The nature and rationale of the robotic curriculum in elementary school

As widespread changes have occurred in the community, the use of technology has also expanded. To effectively prepare for and cope with evolving of this century we need to design and develop special curricula. Educational robotics is an advanced technology that requires special attention. In the past few decades, robotics has attracted the attention of researchers and teachers as a valuable tool in developing cognitive / social skills of students and in supporting the learning of subjects in science, mathematics, language, and technology. There are several important reasons why young students should be exposed to robotics. As our world becomes more and more technologically advanced, students need to early experience so that to feel comfortable with and be aware of technology. In addition, the inclusion of robotics in the school curriculum will help prepare students to enter the job market with technological literacy. Robotics is an attractive approach to technology training due to its interdisciplinary nature, which requires expertise in a wide range of fields from mathematics to aesthetics. This can attract the interest and engagement of students who have not been successful in traditional subject matters. The purpose of this paper is to explain the philosophical orientation and educational robotics foundations at the primary school level so that policymakers, engineers and curriculum developers can formulate curriculum models for implementation.

In this research, educational robotics was analyzed and synthesized using the synthesis research method. Valid documents and research from the last four decades have been selected and categorized using a criterion-based purposive sampling technique.

Synthesis findings indicate that robotics in schools work in two ways as an independent subject and as an educational enabler serving other topics. Logical justification of it is based on constructivist, including epistemological (personal and multidisciplinary), psychological (attention to motivation, creativity and etc.) and sociological foundations (interaction, predictability and etc.).

In order to design a curriculum, a planner must first pay attention to the nature of the subject or knowledge and then proceed to develop a plan based on the orientations of the curriculum. Because the subject is robotics training in elementary school, the planner must pay attention to its nature first. The findings of this synthesis showed that robotics can serve in schools at all levels as an independent subject or as an educational enabler in the service of other subjects. Therefore, it is necessary to differentiate between the concepts of robotic training and training robotics. In robotics training, the subject is robot training; but in educational robotics, the robot is considered as a method, tool or technique that is used to teach other subjects.