Abstract:

The primary purpose of this study is to contribute to developing skills such as critical thinking and creative thinking skills, especially problem-solving skills expected from 21st-century individuals, by providing coding education to students with the help of new technologies called robotics and programming with robotics in extracurricular hours. For this purpose, a five-week, one-group experimental study was designed to investigate the effects of robotic coding education on the problem-solving skills of middle school students and to understand students' views on robotic coding activities. The study participants comprised 26 volunteer students from a middle school in Kocaeli. The research method was based on a mixed design research design. Robotics Pre-Survey, Robotics Satisfaction Test, Children's Problem-Solving Inventory, and Activity Perception Scale were used, and observations and focus group interviews were conducted. According to the analysis of the collected data, the five-week robotic coding training significantly and positively contributed to students' problem-solving skills. Another study result was that the participating students were satisfied with the activities, their prior thoughts about robotics were positive, and they liked and enjoyed the activities.

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