In this study, the use of robotics was explored in a Grade 12 Technical Sciences class, to further understand it as an emerging pedagogy that allows learners to apply creative thinking and produce innovative solutions to problems in Newton’s Second law of motion. The study's conceptual framework was underpinned by constructivism, constructionism and the Cognitive Refinement Instructional Approach (CRIA), which supports the notion that through assimilation and accommodation, Lego Mindstorms robotics tools can be used as manipulatives to develop new knowledge. The learners participating in this mixed-method procedure of enquiry were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 21) that took part in the robotics intervention and a control group (n = 21) that continued with conventional extra classes. It was evident in the qualitative results that learner’s knowledge improved regarding the concepts of acceleration and net force, but misconceptions persisted in the concepts of frictional force and tension force. In the analysis of the quantitative results, the independent-samples t-test showed that there was a significant difference in the post-test scores between the control group (M= 3.19, SD= 1.16) and experimental group (M=4.57, SD= 1.43); t(40)= 3.42, p = 0.001. The study found that robotics does have a significant effect on the academic test scores of Technical Sciences learners than the traditional intervention in Newton’s Second Law. The scientific merit and significance of this study will contribute to teaching methods and learning of science in the technical-academic schooling stream. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The problem of this study was to compare the effects of two methods of filmstrip presentation on student achievement. One method employed a personal robot to automatically advance a filmstrip projector in sequence with an audio cassette tape while the other method had a person manually advancing a filmstrip projector in sequence with an audio cassette tape. These were the findings of the study: The pretested experimental and control subjects learned from the sound/filmstrip. The pretested experimental and control groups' mean posttest scores were significantly higher (p < .05) than their pretest mean scores. The experimental groups did not achieve significantly higher mean scores (p > .05) on a posttest, delayed retest, or module mean tests than the control groups. Using the findings of this study, the following conclusions were drawn. Students Learn from a sound/filmstrip on robotic technology whether it is presented by a human being or by a robot. A robot is a viable alternative to the human teacher in situations where the student-teacher interaction is limited.

Uncertainty is ubiquitous in life, and learning is an activity particularly likely to be fraught with uncertainty. Previous research suggests that students and teachers struggle in their attempts to manage the psychological experience of uncertainty and that students often fail to experience uncertainty when uncertainty may be warranted. Yet, few educational researchers have explicitly and systematically observed what students do, their behaviors and strategies, as they attempt to manage the uncertainty they experience during academic tasks. In this study I investigated how students in one fifth grade class managed uncertainty they experienced while engaged in collaborative robotics engineering projects, focusing particularly on how uncertainty management was influenced by task structure and students’ interactions with their peer collaborators. The study was initiated at the beginning of instruction related to robotics engineering and preceded through the completion of several long-term collaborative robotics projects, one of which was a design project. I relied primarily on naturalistic observation of group sessions, semi-structured interviews, and collection of artifacts. My data analysis was inductive and interpretive, using qualitative discourse analysis techniques and methods of grounded theory. Three theoretical frameworks influenced the conception and design of this study: community of practice, distributed cognition, and complex adaptive systems theory. Uncertainty was a pervasive experience for the students collaborating in this instructional context. Students experienced uncertainty related to the project activity and uncertainty related to the social system as they collaborated to fulfill the requirements of their robotics engineering projects. They managed their uncertainty through a diverse set of tactics for reducing, ignoring, maintaining, and increasing uncertainty. Students experienced uncertainty from more different sources and used more and different types of uncertainty management strategies in the less structured task setting than in the more structured task setting. Peer interaction was influential because students relied on supportive social response to enact most of their uncertainty management strategies. When students could not garner socially supportive response from their peers, their options for managing uncertainty were greatly reduced. / text

<h2>Abstract</h2><p dir="ltr">Currently, only 22% of high school graduates meet the basic requirements for one or more college courses in mathematics, science, reading, or English signifying fewer students with the skills to enter careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (Smithsonian Science Education Center, 2015). In contrast, science and engineering employment in the United States has grown more rapidly than the overall workforce and now represents 5% of all jobs which is projected to increase to 8% by 2029 (Khan et al., 2020). The current statistics represent a future labor force entering the labor market without the skills needed to obtain a large portion of future occupations. To bridge this gap, the U.S. Federal government outlined a vision with three goals to provide Americans access to high-quality STEM education to increase the skills of the future workforce (National Science & Technology Council, 2018). The three goals include 1) building a strong foundation for STEM literacy; 2) increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM; 3) preparing the STEM workers for the future (National Science & Technology Council, 2018). As the economy and workforce develop in future years, students will require a high-quality STEM education to enter this growing workforce to meet the goals of the federal government and the needs of future occupations. Robotic platforms are diverse and have the ability to provide students with instant feedback, integrate multiple subjects during the design challenge, and support self-efficacy development through mastery events where students practice skills until they receive a favorable result. Robotics in a life-centered context could interest a diverse range of young adults into STEM career fields. This study implements robotic learning activies in an assistive technology context which centers around improving the lives of living organisms.</p>