Impact of participation in the World Robot Olympiad on K-12 robotics education from the coach's perspective

Yicong Zhang; Yanan Lu; Xianqing Bao; Feng-Kuang Chiang

doi:10.3934/steme.2022002

Article Contents

2022, Volume 2, Issue 1: 37-46. Doi: 10.3934/steme.2022002 open access

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Impact of participation in the World Robot Olympiad on K-12 robotics education from the coach's perspective

1.
Department of Educational Technology, Shanghai Normal University, No.100 Guilin Rd. Shanghai, China; 1114381700@qq.com (Y.Z.); bao@shnu.edu.cn (X.B.)
2.
Shanghai AI Laboratory, Shanghai, China; 648245013@qq.com
3.
Center for Future Education, School of Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China

* Correspondence: Email: fkchiang@shnu.edu.cn; Tel: +86-21-6432-8993
* Correspondence: Email: fkchiang@shnu.edu.cn; Tel: +86-21-6432-8993

Academic Editor: William Guo

Received: October 2021

Revised: February 2022

Published: March 2022

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Abstract

The integration of robotics education with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has a great potential in future education. In recent years, numerous countries have hosted robotic competitions. This study uses a mixed research method to explore the coaches' views on student participation in the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) by incorporating the questionnaire surveys and interviews conducted at the 2019 WRO finals in Hungary. By quantitative and qualitative analyses, coaches generally agreed that participation in the WRO improved students' STEM learning skills and cultivated their patience and resilience in handling challenging tasks.

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Figure 1. The 2018 and 2019 dimension themes mentioned by coaches

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Table 1. Overall sample reliability analysis

Dimension	Number of items	Number of questions	Cronbach's alpha
Learning Skills	195	5	0.828
Engineering Thinking	195	5	0.823
Emotional Engagement	195	2	0.804
Career Choice	195	2	0.712
Problem Solving	195	3	0.820
Collaboration Quality	195	4	0.839
Global Consciousness	195	5	0.798

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Table 2. Coach's professional sectors in relation to the seven dimensions

	Sector (mean ± standard deviation)						F	p
	Primary School	Junior High School	Senior High School	University	Training Agency	Others	F	p
Learning Skills	22.22±2.45	20.75±3.98	21.41±3.82	22.09±2.70	22.79±2.43	19.67±2.34	2.512	0.031*
Engineering Thinking	21.09±3.05	20.00±3.34	21.47±3.60	21.91±2.39	22.47±2.27	19.33±1.63	3.221	0.008**
Emotional Engagement	8.72±1.39	8.59±1.29	8.40±1.86	9.09±1.14	8.94±1.24	7.83±1.47	1.254	0.286
Career Choice	8.61±1.72	8.47±1.65	8.64±1.56	9.00±0.89	9.00±1.29	7.50±2.07	1.347	0.246
Problem-Solving	12.88±1.78	12.49±2.00	12.93±2.33	13.34±1.20	13.44±1.60	12.17±0.49	1.298	0.266
Collaboration Quality	17.48±2.35	16.49±3.08	17.13±3.19	17.64±1.50	17.11±2.90	16.33±1.21	0.638	0.671
Global Consciousness	21.02±3.70	19.78±4.76	20.96±4.12	22.27±2.76	21.79±3.40	19.96±3.02	1.343	0.248
Note: * means significant at the 0.05 level; ** means significant at the 0.01 level.

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Table 3. Competition categories in relation to the seven dimensions

	Student competition category (mean ± standard deviation)				F	p
	Regular Category	Open Category	WRO Football	Advanced Robotics Challenge (ARC)	F	p
Learning Skills	21.54±3.23	22.50±2.94	21.67±3.76	22.25±3.40	1.078	0.36
Engineering Thinking	20.98±3.28	22.06±2.68	21.48±3.01	22.50±3.11	1.606	0.189
Emotional Engagement	8.53±1.38	9.02±1.31	8.48±2.25	9.00±1.15	1.454	0.229
Career Choice	8.74±1.44	8.88±1.41	7.71±2.15	9.50±1.00	3.555	0.015
Problem-Solving	12.70±2.08	13.51±1.52	13.11±1.44	13.75±1.50	2.456	0.064
Collaboration Quality	16.83±2.84	17.49±2.83	17.85±2.20	17.00±3.56	1.208	0.308
Global Consciousness	20.49±4.06	22.29±3.54	20.90±3.36	22.25±3.40	2.671	0.049*
Note: * means significant at the 0.05 level; ** means significant at the 0.01 level.

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