Abstract:

Preparing science teachers to teach using robotics is one way to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, as well as other 21st-century skills such as creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, and computational thinking (Anisimova et al., 2020). Nevertheless, the literature reports a lack of STEM teachers’ competencies for integrating robotics activities in science education and low self-efficacy of teachers to utilize a robotic environment in their teaching (Rahman et al., 2017; You et al., 2021).

This paper reports on results from a case study that investigated how robotics’ professional development program influenced in-service teachers’ self-efficacy toward integrating robotics activities into science education. Also, this paper reports on teachers’ attitudes towards using robotics activities in science education before the beginning and at the end of the professional development program.

The professional development program followed the Task-Centered Instructional Strategy (Merrill, 2007). The Task-Centered Instructional Strategy is designed to foster complex learning through direct instruction in the context of real-world task progression. Three tasks were designed, including technological, pedagogical, and science content knowledge in an increasing difficulty level. More specifically, the tasks addressed the use of robotics (e.g., construction, programming), physics (e.g., ballistic movement), and the pedagogical knowledge relevant to integrating robotics into science education. For example, in the second task, the teachers had to develop a lesson plan that included robotics to teach scientific content knowledge for their choice. We used EV3 LEGO kits and programming blocks, a new technology for most of the participating teachers. The professional development program spanned over seven four-hour sessions and one two-hour session.

Sixteen middle school teachers participated in the professional development program. Results from pre-post 5-point Likert-type questionnaires indicated that teachers’ self-efficacy (e.g., “Ability to design appropriate robotics activities for science education”) and attitudes (e.g., “I support the use of robotics in the science classroom”) towards robotics activities significantly increased. Also, the case study findings showed significantly lower levels of teachers’ anxiety in performing robotics tasks after the program (e.g., “Constructing a robotic prototype”; “Fixing a programming problem in a robot”). Overall, the teachers expressed high satisfaction with the professional development program (e.g., “The program has increased my confidence to implement robotics-based science activities”). Also, in line with previous studies (e.g., Rosenberg-Kima et al., 2022), this case study demonstrates how the Task-Centered Instructional strategy can be used to develop competencies in novice learners, which in turn can positively influence their sense of self-efficacy and anxiety. Acquiring teaching competencies in robotics can create in teachers a sense of self-efficacy for using robotics and develop positive attitudes towards robotics. Finally, this case study supports the use of the Task-Centered Instructional Strategy as an instructional approach to support in-service teachers in integrating robotics activities in their classes.

Keywords:

Educational Robotics, Self-Efficacy, Task-Centered Instructional Strategy, Teachers’ Professional Development.