Back to Search Start Over

Integrating educational robot and low-cost self-made toys to enhance STEM learning performance for primary school students.

Authors :
Hu, Chih-Chien
Yang, Yu-Fen
Cheng, Ya-Wen
Chen, Nian-Shing
Source :
Behaviour & Information Technology; Jun2024, Vol. 43 Issue 8, p1614-1635, 22p
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

The application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education in solving real-world problems is challenging. To tackle this challenge, a project-based learning approach that integrates robots with cost-effective self-made toys to problem-solving was adopted to assist rural primary school students to apply STEM skills. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the project-based learning approach which includes lecturing and hands-on activities on primary school students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes. An experiment was conducted with 25 primary school students who voluntarily participated in a STEM summer-camp programme. Students were asked to assemble a paper house equipped with an IoT control module and LED light switches, and write and edit robot scripts to produce a robot-based storytelling narrative using the paper house they made as a context. The results show that the project-based learning approach was an effective approach for cultivating primary school students' STEM knowledge and skills as evidenced from the post-written test. The relationships between the students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes were also confirmed by a clustering analysis. Students who had higher learning attitudes also achieved higher STEM learning outcomes; the findings are also supported by the feedback from the open-ended questionnaire items. This study suggests that integrating low-cost self-made toys and robots in project-based learning activities is an effective and practical approach to enhance primary school students' learning outcomes and learning attitudes in STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0144929X
Volume :
43
Issue :
8
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Behaviour & Information Technology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
177655987
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2222308