Perceptions about the Use of Educational Robotics in the Initial Training of Future Teachers: A Study on STEAM Sustainability among Female Teachers

The Promotion of Healthy Hydration Habits through Educational Robotics in University Students

In recent years, there has been a lack of healthy lifestyle habits in the population, including hydration, with negative consequences for health. At the same time, advances in technology have changed the process of teaching and learning since elementary school, highlighting the incorporation of educational robots as innovative resources in recent years. This study analyzes the state of the scientific knowledge presented by university students doing a university degree in Primary Education after a robotics-based educational intervention. The study adopted a quasi-experimental design with a qualitative approach, using category systems and a quantitative approach with descriptive and inferential (Chi-square and Contingency Coefficient) statistics. The results of the study show that the level of scientific knowledge has improved in the different scientific contents involved, highlighting the excellent level presented for the recommended daily volume of hydration. Innovative interventions, through digital resources such as Educational Robotics, are presented as possible alternatives to promoting the healthy habit of hydration, due the effective learning of biosanitary knowledge in the young population.

An Active Learning Didactic Proposal with Human-Computer Interaction in Engineering Education: A Direct Current Motor Case Study

Engineering education requires learning strategies to engage students and improve the development of disciplinary and transversal competencies. Additionally, as economic resources are generally limited, it is sought to avoid investing large sums of money in software and hardware, as well as in fitting out laboratories. This work presents a didactic proposal within the framework of active and collaborative learning that includes the flipped classroom technique to be applied in the curriculum of undergraduate engineering programs and inside a massive flexible digital master class. The activity is the mathematical modeling, simulation, and control system of a direct current motor where simulation work is carried out in open license computational packages. Students understand the physical phenomena involved in the motor’s modeling and the input–output variables’ relations. Moreover, an analogy between an electromechanical and a pure electrical model is carried out, where the relevant variables respond in an agile and reliable manner. To validate the modeling, the differential equations are solved by applying numerical methods, and tested for control purposes. The activity has been validated with a rule-based system applied to a Likert scale survey data. This type of human–computer interaction, in the context of active learning, could engage students and motivate them to develop competencies that are highly appreciated by industry practitioners.

A Methodological Approach to the Teaching STEM Skills in Latin America through Educational Robotics for School Teachers

The study aims to design a methodological approach that allows educational robotics to develop STEM competences for schoolteachers, but with a gender focus. The phases within consist of designing a set of workshops with a gender approach, making use of Arduino, as it allows for introducing concepts in electronics and programming. For this, a mixed research method was applied, where quantitative and qualitative information was collected. The study was carried out with teachers from Latin American schools, where teachers from Chile and Colombia participated the most, and was conducted in virtual mode through the Zoom platform. As a result, it was found that Arduino and its components can be used to build projects that can be related in a real context, which further motivates students. It was also found that the levels of creativity, attitude, and motivation of the students increased with the workshops that were carried out.

Differential Analysis of the Years of Experience of Higher Education Teachers, their Digital Competence and use of Digital Resources: Comparative Research Methods

This study compares the level of digital competence of Spanish higher education teachers in the use of three types of ICT resources in the classroom: digital tools to consume information, digital tools to produce information, and emerging technologies. To measure the level of competence, the validated DigCompEdu Check-In instrument with an ex post facto design is used. The sample consists of 2180 university teachers from Andalusia (Spain) working in different areas of knowledge: Arts and Humanities, Sciences, Health Sciences, Engineering and Architecture, Social and Legal Sciences; and classified into three levels of teaching experience: between 0–5 years, 6–14 years, and 15 years or more. The results show that teachers with 15 or more years of experience represent the group with the most significant differences in regard to their level of digital competence when comparing the use of the three types of ICT resources; furthermore, the results were similar for all areas of knowledge. In addition, the visualization or creation of videos, as well as the visualization or creation of posters and concept maps, are the resources that were found to be most significant for the three levels of experience. For each specific area, it is recommended that each of their results is analysed in detail. Finally, further research is recommended to validate these preliminary findings in each of the knowledge areas.

Comparison Between Performance Levels for Mathematical Competence: Results for the Sex Variable

Schools promote all-round education for each of their students. This requires teachers to work on all of the possibilities offered by a subject, including mathematical ability. This process of adjustment and individualization is essential for students who have excellent performance or aptitudes. This study uses an ex post facto, descriptive and quantitative research methodology to examine the results of giving the online version of the Evaluation Battery for Mathematical Ability (BECOMA On) to 3795 5th-year primary school students. The sample was selected from 147 Spanish schools from 16 autonomous regions and 2 autonomous municipalities. Three levels of performance were identified, 3 being the highest, and different statistical indices were calculated for each of them. The results were also analyzed according to sex, with statistically significant differences in the highest performance level. In addition, the study highlighted a diagnostic gap in the identification of higher capacity students, a pending challenge for education systems for the educational inclusion of all students.

Attitudes towards the Use of Educational Robotics: Exploring Pre-Service and In-Service Early Childhood Teacher Profiles

The introduction of STEM education, and specifically the implementation of educational robotics (ER), has drawn researchers’ attention and has shown that teachers play a crucial role in leading this innovation. The present study concerns in-service and pre-service early childhood teachers, focusing on their perceptions and attitudes about ER use in daily teaching practice. The data were collected via a questionnaire (N = 201) and explored using latent class analysis, which detected distinct clusters/profiles of participants based on their pattern of responses. Two clusters were identified: Cluster1 was relatively homogeneous, including those who share a positive attitude towards ER, while Cluster2 was heterogeneous, comprising participants with inconsistent responses and expressing negative and skeptical thinking. The cluster memberships were associated with external covariates, such as age, years of teaching experience, and variables measuring their technological competencies. The results showed that teaching experience and age were negatively associated with cluster1-membership, while educational robotics knowledge was positively associated. The findings are interpretable, and the implications for education are discussed considering the current literature.

Using Robotics to Enhance Active Learning in Mathematics: A Multi-Scenario Study

The use of technology, which is linked to active learning strategies, can contribute to better outcomes in Mathematics education. We analyse the conditions that are necessary for achieving an effective learning of Mathematics, aided by a robotic platform. Within this framework, the question raised was “What are the conditions that promote effective active math learning with robotic support?” Interventions at different educational scenarios were carried in order to explore three educational levels: elementary, secondary, and high school. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed, comparing the control and treatment groups for all scenarios through examinations, direct observations, and testimonials. The findings point to three key conditions: level, motivation, and teacher training. The obtained results show a very favourable impact on the attention and motivation of the students, and they allow for establishing the conditions that need to be met for an effective relationship between the teacher and the technological tool, so that better learning outcomes in Mathematics are more likely to be obtained.

The Integration of Sustainable Development Goals in Educational Robotics: A Teacher Education Experience

Education is of key importance to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), particularly now that the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the progress made toward a more inclusive, peaceful, fair, and prosperous society. In this research study, students of the bachelor’s degree in Pedagogy receive a specialized training that addresses the SDGs through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) referring to computers and digital technologies. In particular, the training addresses the SDGs through Educational Robotics (ER). The aim of the training course is twofold: first, to reinforce the students’ Teacher Digital Competence (TDC), defined as teachers’ ICT competence and didactic and methodological skills; and second, to train them in the integration of SDGs in ER educational projects. This paper presents a case study in which qualitative and quantitative methods are implemented. The objectives of the study are to investigate the students’ level of TDC and examine their ability to integrate SDGs in ER projects. The research instruments employed are the COMDID-A questionnaire, a lesson plan template, and a lesson plan evaluation rubric. Among the most prominent findings, it is shown that the training enabled the students to work on sustainability in a cross-curricular manner and successfully develop ER projects centered on different SDGs. These conclusions will encourage teacher education institutions to integrate SDGs in their curriculum.

“Sustainable City”: A Steam Project Using Robotics to Bring the City of the Future to Primary Education Students

This article presents a STEAM project, “Sustainable City”, based on educational robotics whose objective is to bring the problems of climate change closer to primary school students. The participants were 30 students (aged 10–11) from 5th year of Primary Education and the project consisted of 14 sessions in which different active methodologies such as project-based learning, collaborative learning and the flipped classroom were carried out. A pre-test and a post-test were carried out and the results were better in the post-test, which indicates that the students improved their skills and increased their motivation. As a conclusion, this STEAM project, which is adapted to the Spanish LOMCE curriculum, can be a reference for other teachers to bring their students closer to the problem of environmental change through educational robotics and the use of active methodologies.

Teaching Digital Competence and Eco-Responsible Use of Technologies: Development and Validation of a Scale

The environmental impact produced by digital technologies is one of the fundamental contents to be developed by teachers of the 21st century. Different investigations raise the need to redesign education towards sustainable models and promote a critical look at digital technologies. The main objective of this manuscript is to design a valid, reliable and useful scale to measure self-perceived teacher digital competence regarding the eco-responsible use of technologies. The instrument has been designed based on a detailed analysis of the main frameworks for the development of digital competence in Europe: INTEF and DigCompEdu. A content validation process has been followed through the expert judgment method. Subsequently, its reliability and validity are estimated using structural equation modeling techniques. The results obtained guarantee the reliability and validity of the model. Therefore, the need to establish environmental teacher training plans and more awareness about the eco-responsible use of technologies is established.

Makey Makey as an Interactive Robotic Tool for High School Students’ Learning in Multicultural Contexts

Information and communication technologies (ICT) are immersed in the teaching and learning processes. Specifically, educational robotics is a technology with great projection in learning spaces. This educational technology has revealed great potential in educational processes in the scientific literature. In this study, the Makey Makey device has been used to carry out a methodological contrast at the instructional level. The objective of this study is to verify if the use of the Makey Makey robotic device influences various psycho-social and educational dimensions in the subject of physical education. A quasi-experimental research design has been used in a sample of 177 students from secondary education. A questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. The results show the ratings made by the control group students are lower than those of the experimental group in all dimensions, although there is no relationship of significance in all dimensions. This fact only occurs in motivation, teacher–student, student–content, collaboration, resolution, and teacher-rating dimensions. Conclusions show that the teaching method in which robotics is used leads to more success in the field of physical education if we compared it to the more conventional method. The outstanding data show the teaching–learning process has the highest influence on motivation, teacher–student, student–content, collaboration, resolution, and teacher rating.