The Impact of Early Robotics Education on Students’ Understanding of Coding, Robotics Design, and Interest in Computing Careers

Abstract

Early robotics education has been sparsely researched, especially for children in elementary education. This research pertains to an early education study that introduced robotics design and programming to children in early education with the purpose of increasing their robotics design knowledge, improving their coding skills, and inspiring their aspirations for future careers. It represents a seven-year study of students ages seven through ten years in a large urban school district. The study engaged a pre–post program comparison of the robotics and coding intervention that focused on children’s improved understanding of robotics in addition to their career aspirations. The study resulted in increases in the participating students’ understanding of robotics design as well as improved coding skills in robotics contexts. Furthermore, the study also led to increases in the students’ career aspirations toward computing fields.