Educational Robotics in Teacher Education: an Innovative Tool for Promoting Quality Education

1
Educational Robotics in Teacher Education an
Innovative Tool for Promoting Quality Education

• Dimitris AlimisisSchool of Pedagogical
  Technological Education
• Patras, Greecewww.etlab.eu
• alimisis_at_otenet.gr

2
Educational robotics
Robotics in Education
Education in Robotics
Robotics as learning tool
Robotics as learning object
3
Who needs robotics in education?
Teachers/educators
Students/learners
To teach
To learn
science, maths, informatics, technology
4
Educational robotics
pedagogy
technology
Shifting Focus
5
Shifting focus from technology to pedagogy

• The successful introduction of an educational
  innovation, like robotics, is not just a matter
  of access to new technologies
• Technology alone cannot affect students minds!
• The robot is just another tool
• it is the educational theory that will determine
  the learning impact coming from robotic
  applications

6
before we rush to exploit robotics in education

• We need
• Alignment with theories of learning
• proper educational philosophy
• well designed curricula
• supportive learning environment
• WELL PREPARED TEACHERS!

7
Theories behind robotics in education

• Piagets Constructivism,
• Paperts constructionism
• learning by design
• project-based learning
• open-ended problem solving

8
The TERECoP methodology

• TERECoP
• (Teacher Education in Robotics-enhanced
  Constructivist Pedagogical Methods)
  www.terecop.eu
• European Programme Socrates / Comenius / Action
  2.1 (Training of School Education Staff)
  2006-2009

9
TERECoP publication, Athens, 2009available
online www.terecop.eu
10
The TERECoP learning methodology

• 5 Stages
• Engagement
• Exploration
• Investigation
• Creation
• Evaluation

11
designing a training methodology for teachers

• teachers teach as they are taught, not as they
  are told to teach!
• we train teachers in the very way in which they
  are expected to educate their students

12
From the training course to the school class

• Our trainees are encouraged to introduce robotics
  in school classes
• several implementations in primary and secondary
  schools so far in Greece, Italy, Spain, Czech
  Rep
• integration in official school program?

13
From training course to teachers community

• Workshops
• Open days
• Exhibitions
• Presentations
• Publications

14
robotics in training programmes for future
teachers in ASPETE, GR

• started 2010-11
• at the School of Pedagogical and Technological
  Education (Patras, Greece)
• In one-year training programs
• for future teachers of secondary technical
  education
• a robotics module has been integrated in the
  course of educational technology

15
Robotics in ASPETE

• building Lego robots in groups
• Icon-basic Lego programming software
• Explorations and trials
• Discussion for pedagogical use in classrooms
• Encouragement to introduce robotic activities in
  classrooms

16
A case study robotics for teaching control
programming concepts (switch and loop)

• Teaching programming concepts in school
  informatics through robotics
• for 2 teaching sessions (2 hours for each
  session) in a lower secondary school (Gymnasium)
  class of informatics (April 2011, Patras,
  Greece)
• 21 pupils aged 13

17
Robotics in informatics class

• Familiarisation with basic Lego programming
  blocks
• simple robot-cars with
• four wheels
• one motor
• one ultrasonic sensor
• to be programmed to perform simple motions and
  actions involving making decisions and loop
  behaviors

18
Students in action

• Pupils imagine a behavior for their robot
  involving decision making and/or repetition
• Pupils work in groups
• Group discussion
• sketch their plan with paper and pencil on
  worksheets
• realise their plan programming their robots

19
Students create and share

• Free to make trials
• Present their project
• demonstrations
• Celebrations!

20
Teachers report

• the feedback collected from the classroom had
  verified their initial assumption that
• robotics in informatics would be appealing
  activity for students
• could help in bringing abstract programming
  concepts closer to the pupils understanding

21
Self-reflections

• The robotic activity had enabled student-teachers
  to
• see the results of their actions in the school
  class reality
• get immediate feedback from pupils, which had
  increased their self confidence in using robotics
  in school

22
Evaluation

• obvious similarities between the methodology
  proposed in the training course and that applied
  by the student-teachers in the school
• student-teachers successfully implemented the
  robotics-based methodology they had been taught
• on a topic of their own choice and specialization
  
• in a real classroom setting

23
Evaluation connection between training course
and school class

• proved useful for student-teachers because
• they were provided valuable feedback from pupils
  work
• were convinced that the use of robotics according
  to the proposed methodology is realistic and
  feasible
• strengthened their self confidence for future use
  of robotics in school

24
Robotics in further training for in-service
science teachers

• further training courses for in-service physics
  teachers held at the University of Athens
  (September-December 2011)
• for 10 teaching hours for a group of 6 trainees
• aim to explore together with the trainees ways
  to use robotics as learning tool focusing on the
  phenomenon of motion and the basic kinematics
  concepts time, distance, speed, motion at
  constant speed, motion at accelerated speed

25
challenge

• design a robotic experimental activity of your
  own choice that would be helpful for your
  students to study the rectilinear motion at
  constant speed and then in rectilinear motion
  accelerated at constant rate
• Trainees in 2 teams
• Dsigned the activities
• Realised the experiements
• Evaluated this training scenario

26
Evaluation

• we concurred with our experienced trainees that
  the methodology followed had resulted in a study
  of kinematics concepts through active
  participation of the learners
• it could build step by step a deep understanding
  of the concepts triggering curiosity and
  encouraging further study and research

27
Evaluation

• robots had allowed repeated and controlled by the
  user interesting experimentations
• programming the motions and devising appropriate
  algorithms could help students in understanding
  the underlying kinematics concepts
• realisation of the robot programmed motion on the
  floor could help students to see their thinking,
  as expressed in the algorithm, to come alive and
  to understand their failures/achievements

28
Going from training to school class again

• In a lower secondary school located in
  a poor rural area of Western Greece (Ilias
  Prefecture, April 2012)
• Teaching kinematics concepts in a school physics
  class through robotics
• A class of 9 students aged 13 in groups of 3 

29
Topics

• rectilinear motion at constant speed
• relationship between distance and time of motion
• conceptualization and measurement of speed
• position-time and speed  time graphs

30
Activities in class

• familiarisation with the Lego Mindstorms kit and
  the programming environment
• each group built their own vehicle
• Programming the robots to move
• Experimentations with the motion of the vehicles
• Study of the motions, collection of data, drawing
  conclusions from data

31

• Teacher encouraged students initiatives,
  imagination and creativity in building the car in
  their own way.
• The result each group constructed a different
  vehicle!

32
Experimentations

• efforts of children to experiment with different
  solutions
• there was a strong tendency for many tests in
  the construction and use of many different parts
  (teacher)

33

• I obsereved that students behavior showed
  that they had tried to impose their own ideas,
  ignoring or modifying the instructions given by
  the teacher For example the red team did not
  use equal-sized wheels which resulted in a
  non-robust construction, but they insisted on
  their original idea that eventually changed
  gradually. the white group used initially six
  wheels (instead of the proposed four) because
  they found it more attractive... (teacher)

34
Fun activities

• The day ended with racing between the three
  vehicles, with the children to amuse and enjoy
  their artifacts

35
Results

• Students successfully approached the concept of
  linear motion at constant speed
• they easily found that the speed remained
  constant at each measurement they had made
• the concept was also reflected in the graphs
  distance-time and speed-time made ??with paper
  and pencil

36
Diaries in the end of each day

• What went well today in what you did with your
  team?
• What did not go well?
• What you liked most of what you did today?
• What did not you like from what you did with your
  group today?

37
the most enjoyable moments

• when at the end of each day they used their cars
  in car racing
• I liked most when we put the battle carts and
  although ours is the heaviest it came out first
• I didnt like that sometimes we were defeated in
  the race by the other children due to our engine
  failure

38
childrens excitement with the game of racing

• Introduced some fun!
• Motivated students to make improvements in their
  vehicles to make them more competitive
• Transformed education into game-based learning
  and turned education into a fun activity
• Combining learning with gaming makes it easier,
  faster and more effective

39
interviews in the end of the course

• most interesting activity?
• the assembly and construction of the vehicle
• emphasized the excitement they had felt when we
  set in motion our car
• their satisfaction from collaboration and team
  work

40
what new did you learn in this course?

• Appreciated the understanding they had gained for
  the kinematics concepts
• However they were impressed with their
  achievement in constructing and programming the
  robotic vehicle itself
• it was surprisingly easy to build the robot
• in the beginning we thought we would never be
  able to build robots that we had seen only in
  pictures but we did!.

41
Conclusions and proposals

• Robotics has much potential to offer in quality
  education
• the benefits in learning are not guaranteed for
  students just by the simple introduction of
  robotics in the classroom
• The real fundamental issue for improving quality
  learning is not the robot itself rather, it is
  the curriculum
• and teachers methodology that will determine the
  learning result

42
Teacher Education courses

• introduction of well designed robotics modules
  within teacher training courses
• have to emphasise the role of educational
  robotics as a tool to foster essential life
  skills
• cognitive,
• meta-cognitive,
• personal development
• team working

43
Teacher Education courses

• To highlight that robotics benefits are relevant
  for all children
• broader perspective projects and strategies
  should be employed by trainers to provide
  multiple pathways for teachers to introduce
  robotics in school and to engage young people
  with diverse interests and learning styles

44
Proposal for a European network

• pioneering efforts are considered as development
  of a high potential if existing networks link
  together and synchronize their actions into a
  European network
• promote communication and collaborative work
  between researchers, teachers, and learners

45
Proposal for a European network

• a forum for the community to share experiences,
  products and expertise
• create and share open educational and
  technological products and practices (curricula
  and resources)
• support teacher education establishing and
  running summer schools for teachers

46
encourage and support teachers

• to try practical implementations of robotics
  curricula in schools,
• to test and validate curricula and methodologies
  in both teacher education and school class level
• To form Special Interest Groups to study specific
  issues and the latest developments in the domain
  of educational robotics

47
For more

• www.etlab.eu
• www.terecop.eu
• alimisis_at_otenet.gr