Unlocking learner creativity through a robotics-enhanced story creation summer camp: A pilot study

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Abstract

This study examined how a one-week summer camp engaged 14 students (ages six to ten) in robotics-enhanced story creation to foster creativity. Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to explore how campers participated in story creation and demonstrated creativity. The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking - Figural results show significant improvements in fluency and elaboration but non-significant declines in overall creativity, originality, abstractness of titles, and resistance to premature closure. Qualitative findings highlight campers’ creative strengths and areas where creativity was limited, emphasizing the crucial role of task design. While most literature focuses on robotics for programming, this research offers fresh evidence of using robotics for story creation to promote creativity and concludes with design principles for creativity-focused robotics tasks.

Authors

• Qijie Vicky Cai, Towson University

• Pei Ge, Towson University