Mobile Robots in Teaching Programming for IT Engineers and its Effects
This addresses programming education challenges for IT engineering students by using hands-on tools, though it is incremental as it builds on existing project-based methods with new devices.
The study introduced mobile robots and project-based methods to teach programming to IT engineers, aiming to reduce early-term programming difficulties and improve student motivation. After a semester with 149 students, positive short-term effects on programming skills and self-concept were observed, with some long-term benefits measured over two years.
In this paper the new methods and devices introduced into the learning process of programming for IT engineers at our college is described. Based on our previous research results we supposed that project methods and some new devices can reduce programming problems during the first term. These problems are rooted in the difficulties of abstract thinking and they can cause the decrease of programming self-concept and other learning motives. We redesigned the traditional learning environment. As a constructive approach project method was used. Our students worked in groups of two or three; small problems were solved after every lesson. In the problem solving process students use programmable robots (e.g. Surveyor, LEGO NXT and RCX). They had to plan their program, solve some technical problems and test their solution. The usability of mobile robots in the learning process and the short-term efficiency of our teaching method were checked with a control group after a semester (n = 149). We examined the effects on our students' programming skills and on their motives, mainly on their attitudes and programming self-concept. After a two-year-long period we could measure some positive long-term effects.