Robótica educacional: atitudes, habilidades do século XXI e motivação

Abstract

In Brazil, debates around the use of information technology in class began in the 1970s, and are currently increasingly vigorous. The National Common Curricular Base (BNCC) addresses digital culture in its curriculum structure, which, in turn, encourages the use of electronic equipment in class. Among so many possibilities, educational robotics emerges as an alternative that may help in the development of student learning. Nonetheless, one needs to evaluate the impact of this technology in educational scenarios. In this sense, the academic community has produced instruments to measure the development of attitudes towards robotics, as well as the development of 21st Century skills and motivation. In this context, this work aims to evaluate the perception that students develop about 21st Century skills, their attitudes towards robotics and their motivation when immersed in robotics activities. To facilitate the evaluation, an educational robotics course aimed at high school students was developed. The evaluation uses a quantitative approach with two stages: first, through an exploratory case study; then, an intervention based on the lessons learned in the exploratory study. In both cases, it was expected that the population under study of the educational robotics course should improve their positive attitudes towards robotics, develop the minimum skills necessary to progress in the proposed tasks during the course, keep high levels of motivation, and have a better insight into their own 21st Century skills. Even though the results were good, there were no significant changes in attitudes towards robotics, 21st Century skills or motivation. On the other hand, the interventions left important lessons to help in the development of activities, not only in high school, but for different grades as well.