Pensamiento computacional y robótica en educación infantiluna propuesta metodológica inclusiva

  1. González González, Carina Soledad
Supervised by:
  1. María Dolores Guzmán Franco Director
  2. Alfonso Infante Moro Director

Defence university: Universidad de Huelva

Fecha de defensa: 15 June 2020

Committee:
  1. Julio Cabero Almenara Chair
  2. Francisco José García Peñalvo Secretary
  3. Noura Aknin Committee member

Type: Thesis

Abstract

Learning to program is the new literacy of the 21st century. Computational thinking, closely related to programming, requires thinking and solving problems with different levels of abstraction and is independent of hardware devices. The initial education stage provides an opportunity for teachers to lay the foundations for comprehensive quality training through the use of innovative tools and the use of technologies. Educational robotics in early childhood education becomes a tool that facilitates the acquisition of knowledge to children in a playful way, based on the principles of interactivity, social interrelations, collaborative work, creativity, constructivist and constructionist learning, and the student-centered didactic approach, allowing them, in turn, to acquire digital skills and the development of logical and computational thinking in an underlying way. Besides, technologies are integrated into the daily lives of people and European households have mobile devices, tablets, game consoles, robots, etc. This doctoral thesis explores the current state of teaching and learning computational thinking and programming in childhood education in an inclusive way. The thesis is composed of several studies about the technologies that have been used in childhood education, the pedagogical approach behind them and the integration of these fundamental skills into formal and official curriculums and classrooms. Also, lack of diversity and inequality are particularly latent in the context of the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), this work takes into account this and present an inclusive approach of this new literacy with people with Down syndrome and hospitalized minors. Finally, this thesis evaluates different educational experiences applying an educative proposal based on the maker movement, the Positive Technological Development (PTD) framework, the inclusive education, and the learning through play, using a tangible robot (KIBO) and presenting inclusive and flexible educative approaches in formal and informal contexts (school and hospital) with students and their teachers. The results of these experiences revealed a positive impact in the learning of digital skills, behaviors and emotional state of students.