Computational Thinking During Robotics: Abstraction as an Embodied Activity

• In Event: Embodiment and Spatialization: Leveraging the Affordances of Learning Technologies

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to examine how 5th grade students’ computational thinking (CT) emerges during robotics through the lens of embodied cognition. Video recordings were collected from three 45-minute class sessions in which students worked in pairs to solve a robotics challenge. One student pair was then purposively selected for detailed analysis. Analysis involved converting video into story-based transcripts and identifying themes; students’ gestures were tracked and mapped within each main theme. Four main themes emerged: (1) gaining familiarity, (2) decomposition, (3) abstraction, and (4) debugging. The results are expected to contribute to the literature on how robotics is embodied from students’ perspective.

Authors

• Theodore J. Kopcha, University of Georgia

• Ceren Ocak, University of Georgia