Benefits of Robotics with Young Learners MassCUE 2019 • 18 Oct 2019 Jason Innes Manager of Training and Curriculum Development jason@kinderlabrobotics.com
What do robotics and coding look like in the early childhood classroom?
Sequencing a “Story”
Sequencing a “Story”
KinderLab Robotics Our mission: universal STEM literacy Creators of KIBO, a robot kit that lets 4-7 year-olds build, program, decorate, and run their own robot. Founded in 2013, with NSF funding, by Professor Marina Bers (Tufts) and Mitch Rosenberg (Kiva Systems)
Professor Marina Umaschi Bers KinderLab Chief Scientist • Chair of the Eliot-Pearson • Department of Child Study and Human Development, and Professor of Computer Science, at Tufts University Creative experiences with • technology support positive child development.
15 Years of Research and Publications Coding as a Designing Digital Blocks to Robots Playground Experiences for (2007) (2017) Positive Youth Development (2012) Additional Papers and research can be found at www.kinderlabrobotics.com/research-articles
6 Benefits of Robotics and Coding in Early Childhood
21 st Century Learning + Innovation Skills Critical thinking – children • design, create, test and improve Creativity – children can • build and transform robots Collaboration – screen-free robotics and • coding encourage group work Communication – coding is a new • literacy, a new means of self-expression (4 C’s of Learning and Innovation, Framework for 21 st Century Learning)
Coding is Literacy We teach kids to write so that they can • express themselves Coding provides a new set of tools for • self expression.
Computational Thinking Seven “powerful ideas” of computational thinking described by Bers (2017): 1) Algorithms 2) Modularity 3) Control Structures 4) Representation 5) Hardware/Software 6) The Design Process 7) Debugging
Computational Thinking + Child Development Computational Thinking Skill Child Development Skills and Attributes Sequencing / logical order Algorithms (foundational math + literacy skill) Modularity Breaking a large job up Writing (and following) instructions Control Structures Recognizing patterns Cause and effect Representation Symbolic representations (e.g. writing) Hardware / Software Recognizing that technology is not “magic” Recognizing objects that are human-made Design Process Problem solving, perseverance Editing and revision (as in writing) Debugging Identifying problems / checking your work “Grit” Bers, M.U., (2018). Coding as a playground: Programming and computational thinking in the early childhood classroom. New York, NY: Routledge press
Playground Technologies Children engage with • technology as active producers rather than passive consumers Children collaborate, • negotiate, and share . Children explore, invent, and move • “Make coding the playground.” • -Bers, M. (2012). Designing Digital Experiences for Positive Youth Development: From Playpen to Playground. Cary, NC: Oxford.
Robotics Gets Kids Moving Young children learn by: • Moving, doing, and o making (Piaget, Papert) Experimenting, o playing, and collaborating (Vygotsky) Robotics demonstrate • tangible effect of coding Robots are “objects to think with” (Papert) • Children using the KIBO robot performed 27% • better on computational thinking assessment than children using screen-based tools.* *See Appendix for research cited.
Making and Building with Robotics • 6-8 hour intro curriculum with Animals theme, ending in showcase • Covers engineering design process and sequencing • Supported by a 25-min PD video
Counteract STEM Gender Stereotypes Stereotypes about gender and STEM form as early as preschool. With Robotics (using KIBO): • Reduced STEM Stereotype Impact After a KIBO curriculum, 2/3 of girls expressed interest in engineering careers – a rate equal to boys. • Leveling the STEM Playing Field Girls who completed a 6-week curriculum were equally as capable as boys at KIBO programming. *See Appendix for research cited.
Engineering Design Process � �
EDP and Growth Mindset Students: • Test and Improve • Share their work • Share their questions • and collaborate on solutions “Most work that is finally successful is the result of a series of unsuccessful tests in which difficulties are gradually eliminated.” -Robert Goddard, 1940
The “Fixable” Mindset? "Many children are held back in their learning because they have a model of learning in which you have either ‘got it’ or ‘got it wrong.’ But when you program a computer you almost never get it right the first time... The question to ask about the program is not whether it is right or wrong, but if it is fixable .” - Seymour Papert, Mindstorms, 1980
ECT Program at Tufts: Professional Development in Early Childhood Technology
Robotics and Early Childhood Technology PD at Tufts • The Early Childhood Technology Certificate Program at Tufts University is based in Dr. Bers’ DevTech Research Group • A blended online/in-person one-year program • Angie Kalthoff, Program Manager • angela.kalthoff@tufts.edu • Twitter @tuftsect • Facebook.com/tuftsect • go.tufts.edu/ECT
ECT Sample Student Schedule • Fall (Online Seminar) Technological Tools for Playful Learning • Spring (Online Seminar) Designing Educational & Technological Environments for Children • Summer (On-Campus) Early Childhood Technology Summit (work with fellow students at DevTech, including a practicum at the Eliot-Pearson Children’s School)
Leave the ECT Program with… • Knowledge of theory and practice working related to early childhood education and technology • In-depth experience with coding, engineering, and robotics for young children • Experience writing technology & engineering curricula for young children • Supervised experience teaching with technology to young children go.tufts.edu/ECT Contact: gradadmissions@tufts.edu
KIBO: Tangible coding for Pre-K – 2 nd Grade
KIBO Introduction Video: https://youtu.be/baod8Lg3iCQ
Screen-Free Coding with Building Blocks
KIBO Assembly and Scanning https://youtu.be/MeWAaSTQE5c
KIBO Does the “Hokey-Pokey” Sequencing a “Story” https://youtu.be/oXBdq3sC9EQ
What can KIBO become?
KIBO is… a Dancer
KIBO is… an Imaginary Car
KIBO is… a Migrating Gray Whale
KIBO is… a Cave Explorer
KIBO is… a Bowling Ball
KIBO is… a (Very) Hungry Caterpillar
KIBO is… an Artist
KIBO is all of this… …because KIBO is anything children imagine. KIBO is a robot kit that lets 4-7 year olds build , decorate and code their imagined creations.
Time to Play with KIBO!
Time to Play with KIBO: Learning Stations KIBO Bowling The Hokey Pokey Bin-Ball Shape Search …or just experiment!
Thank You! • Connect with us @KinderLabRobot • Visit our booth in the LearnLaunch exhibit area • Download our whitepaper “ 6 Key Benefits of Using Robotics in Your Early Childhood Classroom ”
Research Citation Appendix
Appendix: Impact Assessment Research Details Sequencing Skills: KIBO improved children’s sequencing skills from 20- 35% after an 8-week curriculum. Sequencing ability, or the ability to put objects or events into a logical order, is a fundamental early-childhood cognitive skill associated with success in language arts and math. PreK-Gr2 students’ performance on standard assessments of sequencing ability improved from 20-35% after an 8-week robotics and coding curriculum with KIBO. Kazakoff, E., & Bers, M. (2012). Programming in a robotics context in the kindergarten • classroom: The impact on sequencing skills. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 21(4), 371-391. Kazakoff, E., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2013). The effect of a classroom-based intensive robotics • and programming workshop on sequencing ability in early childhood. Early Childhood Education Journal, 41(4), 245-255. doi:10.1007/s10643-012-0554-5. Kazakoff, E.R. & Bers, M.U. (2014). Put your robot in, Put your robot out: Sequencing through • programming robots in early childhood. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 50(4). 55
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