Exploring the Development of Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Integrating Computational Thinking and Robotics into the Classroom

Authors

Jillian PowersFollow
Ann Musgrove, Florida Atlantic UniversityFollow
Victoria Brown, Florida Atlantic UniversityFollow
Mohammad AzharFollow

Abstract

This paper presents an introductory computational thinking (CT) module that can be implemented into teacher education curricula. The researchers examined how the integration of CT and robotics instruction into an undergraduate instructional technology course influenced pre-service teachers' understanding of CT and robotics and their attitudes towards adopting these tools in their future classrooms. The online module was developed as a result of a collaboration between computer science and education faculty from two universities. A total of 93 students participated in the study. The course was delivered during the spring, summer, and fall semesters of 2020 via distance learning at a large public university located in Florida. Data for this study were collected using a pre-and post-test survey that was created with Qualtrics software. This paper describes how the CT and robotics concepts were taught and examines the influence of the instruction on participants' knowledge and attitudes of CT and robotics and their integration into the classroom.

Recommended Citation

Powers, Jillian; Musgrove, Ann; Brown, Victoria; and Azhar, Mohammad (2020) "Exploring the Development of Pre-Service Teachers' Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Integrating Computational Thinking and Robotics into the Classroom," FDLA Journal: Vol. 6, Article 1.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/fdla-journal/vol6/iss1/1