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Purpose: Chatbots and artificial intelligence (AI) have the potential to alleviate some of the challenges faced by humans. Faculties frequently swamped with teaching and research may find it difficult to act in a parental role for students by offering them individualized advice. Hence, the primary purpose of this study is to review the literature on chatbots and AI in light of their role in auto-advising systems. The authors aimed to gain insights into the most pertinent topics and concerns related to robo academic advisor and identify any gaps in the literature that could serve as potential avenues for further research. Design/methodology/approach: The research employs a systematic literature review and bibliometric techniques to find 67 primary papers that have been published between 1984 and 2023. Using the Scopus database, the researchers built a summary of the literature on chatbots and AI in academic advice. Findings: Chatbot applications can be a promising approach to address the challenges of balancing personalized student advising with automation. More empirical research is required, especially on chatbots and other AI-based advising systems, to understand their effectiveness and how they can be integrated into educational settings. Research limitations/implications: This research's sample size may restrict its findings' generalizability. Furthermore, the study's focus on chatbots may overlook the potential benefits of other AI technologies in enhancing robo academic advising systems. Future research could explore the impact of robo academic advisors in diverse societal backgrounds to gain a more comprehensive understanding of their implications. Practical implications: Higher educational institutions (HEIs) should establish a robo academic advising system that serves various stakeholders. The system's chatbots and AI features must be user-friendly, considering the customers' familiarity with robots. Originality/value: This study contributes to a better understanding of HEIs' perceptions of the adoption of chatbots and AI in academic advising by providing insightful information about the main forces behind robo academic advising, illuminating the most frequently studied uses of chatbots and AI in academic advising.

The incorporation of Computer Science teaching in educational systems has increased in recent years. Given international interest, Chile has promoted projects to promote the development of students' digital skills. Focusing on this new educational context, this research reports the results regarding the identification of computational concepts and practices that can be articulated with the contents and skills of the curriculum. of Chilean mathematics. for first grade of primary school based on the use of the Bee-Bot robot. For this, the study followed a qualitative approach, developing a case study of the Chilean study program with the content analysis technique and using, as analysis categories, computational concepts and practices from the field of educational computing. In total, 30 learning objectives of the study program were analyzed. The results indicate that, although there is little articulation between computational concepts and first grade content proposed in the curriculum, there is greater articulation between computational practices and mathematical skills suggested in the Chilean curriculum. It is concluded that Computational Thinking can be developed from the earliest school levels using the Bee-Bot robot (or similar), and this is demonstrated by the structure of the Chilean primary mathematics curricular program.

Educational robotics integrates aspects from various scientific disciplines, encompassing the entire spectrum of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Its effective application is heavily reliant on educators tasked with implementing it within a school setting. This study aimed to investigate the potential adoption of educational robotics among preschool and primary education teachers. The study involved 191 preschool teachers (62.2%) and 115 primary school teachers (37.8%). Data was gathered using a structured questionnaire, AKAER, demonstrating strong internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient of [alpha]=0.892. Educators, irrespective of their specialization, gender, or scientific background, acknowledge the significance of educational robotics and express eagerness to incorporate it. A substantial percentage of educators expressed discomfort in using educational robotics and related if they had trained or not. Nonetheless, more than 70.0% of the surveyed educators expressed interest in receiving training on educational robotics to proficiently integrate it into their teaching methodologies. To ensure that the new generation of students can reap the benefits of modern teaching tools like educational robotics, closely tied to STEM education and the cultivation of 21st century skills, we must not only supply schools with the required materials but prioritize the provision of adequately trained and informed educators.

This qualitative study explored the views of teachers and an occupational therapist about the potential use of humanoid robots as an assistive tool in educating autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children. Seven participants with extensive experience handling early intervention programs for ASD children were selected via purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews and focus group discussion (FGD) were applied as data collection method. Data gained were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four main themes were identified from the study, they are: (1) Teachers' knowledge about robots, (2) Robots increase children's engagement, (3) Roles of robots in intervention, and (4) advantages and disadvantages of using robots. All participants had observed a robot-mediated intervention involving interactions between ASD children and a humanoid robot. It was observed that most of the children at the center liked interacting with the robot, suggesting that the use of robots could benefit ASD children. However, these interactions must be monitored and limited to a certain period to avoid over-dependence on robot use. This study provides a novel perspective on robotics and a practical example of how to use robots to enhance learning outcomes for ASD children.

Tangible programming combines the advantages of object manipulation with programmable hardware, which plays an essential role in improving programming skills. As a tool for ensuring the quality of projects and improving learning outcomes, the PDCA cycle strategy is conducive to cultivating reflective thinking. However, there is still a lack of empirical research on the effect of introducing the PDCA cycle strategy into programming education. In this study, using a PDCA cycle strategy, in a four-pronged model of "(P)draw up a plan, (D)assemble and programming, (C)test and debug, display and reflect (A)," and its effects on students' programming skills and their reflective thinking were explored. There were 65 children between the ages of 7 and 8 years participated in this study. There were 31 students in each of the experimental group and the control group. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was adopted in this research, and students' programming processes and results were observed and counted. The study results revealed that after attending the 'Magic Card Robot' course that applied the PDCA cycle strategy, the experimental group students outperformed their counterparts in programming skills (sequencing, repetitive and conditional structures). Meanwhile, the experimental group students' reflective thinking levels were higher than those of the control group students. These findings imply that tangible programming education using the PDCA cycle strategy in the course has potential.

What is the optimal penalty for errors in infant skill learning? Behavioral analyses indicate that errors are frequent but trivial as infants acquire foundational skills. In learning to walk, for example, falling is commonplace but appears to incur only a negligible penalty. Behavioral data, however, cannot reveal whether a low penalty for falling is beneficial for learning to walk. Here, we used a simulated bipedal robot as an embodied model to test the optimal penalty for errors in learning to walk. We trained the robot to walk using 12,500 independent simulations on walking paths produced by infants during free play and systematically varied the penalty for falling--a level of precision, control, and magnitude impossible with real infants. When trained with lower penalties for falling, the robot learned to walk farther and better on familiar, trained paths and better generalized its learning to novel, untrained paths. Indeed, zero penalty for errors led to the best performance for both learning and generalization. Moreover, the beneficial effects of a low penalty were stronger for generalization than for learning. Robot simulations corroborate prior behavioral data and suggest that a low penalty for errors helps infants learn foundational skills (e.g., walking, talking, and social interactions) that require immense flexibility, creativity, and adaptability.

This paper proposes a Project-based team instruction methodology with open-ended projects to teach students critical analysis, design and implementation steps of developing Robotic Process Automation (RPA) for information systems. The use of project-based learning is appropriate for teaching RPA analysis and design with lean Six Sigma tools because of its experimental approach and documentation of logical steps needed to learn how to implement RPA successfully. The approach systematically documents work currently performed and defines future actions of the process while ensuring significant benefits are achieved with the RPA enhanced process. This methodology is important because the application of RPA is not commonly taught in Management Information System (MIS) programs. MIS students may not understand the significance of combined methodology, RPA tool, and usefulness of RPA until they enter the workforce where RPA is rapidly becoming available and easier to implement. The lecture sessions and exercises are valuable because it is easy to communicate the value of RPA in terms of time, quality, volume of transactions, etc. using Lean Six Sigma analytic approaches. The exercises involve hands on activities to make this learning experience interesting for students to readily associate the theoretical process improvement agreement and visualize the practical value of RPA enhanced projects. The paper discusses the need for process changes (and new development approaches) in organization to match the properties and functions within enterprise systems and ERPs that has led to criticism of the enterprise systems. This criticism is attributable to the ERPs' many subfunctions and operations that have limited adaptability and reduced functional and operational flexibility. The RPAs require limited prior knowledge of ERPs or their sub-processes for the improvements that are made in the performance of the organization. Thus, students do not have to "learn" how these enterprise or ERP systems operate to make changes or task improvements. This paper presents a project-based methodology and design approach focusing on development of RPAs that help students learning how to make the improvements using the RPS tools. The students learn that projects can deliver significant and tangible benefits to organizations while engaging students in key activities of the analysis, design and development process from a low code-no code perspective.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) refers to the current rapid technological growth that fundamentally changes how humans live. 4IR is essential to improve higher education worldwide and develop crucial skills such as e-learning and innovation, information and media technology, and life and career skills. This study aims to assess the knowledge of the application of the nine pillars of 4IR in Education among STEM teachers in Malaysia. The nine primary pillars of 4IR that create a digital revolution in industries are autonomous robots, augmented reality (AR), system integration, additive manufacturing, cybersecurity, cloud computing, big data and analytics, the internet of things (IoT), and simulation. A quantitative study approach, through a survey questionnaire, is utilized to conduct the study. Meanwhile, a sample size of 200 secondary school STEM teachers in Malaysia had been chosen through a simple random sampling technique. Mean scores are used to assess the knowledge. The findings of the study showed that the teachers are highly knowledgeable about the application of simulation (M=4.15), augmented reality (M=4.11), and autonomous robots (M=4.06) in education. Meanwhile, the teachers have moderate knowledge in the application of cybersecurity (M=3.29), additive manufacturing (M=3.27), and the internet of things (M=3.11) in education. Finally, the teachers recorded a low level of knowledge toward the application of cloud computing (M=2.48), horizontal and vertical integration (M=2.20), as well as big data and analytics (M=2.02) in education. This study gives implications for ensuring the teachers can meet the demands of the present education system and help their learners become more proficient in learning. In conclusion, integrating 4IR technology is an important aspect that needs to be utilized in teachers' teaching practices.

Teaching robotics with the robot operating system (ROS) is valuable for instating good programming practices but requires significant setup steps from the learner. Providing a ready-made ROS learning environment over the web can make robotics more accessible; however, most of the previous remote labs have abstracted the authentic ROS developer environment either for didactical or technological reasons, or do not give the possibility to program physical robots. In this article, we present a remote web lab that employs virtual network computing and Docker to serve in-browser desktop workstations, where learning tasks can be completed on both the physical and simulated robots. The learners can reserve access to the remote lab through a learning management interface, which also includes tools for administering the remote lab. The system allows anyone to experiment with ROS without configuring any software locally and was successfully trialed in an online ROS course.

Transdisciplinary learning--where students develop and apply knowledge from multiple disciplines to solve open-ended problems--is necessary to prepare students for the most pressing real-world problems. Because transdisciplinary education often requires reimagining the content and design of undergraduate science courses, it can be a challenge for instructors to envision how such work might take place. In this article, we share an example of an undergraduate course developed at the intersection of animal sensory biology and robotics engineering. Students in the course developed knowledge from both disciplines to design a robot that could mimic the sensory behaviors of some animals to achieve a predetermined task. We share examples of students' work in the course and evidence of how students' perceptions of science and engineering changed throughout their participation in the course. Additionally, we describe how we adapted a hybrid model of collaboration that made it feasible for students to work together on an open-ended project requiring access to robotics equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic. This course can serve as a model for instructors working to incorporate more interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary perspectives into existing science courses.

Research on the educational applications of social robots has shown how they can motivate children and help improve academic learning outcomes. Here, we examine how robots can support skill learning and, more specifically, musical instrument practice. Drawing from social facilitation theory and evaluation apprehension theory we expected that the robot's mere presence would impact children's performance and that this effect would be contingent upon the children expecting the robot to evaluate their performance. We report an experiment with children (N = 31) aged nine to twelve who practiced a familiar and new piece alone, in the presence of an evaluative robot, and in the presence of a non-evaluative robot. We found that children performed better in terms of rhythm, pitch, and general impression in the presence of the non-evaluative robot. These findings offer important insights for designing robot tutors for music learning.

The use of AI-based social robots has been shown to be beneficial for learning English as a Second Language (ESL). Not much is known, however, about the drivers of parental intention to use those robots in support of their children's ESL learning. This study aims to explore the factors that drive parental intention to adopt AI-based social robots for children's ESL learning. The research model is proposed based on the theories and literature regarding motivations, product smartness, personality traits and physical risk perception. Data collected from 315 participants are analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The results show that utilitarian and hedonic motivations positively affect parental intention to adopt AI-based social robots. In addition, utilitarian motivation is influenced by robots' autonomy and parental personal innovativeness, while hedonic motivation is influenced by robots' autonomy and humanlike interaction, and parental personal innovativeness. From the findings, important implications for promoting parental intention to adopt AI-based social robots in children's ELS learning are offered.

This longitudinal study of robot programming in early childhood (ROPEC) was performed based on summative and formative assessments of the robotics program in kindergarten and year one of elementary school. The study aims to broaden our knowledge about children's understanding of programming, their confidence in ability to read and write programs, and their real capabilities of reading and explaining programs. In this study, we used a sample of 114 children (age 5-7 years) participating in the robotics program. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from participant interviews. We added to the usual surveys a real evaluation by experts of children's capability to read and explain the code. Unique emphasis was put on being able to assess objective vs. subjective aspects of a ROPEC participant. Our findings revealed significant differences between objective beliefs and real capabilities of children that should be dealt with in any robot programming; however, the findings were very positive. The results of this study provide crucial evidence that participation in ROPEC contributes in reducing the gender gap in science and engineering. Girls are not less interested or capable than boys in reading, writing, or explaining the code and in important aspects are even better and more eager.

Computer science teaching standards for grades K-8 have been implemented in nearly all U.S. states, and the core subject area teachers (e.g., math, science, English, social studies) have been asked to integrate these standards into their instruction. Thus, it is important that K-8 pre-service teachers of all subjects are both prepared and motivated to teach computer science concepts--such as programming--upon entering the field. However, little is known about how pre-service teachers learn and retain programming knowledge or obtain and sustain their motivation related to programming. Maker-focused educational robotics activities have the potential to both reduce abstract cognitive load and work as motivational tools for STEM learning. The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' motivational persistence and retention of programming concepts after learning with educational robotics through maker-focused computer science activities. Hands-on maker robotics programming activities were used to teach and motivate pre-service teachers. This quantitative study utilized repeated measures through pre-, post-, and 6-month follow-up surveys and tests. The findings indicated the pre-service teachers' programming comprehension gains exhibited on the posttest deteriorated substantially to near-baseline levels within 6 months of instruction. Conversely, pre-service teachers' motivation related to programming continued to rise after the instruction had concluded. Both the retention of comprehension of programming concepts and motivational persistence findings imply that educator preparation providers should integrate programming instruction throughout their pre-service teacher curricula and support curricular initiatives that call for the integration of computer science instruction across pre-service teacher methods courses to reinforce computer science learning.

Background: Despite its obvious relevance to computer science, computational thinking (CT) is transdisciplinary with the potential of impacting one's analytical ability. Although countless efforts have been invested across K-12 education, there is a paucity of research at the postsecondary level about the extent to which CT can contribute to sustainable learning outcomes. Objectives: The current study examines how a series of Arduino-based robotics learning activities capture the fuller essence of concepts related to CT. Methods: College students (n = 50) completed a series of six robotics learning activities. Think-alouds, student reflections and performance scores were used to assess students' CT through a robotics challenge in virtual and physical learning environments. Results and Conclusions: Students verbalized CT concepts related to algorithmic thinking much more than abstraction, problem decomposition and testing and debugging. Students exposed to active learning performed better in a virtual robotics challenge compared to their peers in a traditional-oriented classroom. Students' scores on the physical robotics challenge increased as a function of the number of references they made to CT concepts during the think-alouds. It is possible to design pedagogical experiences that tap into various dimensions of CT at incremental levels of complexity through a series of Arduino-based robotics activities. With the integration of an online simulation, students can visualize and transfer their CT skills between a virtual and physical learning environment, thus leading to more sustainable learning outcomes.

Educational robotics (ER) is a discipline of applied robotics focused on teaching robot design, analysis, application, and operation. Traditionally, ER has favored rigid robots, overlooking the potential of soft robots (SRs). While rigid robots offer insights into dynamics, kinematics, and control, they have limitations in exploring the depths of mechanical design and material properties. In this regard, SRs present an opportunity to expand educational topics and activities in robotics through their unique bioinspired properties and accessibility. Despite their promise, there is a notable lack of research on SRs as educational tools, limiting the identification of research avenues that could promote their adoption in educational settings. This study conducts a systematic literature review to elucidate the impact of SRs across academic levels, pedagogical strategies, prevalent artificial muscles, educational activities, and assessment methods. The findings indicate a significant focus on K-12 workshops utilizing soft pneumatic actuators. Furthermore, SRs have fostered the development of fabrication and mechanical design skills beyond mere programming tasks. However, there is a shortage of studies analyzing their use in higher education or their impact on learning outcomes, suggesting a critical need for comprehensive evaluations to determine their effectiveness, rather than solely relying on surveys for student feedback. Thus, there is an opportunity to explore and evaluate the use of SRs in more advanced settings and multidisciplinary activities, urging for rigorous assessments of their influence on learning outcomes. By undertaking this, we aim to provide a foundation for integrating SRs into the ER curriculum, potentially transforming teaching methodologies and enriching students' learning experiences.

Educational Robotics (ER) has emerged as one of the tools to improve STEM learning in primary education if students are properly instructed. However, there is a lack of studies that guide teachers on which type of instruction should be used for ER in STEM between direct (DI) and indirect instruction (II). As a result, the present study aims to compare the two types of instructions in terms of their effect on learning outcomes, students' perceptions, and students' gender differences. We adopted a quasi-experiment comparative research design involving 100 ninth-grade students (13-14 years old). We collected data through achievement tests and perception questionnaires and analyzed them using Cochran's Q-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, and independent samples t-test. Results show that the group in which II was used performed better than those from the group where DI was used. Also, the results show that girls performed better with DI than boys. Furthermore, students perceived ER as useful for developing collaboration and interest in STEM. Therefore, teachers should be supported in learning how to use II and DI strategically in ER to enhance STEM learning.

Humanoid robotics (HR) studies around the world are on the rise today. As a result of its enormous contributions to enhancing productivity and efficiency in education and other spheres of life brought the attention of it to the academic community to consider it as an adequate learning tool in higher education. However, the study revealed that African society and higher education have a limited understanding of humanoid robots. In order to track the trends of humanoid robotics (HR) in higher education, a systematic review and a few crucial bibliometrics elements approach were adopted, and the published documents from the Web of Science and Scopus databases from 2000-2022 were used in the analysis. HR publications in higher education within this period revealed that Japan, the USA, and China are the leading countries in the application of humanoid robots both in the industrial and educational sectors. Furthermore, HR is a new phenomenon in the African educational community, and South Africa remains the singular African nation that has worked in this domain by collaborating with other developed countries. This current research discovered the inexistence of HR in the African educational environment and therefore suggests that African educational policymakers and education curriculum developers should endeavor to implement educational policies that will support the institutionalization of HR in the teaching and learning activities in African higher education.

This article presents an overview of educational robotics (ER) in primary and preschool education. As ER seems to be gaining popularity for its effectiveness as a learning tool, more research needs to be done in this area. Recent results from ER pilot projects advocate for the integration of ER in K-12 education curricula. On the other hand, teachers may face various difficulties in carrying out such activities due to lack of experience or knowledge in this field. Previous research has shown that ER is still an open field for exploration. Even though an increasing number of experiences are available for the use of robotic tools in early education, there is not enough empirical evidence on the features they need to present for young learners to perceive them as attractive and easy to use. In addition, the high cost of some tools may prevent educational institutions from using them systematically. To detect possible gaps in the current research, in the context of this work, 21 articles representing ER applications and frameworks were collected and reviewed between 2011 and 2021. The results of this study demonstrate that ER can be a valuable tool for supporting primary and preschool students. However, the review supports that more research is needed on the technical features that a robotic tool must have to be successfully introduced to students of this age. Moreover, future work is needed to develop low-cost ER tools so they can become more accessible to educational institutions.

The study explored the effects of an interdisciplinary learning approach on developing students' English learning (EL) and computational thinking (CT) through two different game-based learning approaches. A quasi-experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this approach in terms of enhancing students' CT knowledge and their EL achievement in an elementary school English as a foreign language learning context. A total of 52 Grade 3 students took part in the experiment, of whom 28 assigned to the experimental group learned with a machine educational robot (machine-ER) board game and 24 assigned to the control group learned with a character educational robot (character-ER) board game. The results indicated that both groups made significant improvements in learning achievement: 1) in EL achievement of learning vocabulary and sentence patterns; 2) in CT concepts, although the machine-ER board game produced a greater increase than the character-ER board game in both language learning achievement and CT knowledge; 3) their learning anxieties were also lower than those of the control group; and 4) the analysis of behavioral patterns also revealed that students playing the machine-ER board game demonstrated better language-learning interaction, while the character-ER board game presented greater CT development in finding solutions.

Teachers play a fundamental role in guaranteeing an inclusive teaching practice using Educational Robotics (ER). However, they may hold gender-differentiated views of their students' academic abilities and aptitudes in ER. This quasi-experimental test investigated gender-differentiated attributions and behavioral intentions of N = 158 Italian learning support teachers (LST) answering a questionnaire at the end of a post-graduate ER course. Participants read one of two vignettes regarding a student failing an ER activity in class: - (1) a boy; or (2) a girl. Then participants answered items based on measures that assessed their gender stereotypes, attributions for the child's failure, and hypothetical intentions to use ER with the same child. Results of moderation analyses indicated that the failure of the depicted girl was attributed to internal, stable and uncontrollable causes (i.e., low abilities in ER) to a greater extent than the same failure of the depicted boy, among LST with high levels of gender stereotypes. Furthermore, LST with high levels of gender stereotypes declared less intention to use ER with the depicted girl as compared with the depicted boy.

Purpose: Knowing the students' readiness for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is essential to producing competent, knowledgeable and skilled graduates who can contribute to the skilled workforce in the country. This will assist the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to ensure that their graduates own skill sets needed to work in the 4IR era. However, studies on students' readiness and preparedness for the 4IR in developing countries such as the Sultanate of Oman are still lacking. Therefore, this study investigates students' readiness level and preparedness for the 4IR. The findings of this study will benefit the HEIs policymakers, administration, faculties, departments, industries and society at large since they will be informed of the student's readiness and preparedness toward industry 4.0. Design/methodology/approach: The authors adopted the measures from the same context as previous studies in this study. The questionnaire was divided into three sections; the first part described the purpose and introduction of the search with the surety to keep the data confidential. The second part consisted of demographical information like gender, education. The last parts consisted of four subsections, question items in these parts are based on the related previous study. Characteristics consisted of 14 items, knowledge consisted of 18 items related to 4IR technologies, Organizational Dimension comprised of four items related to academic programs, curriculum and training. Preparedness contained two items. The participants have rated all the items in 5-Likert scale. Findings: Results from structural equation modeling showed that students' characteristics, knowledge of 4IR technologies and organizational dimensions significantly impact their preparedness for the 4IR. The study also found that organizational dimensions have the highest impact on students' preparedness. Furthermore, the organizational dimension significantly influences students' knowledge of 4IR technology. Moreover, students' characteristics related to 4IR are significantly affected by their knowledge of 4IR technology and organizational dimension. The findings suggest that HEIs are responsible for increasing the adoption of 4IR, and therefore organizational dimensions such as the academic programs, training, technological infrastructure and others are all critical for preparing students for a better future and should be given a priority. Research limitations/implications: This study has used academic programs and training to measure the organizational dimension. However, other important factors should be considered, such as technological infrastructure and leadership and governance of HEIs. Second, the current research depends on quantitative data, so future research should implement a mixed methodology (questionnaires, depth interviews, document analysis and focus group) to understand the factors affecting students' readiness for 4IR clearly. Finally, although the 4IR has numerous benefits, it also has challenges in its implementation, so future studies should focus on challenges encountered by different stakeholders in implementing 4IR-related technologies. Practical implications: The curriculum must include mandatory courses related to IT infrastructure design, user experience programming, electronic measurement and control principles, and programming for data science. HEIs should also foster interdisciplinary knowledge by integrating IT, Engineering, Business and Sciences. Furthermore, the HEIs should develop their infrastructure to have smart campuses, labs, classrooms and libraries to make HEIs a space where knowledge can be generated and innovative solutions can be proposed. This entails HEIs offering necessary hardware, software and technical support because if the HEIs improve their technological resources, students will be capable of using 4IR-related technologies effectively. Originality/value: The advancement of technology has resulted in the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, robotics, cloud computing, data science, virtual reality and 3D printing. It is essential to investigate students' readiness for 4IR. However, there is no study as per researchers' knowledge talked about students readiness in HEIs in the Arab world. This study could be a basis for more research on students' perception of the 4IR covering students from various backgrounds and levels.

Background: Although human-robotic interaction is a rapidly burgeoning area of study within education, and social robots are being widely tested for use in schools, few studies have focused on early adolescent interactions with robots under actual classroom conditions. Objectives: We introduced an autonomous, social robot ('Pepper') into a project-based learning environment at a public elementary/middle school in order to see how long-term exposure to a robot in a project-based classroom affected student conceptions of robots. Methods: We conducted unstructured classroom observations, focus-group interviews with students, and took videos of students interacting with the robot at key points in the project. We engaged in joint coding and memo writing to summarize key themes. Results: Our results showed the limitations of these social robots as interactive educational technology, but also revealed the complexity of young adolescent beliefs about robots as social actors. Although current technology limits the ability of robots to be widely deployed in public-school classrooms, skillfully designed interventions using social robots have the potential to motivate and engage students. Takeaways: Exposure to the robot stimulated students to discuss robots as social actors, raised issues about gender identification of artificial agents in the classroom, and stimulated discussion on what constitutes a social being. The initial novelty of the humanoid robot enhanced engagement with the longer-term project and also challenged teachers to be more reflective and flexible in planning the project.

Background: The number of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy studies in K-12 education has recently increased, with most research focusing on primary and secondary education contexts. Little research focuses on AI literacy programs in early childhood education. Objectives: The aim of this mixed-methods study is to examine the feasibility of an AI literacy program called "AI4KG" and explore how it might affect kindergarteners' perceptions of robots and attitudes towards engineering and science. Methods: A total of 26 child-parent dyads recruited from a Hong Kong kindergarten were involved in this study, consisting of 26 children (M[subscript age] = 4 years, SD = 0.28) and their parents. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through surveys and interviews designed to explore children's perceptions of robots and attitudes towards engineering and science, and parents' perceptions of the AI4KG intervention. Results: It is found that children have increased their perceptions of robots after the AI literacy program, but the AI4KG curriculum had no significant effects on kindergarten children's engineering and science attitudes. Most parents (22 out of 26) agreed that their children's AI knowledge, AI skills, and AI attitudes have been enhanced after learning through the AI4KG curriculum. Conclusions: This study suggests that the AI4KG curriculum is potentially effective in promoting early AI literacy and favourable attitudes towards the technology, but further research is needed to develop age-appropriate measures and assess its long-term impact on children's education and career paths.

Purpose: This study aims to enhance the understanding of the current research landscape regarding the utilisation of telepresence robots (TPRs) in education. Design/methodology/approach: The bibliometric and thematic analysis of research publications on TPRs was conducted using papers in the Scopus database up to 2023. The final analysis focused on 53 papers that adhered to the selection criteria. A qualitative analysis was performed on this set of papers. Findings: The analysis found a rising trend in TPR publications, mostly from the USA as conference papers and journal articles. However, these publications lacked technology integration frameworks, acceptance models and specific learning design models. TPRs have proven effective in various learning environments, fostering accessible education, better communication, engagement and social presence. TPRs can bridge geographical gaps, facilitate knowledge sharing and promote collaboration. Obstacles to implementation include technical, physical, social and emotional challenges. Publications were grouped into four thematic categories: didactic methods of using TPRs, TPRs for educational inclusivity, TPR as a teacher mediator and challenges in using TPRs. Despite the significant potential of TPRs, their broader adoption in education is still facing challenges. Research limitations/implications: This research solely analysed research papers in the Scopus database, limiting TPR publications with the keywords "telepresence robots", "learning", "teaching" and "education", excluding studies with different other keywords. Originality/value: This study enhances understanding of TPR research in education, highlighting its pedagogical implications. It identifies a gap in the inclusion of technology integration frameworks, acceptance models and learning design models, indicating a need for further research and development.

Robotics competitions boosts the development of STEM education, but gender disparity in this field remains rarely addressed by researchers. This study focused on the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) and tried to explore the gender differences through investigation method. The research questions are as follows: RQ1, what is the tendency of girls' participation in WRO from 2015 to 2019 in terms of the four competition categories and three age groups? RQ2, what advantages and challenges do the all-girl teams have from the perspectives of parents, coaches and students? The results showed that among the 5956 participants in the 2015-2019 WRO finals, girls accounted for only 17.3%. The Open Category that emphasized creativity attracted relatively more girl participants. As age group moved up, the number of girl participants decreased. The qualitative results showed that the focuses of coaches, parents and students was not exactly the same. All-girl team have the advantages in their communication, presentation and collaboration skills but less good at robot building. The results indicated the importance of promoting girl's participation in robot competitions and STEM fields. Coaches, mentors and parents need to provide girls with more support and encouragement in learning STEM subjects, especially at the junior high school level. Organizers of related competitions should give girls more exposure and opportunities by adjusting the mechanism.

During a relatively short period of time, programming has been implemented in the national curriculum of the compulsory school in Sweden. Since 2018, programming is a new content in the technology subject and the research field has discussed some of the challenges teachers and students, who generally have little experiences of programming, face when programming is introduced in teaching. In this study, we have explored what strategies lower secondary school students (ages 13-15) use when they are programming a robot to follow a curved line in technology education class. Data consists of screen recorded films when students are pair programming a robot. Student talks were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Practical Epistemological Analysis. The analysis revealed three different strategies that the students used when programming the robot: (1) sensor--follow the line, searching for a code that automatically would make the robot to follow the route, (2) sensor--wheels, using codes to create a feedback system between sensor and wheels, and (3) rotations--degrees--wheels, using the position of the robot to stepwise fine tune the movement of the wheels. In line with previous research, the students in our study spent much time discussing, testing, and debugging their code, and our findings contribute by showing how these discussions were aligned with the strategy used. Depending on the strategy, students actively looked for and tested codes affecting different aspects of the sensor-wheel system, such as for example sensor input, power, rotations or turning. Implications for teaching is discussed.

Educational technologists and practitioners have made substantial strides in developing affordable digital and tangible resources to support both formal and informal computer science instruction. However, there is a lack of research on practice-based assignments, such as Internet of Things (IoT) projects, that allow undergraduate students to design and demonstrate educational robots using digital or physical assistance, especially when it comes to computational thinking (CT) and programming skills development in association with their psycho-emotional experience. This study compares the impact of Scratch and LEGO[R] WeDo robotic kits on students' CT and programming skills development. A quasi-experimental approach was conducted, involving two hundred forty-six participants (n = 246), who were equally divided between Scratch and LEGO[R] WeDo groups. Results indicate that the LEGO[R] WeDo group showed greater improvement in CT and programming skills development, while designing and presenting IoT projects. Nevertheless, no significant association between motivation, grit, and CT skills was observed. The findings highlight the potential of tangible robotics in facilitating students' hands-on learning and enhancing motivation to foster CT and programming skills. This study provides a wide range of implications for instructional designers on how to use tangible robotics to support hands-on IoT projects in computer science courses.

Robotics education has received widespread attention in K-12 education. Studies have pointed out that in robotics courses, learners face challenges in learning abstract content, such as constructing a robot with a good structure and writing programs to drive a robot to complete specific learning tasks. The present study proposed the embodied learning-based computer programming approach and applied it to the LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robotics course. To evaluate its effectiveness, a quasi-experiment was conducted in one public primary school to explore its effects on students' learning achievement, learning motivation, learning attitudes, learning engagement, and cognitive load. The experimental group (40 students) adopted the embodied learning-based computer programming approach, while the control group (40 students) adopted the conventional computer programming approach. The results showed that the experimental group had significantly better learning achievement in robotics than the control group, and that there was no significant difference in the cognitive load of the two groups. In terms of learning motivation, although both groups showed improvement, the experimental group had higher intrinsic learning motivation. In addition, the experimental group outperformed the control group with regard to learning attitudes and learning engagement (including cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement). Accordingly, this study could contribute to future research for developing more effective robotics teaching approaches and computer programming activity design.

Humanoid robotics is an emerging field striving to deploy technological devices capable of resembling and mimicking the human form. Primarily, the capability of human-like robots to interact with people has proved to be contributory in areas such as education and caretaking, but less so in adult training. In this study, we outline the design and experiment of an escape room training activity facilitated by a humanoid robot (HR), NAO. An escape room is a gamified activity where a team of players must complete a series of challenges to "escape from the room" by opening four locks in a limited amount of time. Opening each lock required the team to find hints and solve problems mediated by NAO. During the activity, NAO provided ongoing feedback on the team's performance. Ten experts evaluated the experience and were asked about their overall assessment of the activity and the added value of NAO as a mediator. The results on the feasibility of NAO's serving as motivating tutor in adults' collaborative game-based learning were very encouraging. We believe this study marks the first step toward developing a generic template for learning and training processes supported by a HR.

Hands-on activities in science learning are beneficial in enhancing creative thinking in students. However, scant studies have probed the nature of creative thinking developed by hands-on activities, particularly among primary school students and further investigation is thus mandated. Therefore, this study aims to explore the creative thinking patterns observed in primary school students when they perform hands-on activities in science learning involving robotics as learning tools. This qualitative study was conducted with six fifth-grade primary school students aged eleven years. The thematic analysis technique was employed to analyze the data and discover the patterns of creative thinking in the students. The data analysis yielded findings that revealed two processes representing the creative thinking patterns noted in students: idea stimulation and idea generation. Engaging in robotics activities stimulates cognition in students relating to the utilization of information obtained from varied resources such as their learning environments, past experiences, multimedia, and peers. Students then mentally process the obtained information to generate ideas. Their thinking process entails students using their imagination and reasoning to transform the available information into original ideas. Accordingly, the study's findings augment the extant knowledge regarding the nature of creative thinking in students as they engage in hands-on robotics activities. Practitioners could use this enhanced understanding to scaffold the experiences and imaginations of their students and cater to their creative ideas during the teaching and learning process. Besides, the diversity of student resources and imagination denote an important element that can be utilized during the learning process. Practitioners could also enrich creative thinking in students by incorporating imagination and reasoning supported by tangible tools such as robotics.

Teachers' self-efficacy in managing classrooms is an important consideration when it comes to bringing educational robots to classrooms. Orchestration tools support teachers by providing awareness indicators of students' progress as well as levers to control the flow of the lesson. We designed and evaluated the impact of an orchestration tool for a series of robot-based learning activities to teach a basic concept in mathematics to children, aged 7-10. Six teachers in primary schools across Switzerland used the orchestration tool to manage the activities in six sessions involving a total of ninety-one students. We observed teachers' usage of the orchestration tool during the sessions and interviewed them after the sessions about the usefulness of these functionalities. Our findings show that even though teachers used the tool in different ways from each other, in general, it supported them in their classroom orchestration practices, mainly to manage the activity sequence and get aware of the robot technical failures and, to a lesser degree, get aware of students' progress for the purpose of activity transitions and enriching class discussions. We discuss the theoretical implications of these results, relating our findings to the literature on classroom orchestration tool design, especially highlighting the importance of "educational level" and "the type of learning technology as" contextual factors affecting teachers' usage of orchestration tools. We also provide implications for designing orchestration tools, focusing on the necessity of providing different types of awareness indicators and multiple options for activity management to fulfil the variety of teachers' orchestration needs.

Learning basic concepts of programming resulting in a development on computational thinking (CT) can be reached by means of digital programming environments. As a counterpart, the application of unplugged programming activities seems also to have promising potential regarding the impact on CT. The main characteristic of unplugged programming is that it comprises activities without the use of information and communication technologies (ICT). Since previous research has shown that the application of sense-reason-act (SRA) programming with different types of output demonstrated a better understanding of underlying complex programming concepts with an impact on CT, our research investigates whether the application of unplugged programming, offered via SmartGames, can also generate such a distinctive impact on developing CT. To capture the effects of the different interventions applied, a mixed-methods study was conducted among primary school students aged ten to twelve. Research data were obtained by means of a pretest-posttest questionnaire survey using the validated Computational Thinking Test (CTt), and by conducting interviews to determine the effects of CT and to ascertain identifiable learning effects. Our research indicates that unplugged programming by applying SmartGames can be a consummate regarding the development of CT, similar to SRA-programming using either robotics with tangible output or robot simulations with on-screen output. The research findings identified support our claim that the application of unplugged SmartGames shows equivalent development on CT sub-characteristics in comparison with plugged-in SRA-programming with tangible or on-screen output. A better understanding of complex programming concepts and positive identified learning effects could only be partly demonstrated.

Computational thinking (CT) has gained considerable attention and in-depth discussion over the last two decades. Although the significance of CT has been highlighted, it could be challenging for educators to teach CT. Fortunately, adopting robots in education has been evidenced to be of benefit to promoting students' learning motivation, CT, and higher-order thinking skills. However, several significant factors affecting students' programming performances in robot-assisted learning activities have been identified, such as cognitive needs and organization. In this study, a CMR-BBP (concept map robot block-based programming) approach was designed by integrating concept maps into robot block-based programming to enhance students' programming learning. Moreover, a three-group experiment was carried out in an elementary school to evaluate their learning outcomes. The experimental results revealed that the CMR-BBP approach benefited the students' perceptions of their computational thinking and problem solving in comparison with the R-BBP (robot block-based programming) and C-BBP (conventional block-based programming) approaches. Furthermore, regarding cognitive load, both the CMR-BBP and R-BBP approaches enhanced the students' germane cognitive load, while the CMR-BBP approach effectively reduced their extrinsic cognitive load. This study could be a notable reference for designing other courses in conjunction with programming learning activities.

Arts design has been proven to enable designers to have a meaningful learning of STEAM, but research on a checklist for assessing Arts design based on evaluating entries in a STEAM contest is still rare. Therefore, this study developed a checklist for assessing Arts design for evaluating miniature robots in a STEAM contest. Using an example of STEAM contest, named PowerTech, which has been held 22 years in Taiwan, we developed five dimensions of the checklist are: aesthetics, material usage, bionic, performance, and additional devices. There are two sub-indices in each aspect to be considered as the identification of form characteristics. Eight international experts were invited to review the content validity of the Arts design scale, and 30 completed checklists were used to test the reliability and validity though Kendall's coefficient of concordance. The results showed that the Arts design scale had high reliability and good validity, and so rubric index could be used to measure and assess Arts design with miniature robots in that integrated STEAM contest. Based on this, it is suggested that educational authorities can refer this study and for encourage students to create Arts in any integrated STEAM contests.

The AV1 robotic device has a growing evidence base, both internationally and in the UK, for supporting pupils with physical/emotional health needs. The device allows pupils to access their school lessons remotely through telepresence technology. Previous papers have highlighted the growing relevance to the education field, although, to date, there is no published UK academic research. In consideration of this, the purpose of the present paper was to explore the views of school staff who have trialled the AV1 device in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were held with 10 staff members from different school settings before data were analysed thematically. Key themes related to potential for impact, opportunities/challenges, and wider socio-economic considerations. Implications are considered in relation to (1) future research and professional practice, and (2) the introduction of a proposed implementation framework to support practitioners when trialling the AV1.

University laboratories deliver unique hands-on experimentation opportunities for STEM students, but often lack state-of-the-art equipment and provide limited access to their equipment. The University of Texas Cloud Laboratory (CLAB) provides remote access to cutting-edge series elastic actuators for student experimentation regarding human-centered robotics, dynamical systems, and controls. Through a browser-based interface, students are provided with learning materials using a remote hardware-in-the-loop system for effective, experiment-based education. This article discusses the methods used to connect remote hardware to mobile and desktop browsers, the adaptation of textbook materials to one degree of freedom arm experiment, data processing, generation of clean and useful results for student interpretation, initial usage of the end-to-end system for individual and group learning, and the acrlong BKT models to evaluate individual and group learning level. The evaluation result shows that the CLAB system successfully increases the knowledge learning of students, and assists students to perform better in the tests.

Contribution: This article presents an engineering outreach activity that aims to teach K-12 students how to develop a tendon-based soft robotic finger. The primary objectives of this STEM activity are to introduce students to the fundamentals of soft robotics, its interdisciplinary nature, and to offer them a hands-on and engaging learning experience using the project-based- learning approach. Background: Soft robotics, an interdisciplinary field combining chemistry, materials science, and robotics, has the potential to revolutionize the design and development of robots. However, introducing the fundamental concepts of soft robotics to K-12 students can be challenging since traditional robotic activities often require complex programming, technical expertise and expensive equipment and software. Intended Outcomes: Increasing the students' understanding of soft robotics principles, materials, and polymer processing. Positively impacting students' perception of engineering as a potential career path by enhancing their attitudes toward STEM. Application Design: Students could develop manually actuated soft robotic fingers within a 45-min workshop by utilizing 3-D printed molds, rapidly curing elastomeric materials, and the basic mold casting method. The outreach activity is intentionally designed to simplify the technology used by eliminating the need for complex programming, and to focus on utilizing novel materials and basic concepts to construct actuating soft robots, providing an effective and engaging STEM activity for K-12 students. Findings: The success/effectiveness of the activity was evaluated in three ways: 1) through direct inspection on the performance of the student-fabricated soft finger during the workshop; 2) through the pre- and post-tests to evaluate the learning outcomes; and 3) by conducting a STEM outreach survey to gather student feedback on the quality of the outreach activity and their attitudes toward STEM. During the workshop activities, the students were able to effectively follow the instructions, construct a tendon-based soft robotic finger, and manually actuate the finger using the tendon. According to the results of pre- and post-tests, the students increased their understanding regarding the principles of soft robotics, materials and polymer processing. Furthermore, the STEM outreach survey of IEEE powered "TryEngineering Portal" revealed that the developed outreach activity enhanced the achievement of pedagogical and quality outcome goals and measures, as well as program targets and objectives.

Educational robotics, as emerging technologies, have been widely applied in the field of STEM education to enhance the instructional and learning quality. Although previous research has highlighted potentials of applying educational robotics in STEM education, there is a lack of empirical evidence to investigate and understand the overall effects of using educational robotics in STEM education as well as the critical factors that influence the effects. To fill this gap, this research conducted a multilevel meta-analysis to examine the overall effect size of using educational robotics in STEM education under K-16 education based on 30 effect sizes from 21 studies published between 2010 and 2022. Furthermore, we examined the possible moderator variables of robot-assisted STEM education, including discipline, educational level, instructor support, instructional strategy, interactive type, intervention duration, robotic type, and control group condition. Results showed that educational robotics had the moderate-sized effects on students' STEM learning compared to the non-robotics condition. Specifically, educational robotics had moderate-sized effects on students' learning performances and learning attitudes, and insignificant effects on the improvement of computational thinking. Furthermore, we examined the influence of moderator variables in robot-assisted STEM education. Results indicated that the moderator variable of discipline was significantly associated with the effects of educational robotics on STEM learning. Based on the findings, educational and technological implications were provided to guide future research and practice in the application of educational robotics in STEM education.

Difficulties with social interaction characterise children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and have a negative impact in their everyday life. Integrating a social-humanoid robot within the standard clinical treatment has been proven promising. The main aim of this randomised controlled study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a robot-assisted psychosocial intervention and the secondary aim was to investigate potential differences between a robot-assisted intervention group and a control group receiving intervention by humans only. The analysis of the results showed that robot-assisted intervention could be beneficial by improving children's psychosocial skills. This improvement was highlighted by neuropsychological testing and parent reporting. Group comparison only presented minimal statistically significant differences. The study underpins the potential of robot-assisted interventions to augment standard care.

The goal of this paper is to bring new insights to the study of social learning processes by designing measures of collaboration using high-frequency sensor data. More specifically, we are interested in understanding the interplay between moments of collaboration and cooperation, which is an understudied area of research. We collected a multimodal dataset during a collaborative learning activity typical of makerspaces: learning how to program a robot. Pairs of participants were introduced to computational thinking concepts using a block-based environment. Mobile eye-trackers, physiological wristbands, and motion sensors captured their behavior and social interactions. In this paper, we analyze the eye-tracking data to capture participants' tendency to synchronize their visual attention. This paper provides three contributions: (1) we use an emerging methodology (mobile dual eye-tracking) to capture joint visual attention in a co-located setting and replicate findings that show how levels of joint visual attention are positively correlated with collaboration quality; (2) we qualitatively analyzed the co-occurrence of verbal activity and joint visual attention in low and high performing groups to better understand moments of collaboration and cooperation; (3) inspired by the qualitative observations and theories of collaborative learning, we designed a new quantitative measure that captures cycles of collaborative and cooperative work. Compared to simple measures of joint visual attention, we found it to increase correlation coefficients with learning and collaboration scores. We discuss those results and describe how advances in analyzing sensor data can contribute to theories of collaboration. We conclude with implications for capturing students' interactions in co-located spaces using Multimodal Learning Analytics (MMLA).

Since teaching robotics in schools is still new for teachers, studies on how to integrate computational thinking concepts in robotics courses are still rare. In this direction, teacher training sessions for teaching robotics should be visited. Accordingly, in this exploratory case study, a professional development program for teachers was suggested for teaching computational thinking (CT) by using virtual educational robotics. After constructing and delivering the instructional package to six high school computer science teachers, we assessed their pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) development with the assessment tools created through the indicators of integrating CT in robotics. We also monitored two of the teachers in the real classrooms. The results of the study showed that the computer science teachers' content knowledge (CK) about robotics and CT, and also their PCK to integrate CK in robotics positively improved at sufficient and advanced levels. The fact that the CK was considered as the joint of CT and robotics provided important clues in organizing the training sessions in the context of integrating CT into robotics teaching. Activities about daily life problems, training techniques such as peer assessment, authentic lesson plans, and micro-teaching activities were prominent factors that positively contributed to the development of teachers' CK and PCK. Structuring the feedback within the framework of CT in the training positively contributed to the teachers' CK developments in terms of CT and robotics. Guiding teachers to exhibit their teaching roles by presenting concrete examples for individual and collaborative robotics activities also supported the development of teachers' PCK. The implications for course designers desiring to provide a better teaching experience for the teachers teaching CT via robotics were also included.

In recent years, social robots have emerged as a new teaching aid in foreign language (FL) classrooms. Interaction in FL classrooms usually takes place between teachers and learners or among learners. However, this constellation of interactions changes when a robot enters the classroom. The robot's role in the classroom has been studied previously, however, in this article we examine how initial encounters between a social robot and learners occur, focusing on the teacher's role during these encounters. Additionally, we examine how children seek help or assurance from their teacher when interacting with the robot. Research data consists of video recorded in FL classrooms in primary schools in Finland in 2019. The primary school learners (N = 22) who participated in this study ranged in age from 10 to 13 years. The results show that during the robot-assisted language learning (RALL) interaction, the teacher had several roles: she validated children's contributions, guided or mediated the discussion, encouraged the children to speak with the robot, and provided technical support. The results also suggest that the teacher's role in RALL classrooms, while not necessarily central, is essential to ensure smooth interactions between the robot and learners.

This study aims to examine the methodological trends and findings in studies on robotic coding in science education published between 2015-2022 comprehensively and holistically. For this purpose, the articles related to the subject were systematically reviewed. In addition, web of Science and SCOPUS databases were scanned for keywords related to robotic coding, and 15 studies on robotic coding with full-text access were included in the analysis. The researchers prepared a data collection form to analyze the publications included in the research within the framework of the determined categories. Regarding the results of the review of robotic coding studies in science education, they mainly focus on cognitive skills, followed by applied studies in robotic coding teaching. The suggestions for future robotic coding studies in science education mainly involve applications and further research. Regarding applications, there are more suggestions for the integration of robotic coding. In this context, it was recommended to carry out studies that examine various 21st -century skills, integrate different disciplines, use different equipment, address psychomotor skills, and focus on curriculum development.

In many countries, individuals have started to gain 21stcentury skills from an early age. In Turkey, the education of gifted students is supported with activities enriched in parallel with these skills in science and art centers. The LEGO® Education® BricQ Motion Essential Set reinforces achievements with hands-on activities in science subjects, while also improving 21st-century skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration. At this point, this study aims to examine the effect of the LEGO® Education® BricQ Motion Essential Set on the 21st-century skills of gifted students in the teaching of the 'Force and Motion' unit and to determine the students' views on the teaching process. The study was carried out in a science and art center in Konya in the spring term of the 2021-2022 academic year. The sample of the study consisted of 21 gifted students studying in Support-2 programmes (4th grade). An explanatory sequential design was preferred in the study. In the quantitative data collection phase of the study, a one-group pre-test/post-test experimental design was used. Interviews were used for the qualitative data collection phase. The quantitative data of the research were analyzed with the SPSS 26 statistical package program. Qualitative data were categorized according to themes and codes in accordance with content analysis. The results of the research showed that the LEGO® Education® BricQ Motion Essential Set was effective for 21st-century learning and the renewal of the skills of the gifted students participating in the research and that the students developed positive opinions about this education set. It is recommended to use LEGO® training sets to develop the 21st-century skills of gifted students.

The combination of education and robots is becoming an increasingly important issue. Although researchers have conducted some studies on educational robotics in STEM education at the undergraduate level, no research examined the effects of gamified educational robotics on participants' motivation and creativity. Therefore, this study examines the effects of gamified educational robots on participants' learning motivation and creativity in STEM. A quasi-experimental research design was used in this study. A total of 108 students from two classes enrolled in the information technology course were involved as participants. Learning motivation and creativity scales were used to collect data. The participants were introduced to a gamified educational robot as the course objective, learning content, and game mechanism to increase motivation and help students solve problems. In contrast, students in the control group received conventional instruction consisting of group discussions and lectures. Activities in both groups were held for eighteen weeks in three phases. The results showed that gamified educational robots could enhance learning motivation and positively influence learners' creativity. The results also indicate that learning motivation has significant effects on creativity, and students with high motivation perform better in terms of creativity. The results strengthen interdisciplinary STEM teaching and promote students' learning outcomes.