Skill Development and Knowledge Acquisition Cultivated by Maker Education: Evidence from Arduino-based Educational Robotics

Pao-Nan Chou

doi:10.29333/ejmste/93483

Abstract

This study investigated elementary school students’ learning performances and behaviors in a maker education program. An informal after-school learning environment entitled Robot MakerSpace was created at a public elementary school in Taiwan and 30 grade 5 students voluntarily participated in a 16-week educational experiment. The student participants were randomly divided into two experimental groups. Students in the maker group received weekly educational robotics lessons, whereas those in the nonmaker group only engaged in other after-school learning activities such as homework practice in traditional classrooms. Mixed methods research was used for data collection. An experiment with a pretest–posttest and control group design was employed to measure the students’ electrical engineering and computer programming content knowledge and problem-solving skills. In addition, a qualitative approach with an emphasis on filed observation was adopted to evaluate the instructional implementation of the maker education program. The quantitative findings revealed that maker education training significantly improved the electrical engineering and computer programming content knowledge of the students and improved their problem-solving skills. The qualitative findings showed the students required considerable learning support from the instructor such as strategies for software and hardware debugging.

Highlights

AND LITERATURE REVIEWConcept of Maker EducationBecause of a greater emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to prepare for future economic needs and the challenges of the generation, the maker movement advocated by a number of governments worldwide is a crucial learning trend of innovating educational environments (Horizon Report, 2016)
This study investigated elementary school students’ learning performances and behaviors in a maker education program
An informal after-school learning environment entitled Robot MakerSpace was created at a public elementary school in Taiwan and 30 grade 5 students voluntarily participated in a 16-week educational experiment

Summary

Introduction

AND LITERATURE REVIEWConcept of Maker EducationBecause of a greater emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education to prepare for future economic needs and the challenges of the generation, the maker movement advocated by a number of governments worldwide is a crucial learning trend of innovating educational environments (Horizon Report, 2016). The popular phenomenon of the maker movement encourages the implementation of maker education (or educational makerspaces) at various levels in educational contexts (Kurti, Kurti, Fleming, 2014). Maker education environments enable participants (or learners) with similar interests and diverse experiences to employ different digital tools to construct physical works, thereby realizing their creative ideas (Lee, 2015). For this reason, Kurti et al (2014) proposed that maker education could enable participants to develop problem-solving skills and creative thinking and be trained in various branches of engineering.

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