Investigation of the Opinions of Teachers Who Received In-Service Training for Arduino-Assisted Robotic Coding Applications

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the opinions of primary school teachers who received in-service training on robotic coding applications. For this purpose, descriptive study model, which is one of the qualitative research methods, was utilized. The study group of the research consisted of six primary school teachers who voluntarily gave opinions out of 30 teachers who participated in in-service robotic coding training in the first semester of 2018-2019 academic year. "Semi-structured interview form" was used as data collection tool. The data obtained from the participants were transferred to NVivo 12 program and analyzed by content analysis method and classified under certain categories. Direct quotations were included to reflect the responses of the participants in a striking manner. As a result of the research, participants stated that the in-service training period was inadequate and limited, and that a limited number of examples of robotic coding applications were covered. In addition, it was found that the participants generally did not incorporate such practices in their own classes after the training. They made various explanations about the reasons of this situation. In line with the results of this research, it is suggested that more time should be devoted to the applications related to robotic coding provided to teachers during in-service training, and that activities related to how to integrate them into classroom teaching practices should be organized.