Roles, applications, and research designs of robots in science education: a systematic review and bibliometric analysis of journal publications from 1996 to 2020

ABSTRACT

This research reviews 56 robots in science education (RSE) research articles published in SSCI (Social Sciences Citation Index) journals in the Web of Science (WoS) database. The analysis results showed that there were three clusters of RSE studies: robots in elementary science education, robot-based STEM activities, and robot-facilitated computational thinking. In terms of the research issues, more studies were conducted across-disciplines. Regarding thematic classifications, “general benefits of educational robots” was the most frequently investigated issue, while “diversity and broadening participation,” and “creativity and motivation” were less frequently discussed. The most adopted research methods were quantitative and mixed methods, focusing on measuring learners’ cognition and affect. Most of the interventions in the empirical studies adopted pedagogical interventions. In terms of the interaction issue, LEGO was adopted the most, followed by self-made robots; moreover, robots frequently played the role of tools in science education. From the perspective of specific robotics content knowledge, “control” (e.g. programming) comprised the majority. The most adopted learning strategy was project-based learning, followed by issue-based discussion. Regarding assessment issues, the most adopted evaluation approaches to evaluating students’ performance were questionnaires, observation, verbal interviews, and artifacts to assess the quality of learning activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Bibliometric analysis
• robots
• science education
• STEM
• systematic review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This study is supported in part by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan under contract numbers MOST 111-2410-H-011-007-MY3 and MOST-109-2511-H-011-002-MY3.

Notes on contributors

Min-Chi Chiu

Min-Chi Chiu is a PhD student at the Graduate Institute of Applied Science and Technology, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. Her research interests include multimedia teaching, digital game-based learning and mobile learning.

Gwo-Jen Hwang

Gwo-Jen Hwang is a chair professor at the Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology. His research interests include mobile learning, digital game-based learning, flipped classrooms and AI in education.

Yun-Fang Tu

Yun-Fang Tu is an assistant professor at the Department of Library and Information Science, Research and Development Center for Physical Education, Health, and Information Technology, Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan. Her research interests include mobile and ubiquitous learning, and bibliometric mapping analysis.