Opening Doors to STEM With Low-Cost Open-Source Instructional Robotics: Disrupting School-Based Socioeconomic Reproduction

• In Event: Technology, Robotics, and Computational Thinking for Learning

Abstract

We conducted a randomized experiment examining the effects of low-cost open source instructional robotics on increasing students’ interest in STEM fields and access to quality STEM instruction for ALL students. The instructional tools used in this study were open source visual coding blocks and the accompanying low-cost open source 3D printed Mars Rover. The intervention had a positive effect on the students’ (N = 22) perceptions towards STEM subjects and careers. We present the results of Mann-Whitney tests and Cohen’s d effect sizes. The implications of this study include highlighting the power and promise of open source instructional robotics in disrupting the cycle of socio-economic reproduction at under resourced schools.

Authors

• Aamir Fidai, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Mary Margaret Capraro, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Robert M. Capraro, Texas A&M University - College Station