Abstract:

Gifted children, despite their high potential in cognitive development, can experience socio-emotional difficulties (Pfeiffer, 2016; Ribeiro Piske, & Stoltz, 2021). Based on this, the aim of this study was to investigate whether expressing the emotions experienced by gifted students (GS) during a lesson involving different robotic tasks of varying difficulty levels and teaching methods contributes to students' Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills.

The research employed a case study method. Participants consisted of 75 GS aged between 12 and 14 years. Data were collected using the Social Emotional Learning Skills Scale (SELS) (Kabakçı & Korkut Owen, 2010) and the "Emotions Experienced in Learning Processes Form" (EELP) designed by the researchers.

The implementation lasted for five weeks. In the first week, training on emotions was provided to the GS by the school guidance counselor and the researcher, followed by the administration of the SELS. Subsequently, students' prior knowledge of robots/robotics was assessed, and various robotic kits were introduced. Activities during the implementation were task-based, prepared at intermediate and challenging levels. For the teaching method, students were asked to perform some tasks collaboratively and others individually. GS were instructed to write down the emotions they experienced during the lesson on the EELP form. Self-report measurements related to the emotions experienced by students were conducted for each learning task. SELS was administered again in the final week.

The data collected through the EELP form were analyzed descriptively using percentages and frequencies. To determine if there were differences between the first and final SELS scores of students, a paired samples t-test was used.

The analysis revealed that students' emotions varied based on the difficulty of the learning task and whether they worked individually or collaboratively. Happiness, pride, and relief were expressed more in collaborative challenging tasks, whereas anxiety was predominantly expressed in individual and challenging tasks. It was noted that students frequently mentioned their feelings irrespective of the learning method in tasks of moderate difficulty.

Significant differences were found between the first and final week scores of students in terms of both total and sub-dimensions related to SEL.

In conclusion, the task-based robotic learning program, which takes emotions into account, was effective in increasing SEL scores of students. Recognizing and expressing emotions experienced by students during the learning process can help them understand their own socio-emotional characteristics. Based on these findings, it is recommended to allow students to express their emotions during learning activities, consider their emotions in task design, design tasks at an appropriate difficulty level tailored to students' characteristics, and emphasize individual and collaborative tasks in the design process. Although an experimental study specifically targeting students' SEL development has not been conducted, the increase in SEL scores is noteworthy. It can be said that the task-based robotic learning program, which takes emotions into account, contributes to the improvement of students' SEL levels. While students' awareness and expression of their own emotions during the research period may be a contributing factor to the increase in SEL levels, further experimental studies are needed to validate this.

Keywords:

Gifted students, robotics, emotions, social emotional learning.