Computational thinking (CT) is widely considered an important life skill, crucial for active engagement in the digital age. Numerous studies demonstrate that CT development can begin effectively in early childhood. However, the incorporation of conditionals—a fundamental component of many CT definitions and a concept assessed in validated CT tests—into educational robotics curricula remains underexplored. This study investigates the integration of conditional programming into Robotito, an educational robot designed to teach CT to preschoolers. Across four evaluation sessions involving three experienced teachers (P1 and P2 participated in the first two sessions; P3 in the remaining ones), we identified the strengths and weaknesses of three conditionals prototypes. Based on their feedback we developed a final implementation that we evaluated with 30 preschoolers in a classroom context. This paper discusses the evaluation outcomes, emphasizing teachers’ perspectives related to children’s age and classroom context. Additionally, the Robotito simulator, created to facilitate prototype evaluation, was found to be a valuable tool for introducing Robotito programming to children.

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From Prototype to the Classroom: Iterative Development of Conditionals in Early Childhood Robotics

  • Ewelina Bakala,
  • Gonzalo Tejera,
  • Juan Pablo Hourcade

摘要

Computational thinking (CT) is widely considered an important life skill, crucial for active engagement in the digital age. Numerous studies demonstrate that CT development can begin effectively in early childhood. However, the incorporation of conditionals—a fundamental component of many CT definitions and a concept assessed in validated CT tests—into educational robotics curricula remains underexplored. This study investigates the integration of conditional programming into Robotito, an educational robot designed to teach CT to preschoolers. Across four evaluation sessions involving three experienced teachers (P1 and P2 participated in the first two sessions; P3 in the remaining ones), we identified the strengths and weaknesses of three conditionals prototypes. Based on their feedback we developed a final implementation that we evaluated with 30 preschoolers in a classroom context. This paper discusses the evaluation outcomes, emphasizing teachers’ perspectives related to children’s age and classroom context. Additionally, the Robotito simulator, created to facilitate prototype evaluation, was found to be a valuable tool for introducing Robotito programming to children.