Implementing and sustaining coding and robotics practices in rural elementary school districts: an activity theory perspective

Abstract

In this study, we investigated a rural school district’s endeavor to implement and sustain coding and robotics integration into their elementary school classrooms. Our data sources were teacher and administrator interviews, video recordings of teachers’ learning of coding and robotics, and artifacts. The analysis showed that administrators and teachers developed deeper interests in including coding and robotics practices in their schools, particularly when they observed the relevancy of coding and robotics education for elementary schools. The analysis also revealed some contradictions in the implementation and sustainability of coding and robotics practices/instruction in the district. Some of these contradictions were related to the contextual and situational realities of teachers’ jobs, such as their time frames to cover the curriculum.