Engaging students in STEM learning through co-robotic hands-on activities (Evaluation)

Abstract

This paper introduces two co-robotic pedagogical platforms. The goal is to study the effect of meaningful learning contexts and hands-on activities, facilitated through the use of co-robotic platforms, in broadening and sustaining student engagement in STEM. The paper presents a week-long residential STEM learning curriculum designed and implemented to introduce students to hands-on engineering. The week-long program has been offered for middle school level students, and its effectiveness has been studied. Pre and post surveys have been conducted to study the impact of the experience in increasing students' interest in robotics and engineering. The results of this study show that co-robotic activities increased students' awareness about the role of engineering in protecting the environment and improving human life.