Making Animal-Inspired Robots With Fifth and Sixth Graders: Introducing Engineering in Preservice Teacher Education

• In Event: 47.093 - Supporting Learners in STEM, Making, and Computational Thinking

Abstract

Increasingly, elementary teachers are being asked to integrate engineering and computing into their instruction. However, most pre-service teachers (PSTs) are not exposed to these subjects in their coursework. In Spring 2018, researchers combined an educational technology course with an after-school club at a local public school. PSTs worked alongside fifth and sixth graders on a series of technology challenges that culminated in the creation of animal-inspired robots. The “WoW Club”, as it was known, introduced both populations to engineering, coding, and robotics, while allowing them to interact and develop skills in a low-stakes environment. This approach was found to have a positive impact on PSTs’ engineering self-efficacy and coding self-efficacy.

Authors

• Jennifer Jill Kidd, Old Dominion University

• Krishnanand Kaipa, Old Dominion University