Ready for Robotics: The Missing T and E of STEM in Early Childhood Education

该项目调查了机器人技术在幼儿教育中的应用。它涉及两个目标：开发和评估专门为幼儿教育设计的低成本、适合发展的机器人建造工具包(PreK-2)，并试验基于机器人的专业发展模式，供幼儿教育工作者教授工程和技术。书中包括了一些研究问题。参与的教师在多大程度上获得了机器人、工程和编程以及教育学方面的知识？他们在多大程度上增加了对儿童早期使用机器人的熟悉、舒适和理解？参加研究所能在多大程度上支持从知识到行动的转变？幼儿教师使用哪些流程/标准将工程和技术融入他们的传统课程？教师是否在课堂上采用机器人工具包和课程？他们如何使其适应自己的实践？在采用和适应方面，预测成功结果的因素是什么？教师的教学实践在多大程度上改变了对T和E在幼儿教育中角色的理解？机器人提供了一座有趣的桥梁，让幼儿项目在学术上更具挑战性，同时尊重游戏在发展轨迹中的重要性。人们的假设是，年幼的孩子可以通过玩弄齿轮、杠杆、马达、传感器成为工程师，通过探索序列、循环和变量成为程序员。机器人可以成为孩子们学习应用数学概念、科学探究方法和解决问题的门户。此外，使用机器人操作可以让孩子们在玩耍学习和学习玩耍的同时参与社会互动和谈判。要将机器人成功地融入幼儿课堂，需要考虑三个因素：机器人技术需要在发展上适当和低成本；教师应该接触到专业发展。这个项目解决了这些问题。它为教育中新兴的机器人领域做出了贡献，解决了一个教育领域--幼儿的需求，在这一领域，缺乏新的技术和方法，无法以适合发展的方式教授技术和工程。

The project investigates the use of robotics into early childhood education. It address two objectives: to develop and evaluate a low-cost, developmentally appropriate robotic construction kit specifically designed for early childhood education (PreK-2) and to pilot a robotics-based professional development model for early childhood educators to teach engineering and technology. A number of research questions are included. To what extent did participating teachers gained knowledge about robotics, engineering and programming, and pedagogies? To what extent have they increased their familiarity of, comfort with, and understanding of the use of robotics in early childhood? To what extent participating in the institute can support the passage from knowledge to action? What processes/standards are used by early childhood teachers to integrate engineering and technology into their traditional curriculum? Do teachers adopt the robotics kit and curriculum for their classrooms? How do they adapt it to their own practices? What are the factors that predict successful outcomes in terms of adoption and adaptation? To what extent has the teaching practice of the teachers changed in a way that demonstrates understanding of the role of T and E in early childhood education?Robotics provides a playful bridge to make early childhood programs more academically challenging while honoring the importance of play in the developmental trajectory. The assumption is that young children can become engineers by playing with gears, levers, motors, sensors; and programmers by exploring sequences, loops and variables. Robotics can be a gateway for children to learn about applied mathematical concepts, the scientific method of inquiry, and problem solving. Moreover, working with robotic manipulatives engages children in social interactions and negotiations while playing to learn and learning to play. For robotics to be successfully integrated into the early childhood classroom, there are three factors that need to be considered: the robotics technology needs to be developmentally appropriate and low-cost; and teachers should be exposed to professional development. This project addresses these issues. It contributes to the emerging field of robotics in education by addressing the needs of an educational segment, early childhood, where there is a lack of new technologies and approaches to teach technology and engineering in a developmentally appropriate way.