands of experts who are not on the school’s staff, and who conduct the entire project mostly without the involvement of teachers. Our research project is directed at lower secondary schools. Our aim is to try to move past the dictates of “teaching robotics” towards the less controversial vision of “teaching with robotics”. Following the lead of Datteri and Zecca (Metodi e tecnologie per l’uso educativo e didattico dei robot. Mondo digitale 75, editorial (2018)) we propose robots as a mediation instrument for normal learning and for transversal competencies in the school setting. The proposed research is a three-year program within the host school’s normal curricular subjects and timetable, in which our approach facilitates the learning process. The topics extend beyond coding, robotics, and STEAM in general, and aim to improve experiences in liberal arts subjects such as language, literature, and geohistory.