Florence Sullivan is professor of learning technologies at UMass, Amherst. Her research focuses on collaborative learning with computational media, such as Robotics and Scratch. She is interested in supporting the development of curricula and pedagogical practices that support computer science learning from an ethical and equitable framework. Phone: 413-577-1950 Address: UMass, Amherst School of Education 813 N. Pleasant St. Amherst, MA 01003
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of middle school students' perceptio... more The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of middle school students' perceptions of the ideal science stu-dent to their problem solving activity and conceptual under-standing in the applied science area of robotics. Twenty-six 11 and 12 year-olds (22 boys) attending a summer camp for academically advanced students participated in the study. This correlational study utilizes survey and observational data. Students completed the ideal science student survey and individually engaged in a problem solving activity that was videotaped. Students were instructed to think-aloud during the problem solving session. The final programming solution students created was scored using a conceptual rubric. Two dominant perceptions of the ideal science student were iden-tified, a traits-based view and a process-oriented view. Stu-dents with a traits-based view tended to use domain general strategies to solve the robotics problem. Whereas, students with a process-oriented view tended...
Internation Journal of Engineering Education, 2021
The robotics based Elementary Engineering Curriculum-used by students in this study-and other sim... more The robotics based Elementary Engineering Curriculum-used by students in this study-and other similar projects have the potential to increase the STEM pipeline but elementary engineering is not well-understood. Research is needed to understand how to teach engineering to students as their cognitive, motor, and social skills rapidly develop in elementary school. The authors conducted a cross-sectional case study of six grade 2 and six grade 6 elementary robotics students in the context of established K-6 elementary robotics curriculum. Students were videotaped doing an open-ended engineering task based on LEGO robotics using talk-aloud and clinical interview techniques. The engineering design processes were analyzed and compared. Significant differences were found in final projects and engineering design process related to the complexity of the ride they tried to build and the key skills and structural knowledge they brought to the task. Seven key factors identified consisted of three cognitive skills of cognitive flexibility, causal reasoning, and planning ability, three domain specific process skills of application of mathematics and science, engineering design process skills, and design principles of stability, scale, and the structural knowledge they had of LEGO robotics, most pointedly, LEGO connection knowledge. Implications of these findings for teachers are given.
This study investigates how students who are peripherally positioned in computer science-based, c... more This study investigates how students who are peripherally positioned in computer science-based, collaborative group work meaningfully engage with the group activity in order to learn. Our research took place in the context of a one-day, all-girl robotics workshop, in which the participants were learning to program robotic devices. A total of 17 girls, ages 8 – 13 (M = 11.725) participated in the workshop. Participants were recruited from local middle schools, through the technology teacher. Data collection consisted of video and audiotaping all group interactions over the daylong workshop. The group discussions were then fully transcribed. In this study, we focus on two students from different groups who had less direct contact with the materials, and were thus positioned peripherally. We used microgenetic learning analytic techniques to analyze discourse patterns in order to characterize the engagement of both the two groups of which the students were a part, as well as the two students themselves. One of the groups demonstrated stronger coordination from a discourse perspective and the focal student in that group exhibited meaningful engagement, while the other group demonstrated weaker coordination from a discourse perspective and the focal student exhibited marginal engagement. This contrast allows us to begin to build a picture of the factors that support learning from the periphery. Our results indicate that agency exhibited in well-coordinated group discussions is a key aspect of meaningful engagement.
Skip to content. Taylor & Francis Online: Librarians; Authors &am... more Skip to content. Taylor & Francis Online: Librarians; Authors & Editors; Societies. Register; Sign in; Mobile. Home; Browse; Products; Redeem a voucher; Shortlist; Shopping Cart Cart. The online platform for Taylor & Francis Group content. Search. Advanced Search Within current journal Entire site. Home > List of Issues > Table of Contents > List of Guest Reviewers in 2012. Browse journal. View all volumes and issues. Current issue. Latest articles. Most read articles. Most cited articles. Authors and submissions. Instructions for authors. Submit online. Subscribe ...
This article presents a systematic review of research related to the use of robotics construction... more This article presents a systematic review of research related to the use of robotics construction kits (RCKs) in P–12 learning in the STEM disciplines for typically developing children. The purpose of this review is to configure primarily qualitative and mixed methods findings from studies meeting our selection and quality criterion to answer the review question: How do robotic construction kits function as computational manipulatives in P–12 STEM education? Our synthesis of the literature has resulted in four key insights that are new to the field. First, RCKs have a unique double application: They may be used for direct instruction in robotics (first-order uses) or as analogical tools for learning in other domains (second-order uses). Second, RCKs make possible additional routes to learning through the provision of immediate feedback and the dual modes of representation unique to RCKs. Third, RCKs support a computational thinking learning progression beginning with a lower anchor of sequencing and finishing with a high anchor of systems thinking. And fourth, RCKs support evolving problem-solving abilities along a continuum, ranging from trial and error to heuristic methods associated with robotics study. Furthermore, our synthesis provides insight into the second-order (analogical) uses of RCKs as computational manipulatives in the disciplines of physics and biology. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.
In this data session we present a vignette from a group of three girls working collaboratively to... more In this data session we present a vignette from a group of three girls working collaboratively to solve a robotics challenge. We introduce a novel approach to interaction analysis that coordinates multiple forms of data (video recordings, transcripts, and screen capture recordings) to understand how individuals negotiate opportunities to learn in small group activity. The CSCL issue addressed in this session is the role of power relationships in a seemingly more equitable technology learning settings. In this short paper, we describe a data session in which we present a short video vignette for interaction analysis (Jordan & Henderson, 1995) by a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars. The research context the video vignette was drawn from was a one-day long introduction to robotics workshop for girls, ages 8-13. Girls worked in groups of three to solve robotics challenges using EV3 Lego Robotics kits. All of the participants were working with robotics for the first time. The data collected includes audio and video data of collaborative problem solving activity from six groups of girls over the course of the day, as well as real-time recordings of the participants' computer programs as they created and revised them on provided laptops. The data excerpt is 2 minutes and 16 seconds long. In the excerpt a group of three girls (ages 11-13) work to solve some First Lego League robotics challenges presented on a game board. The interaction begins at the game board and moves between diagnosing programming issues, planning and discussing solutions, revising the program using a laptop and finally to testing the new program. Each of the three group members are involved in the interactions. Our interest in presenting this excerpt regards group dynamics related to control of the material devices and how such control issues affects participation and opportunities to learn within the group.
Multi user virtual environments (MUVEs) are an emerging technology with unique properties for mul... more Multi user virtual environments (MUVEs) are an emerging technology with unique properties for multimodal design and the development of multiliteracies. Developing multiliteracies is a key capability for students in the digital age (Cope & Kalantzis, 2006; New London Group, 1996). An important question for educational researchers and designers of virtual words is what are the multimodal literacy practices involved in learning in these environments? We address this question through a review of empirical articles related to teaching and learning with MUVEs. Utilizing the main constructs outlined in a pedagogy of multiliteracies (available designs, designing and the re-designed) we examine both designs for learning and the conceptualization of student agency as a foundational aspect of developing multimodal literacy. For the purposes of presenting this paper at AERA, we offer our preliminary findings as related to available designs. Our analysis uncovered four aspects of available designs in the research on educational MUVEs including: recognizable forms, social frameworks, pedagogical approaches and critical theory. We address these available designs and their relationship to teaching and learning in this paper.
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of middle school students' perceptio... more The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship of middle school students' perceptions of the ideal science stu-dent to their problem solving activity and conceptual under-standing in the applied science area of robotics. Twenty-six 11 and 12 year-olds (22 boys) attending a summer camp for academically advanced students participated in the study. This correlational study utilizes survey and observational data. Students completed the ideal science student survey and individually engaged in a problem solving activity that was videotaped. Students were instructed to think-aloud during the problem solving session. The final programming solution students created was scored using a conceptual rubric. Two dominant perceptions of the ideal science student were iden-tified, a traits-based view and a process-oriented view. Stu-dents with a traits-based view tended to use domain general strategies to solve the robotics problem. Whereas, students with a process-oriented view tended...
Internation Journal of Engineering Education, 2021
The robotics based Elementary Engineering Curriculum-used by students in this study-and other sim... more The robotics based Elementary Engineering Curriculum-used by students in this study-and other similar projects have the potential to increase the STEM pipeline but elementary engineering is not well-understood. Research is needed to understand how to teach engineering to students as their cognitive, motor, and social skills rapidly develop in elementary school. The authors conducted a cross-sectional case study of six grade 2 and six grade 6 elementary robotics students in the context of established K-6 elementary robotics curriculum. Students were videotaped doing an open-ended engineering task based on LEGO robotics using talk-aloud and clinical interview techniques. The engineering design processes were analyzed and compared. Significant differences were found in final projects and engineering design process related to the complexity of the ride they tried to build and the key skills and structural knowledge they brought to the task. Seven key factors identified consisted of three cognitive skills of cognitive flexibility, causal reasoning, and planning ability, three domain specific process skills of application of mathematics and science, engineering design process skills, and design principles of stability, scale, and the structural knowledge they had of LEGO robotics, most pointedly, LEGO connection knowledge. Implications of these findings for teachers are given.
This study investigates how students who are peripherally positioned in computer science-based, c... more This study investigates how students who are peripherally positioned in computer science-based, collaborative group work meaningfully engage with the group activity in order to learn. Our research took place in the context of a one-day, all-girl robotics workshop, in which the participants were learning to program robotic devices. A total of 17 girls, ages 8 – 13 (M = 11.725) participated in the workshop. Participants were recruited from local middle schools, through the technology teacher. Data collection consisted of video and audiotaping all group interactions over the daylong workshop. The group discussions were then fully transcribed. In this study, we focus on two students from different groups who had less direct contact with the materials, and were thus positioned peripherally. We used microgenetic learning analytic techniques to analyze discourse patterns in order to characterize the engagement of both the two groups of which the students were a part, as well as the two students themselves. One of the groups demonstrated stronger coordination from a discourse perspective and the focal student in that group exhibited meaningful engagement, while the other group demonstrated weaker coordination from a discourse perspective and the focal student exhibited marginal engagement. This contrast allows us to begin to build a picture of the factors that support learning from the periphery. Our results indicate that agency exhibited in well-coordinated group discussions is a key aspect of meaningful engagement.
Skip to content. Taylor & Francis Online: Librarians; Authors &am... more Skip to content. Taylor & Francis Online: Librarians; Authors & Editors; Societies. Register; Sign in; Mobile. Home; Browse; Products; Redeem a voucher; Shortlist; Shopping Cart Cart. The online platform for Taylor & Francis Group content. Search. Advanced Search Within current journal Entire site. Home > List of Issues > Table of Contents > List of Guest Reviewers in 2012. Browse journal. View all volumes and issues. Current issue. Latest articles. Most read articles. Most cited articles. Authors and submissions. Instructions for authors. Submit online. Subscribe ...
This article presents a systematic review of research related to the use of robotics construction... more This article presents a systematic review of research related to the use of robotics construction kits (RCKs) in P–12 learning in the STEM disciplines for typically developing children. The purpose of this review is to configure primarily qualitative and mixed methods findings from studies meeting our selection and quality criterion to answer the review question: How do robotic construction kits function as computational manipulatives in P–12 STEM education? Our synthesis of the literature has resulted in four key insights that are new to the field. First, RCKs have a unique double application: They may be used for direct instruction in robotics (first-order uses) or as analogical tools for learning in other domains (second-order uses). Second, RCKs make possible additional routes to learning through the provision of immediate feedback and the dual modes of representation unique to RCKs. Third, RCKs support a computational thinking learning progression beginning with a lower anchor of sequencing and finishing with a high anchor of systems thinking. And fourth, RCKs support evolving problem-solving abilities along a continuum, ranging from trial and error to heuristic methods associated with robotics study. Furthermore, our synthesis provides insight into the second-order (analogical) uses of RCKs as computational manipulatives in the disciplines of physics and biology. Implications for practice and directions for future research are discussed.
In this data session we present a vignette from a group of three girls working collaboratively to... more In this data session we present a vignette from a group of three girls working collaboratively to solve a robotics challenge. We introduce a novel approach to interaction analysis that coordinates multiple forms of data (video recordings, transcripts, and screen capture recordings) to understand how individuals negotiate opportunities to learn in small group activity. The CSCL issue addressed in this session is the role of power relationships in a seemingly more equitable technology learning settings. In this short paper, we describe a data session in which we present a short video vignette for interaction analysis (Jordan & Henderson, 1995) by a diverse, interdisciplinary group of scholars. The research context the video vignette was drawn from was a one-day long introduction to robotics workshop for girls, ages 8-13. Girls worked in groups of three to solve robotics challenges using EV3 Lego Robotics kits. All of the participants were working with robotics for the first time. The data collected includes audio and video data of collaborative problem solving activity from six groups of girls over the course of the day, as well as real-time recordings of the participants' computer programs as they created and revised them on provided laptops. The data excerpt is 2 minutes and 16 seconds long. In the excerpt a group of three girls (ages 11-13) work to solve some First Lego League robotics challenges presented on a game board. The interaction begins at the game board and moves between diagnosing programming issues, planning and discussing solutions, revising the program using a laptop and finally to testing the new program. Each of the three group members are involved in the interactions. Our interest in presenting this excerpt regards group dynamics related to control of the material devices and how such control issues affects participation and opportunities to learn within the group.
Multi user virtual environments (MUVEs) are an emerging technology with unique properties for mul... more Multi user virtual environments (MUVEs) are an emerging technology with unique properties for multimodal design and the development of multiliteracies. Developing multiliteracies is a key capability for students in the digital age (Cope & Kalantzis, 2006; New London Group, 1996). An important question for educational researchers and designers of virtual words is what are the multimodal literacy practices involved in learning in these environments? We address this question through a review of empirical articles related to teaching and learning with MUVEs. Utilizing the main constructs outlined in a pedagogy of multiliteracies (available designs, designing and the re-designed) we examine both designs for learning and the conceptualization of student agency as a foundational aspect of developing multimodal literacy. For the purposes of presenting this paper at AERA, we offer our preliminary findings as related to available designs. Our analysis uncovered four aspects of available designs in the research on educational MUVEs including: recognizable forms, social frameworks, pedagogical approaches and critical theory. We address these available designs and their relationship to teaching and learning in this paper.
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