Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Investigating the use of robotics to increase girls’ interest in engineering during early elementary school

  • Published:
International Journal of Technology and Design Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Men continue to outnumber women in many Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields, particularly technical fields such as engineering and computer science. Educational interventions aimed at addressing the gender disparity between men and women have generally focused on increasing the interest of girls and women during high school and college. There is limited research on interventions that take place during the formative early childhood years. This study addresses this gap by working with young children (ages 5–7) and exploring their newly forming attitudes and interest in technology and engineering. The study asked the following research questions: (1) What are children’s initial attitudes and ideas about technology and engineering? (2) Do boys and girls differ in their initial attitudes about technology and engineering? (3) Does participation in a 7-week KIBO robotics curriculum have an impact on children’s attitudes and ideas about technology and engineering? (4) Do boys and girls perform differently on robotics and programming tasks in early childhood? To answer these questions, public school children in Kindergarten through second grade (N = 105) participated in an introductory KIBO robotics curriculum. Data was collected on their attitudes toward technology and engineering before and after participation in the curriculum as well as their mastery of programming concepts taught. Results provide preliminary evidence that a developmentally appropriate robotics curriculum can increase girls’ interest in engineering.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aschbacher, P. R., Li, E., & Roth, E. J. (2010). Is science me? High school students’ identities, participation and aspirations in science, engineering, and medicine. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(5), 564–582.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bers, M. U. (2008). Blocks, robots and computers: Learning about technology in early childhood. New York: Teacher’s College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bers, M. U. (2018). Coding as a playground: Programming and computational thinking in the early childhood classroom. New York, NY: Routledge Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bers, M. U., Seddighin, S., & Sullivan, A. (2013). Ready for robotics: Bringing together the T and E of STEM in early childhood teacher education. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 21(3), 355–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corbett, C., & Hill, C. (2015). Solving the equation: The variables for women’s success in engineering and computing. Washington, D.C: The American Association of University Women.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, C. M. (2009). Engineering is elementary. The Bridge, 30(3), 11–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham, C. M., & Hester, K. (2007). Engineering is elementary: An engineering and technology curriculum for children. In American Society for engineering education annual conference and exposition, Honolulu, HI.

  • Cunningham, C. M., & Lachapelle, C. P. (2010). The impact of engineering is elementary (EiE) on students’ attitudes toward engineering and science. In American Society for engineering education. American Society for Engineering Education.

  • DiPrete, T. A., & Buchmann, C. (2013). The rise of women: The growing gender gap in education and what it means for American schools. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Good, C., Aronson, J., & Harder, J. A. (2007). Problems in the pipeline: Stereotype threat and women’s achievement in high-level math courses. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29, 17–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, C., Corbett, C., & St. Rose, A. (2010). Why so few? Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. American Association of University Women. 1111 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036.

  • Kuhn, D., Nash, S. C., & Brucken, L. (1978). Sex role concepts of two- and three-year-olds. Child Development, 49, 445–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lachapelle, C. P., Cunningham, C. M., Oware, E. A., & Battu, B. (2008). Engineering is elementary: An evaluation of student outcomes from the PCET program. Boston, MA: Museum of Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, C. L., & Ruble, D. N. (2004). Children’s search for gender cues: Cognitive perspectives on gender development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 13, 67–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKown, C., & Weinstein, R. S. (2003). The development and consequences of stereotype-consciousness in middle childhood. Child Development, 74, 498–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Metz, S. S. (2007). Attracting the engineering of 2020 today. In R. Burke & M. Mattis (Eds.), Women and minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics: Upping the numbers (pp. 184–209). Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. (2013). Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities in science and engineering: 2013. Special Report NSF 13-304. Arlington, VA.

  • National Center for Women and Technology. (2011). Women and information technology by the numbers. Fact sheet. Available at: http://www.ncwit.org/pdf/BytheNumbers09.pdf.

  • National Science Board. (2014). Science and engineering indicators 2014. Arlington VA: National Science Foundation (NSB 14-01).

  • Shapiro, J. R., & Williams, A. M. (2012). The role of stereotype threats in undermining girls’ and women’s performance and interest in STEM fields. Sex Roles, 66(3–4), 175–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Signorella, M. L., Bigler, R. S., & Liben, L. S. (1993). Developmental differences in children’s gender schemata about others: A meta-analytic review. Development Review, 13, 147–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sinno, S. M., & Killen, M. (2009). Moms at work and dads at home: Children’s evaluations of parental roles. Applied Developmental Science, 13, 16–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer, S. J., Steele, C. M., & Quinn, D. M. (1999). Stereotype threat and women’s math performance. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 4–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steele, C. M., Spencer, S., & Aronson, J. (2002). Contending with images of one’s group: The psychology of stereotype and social identity threat. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 34, pp. 379–440). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strawhacker, A. L., & Bers, M. U. (2015). “I want my robot to look for food”: Comparing children’s programming comprehension using tangible, graphical, and hybrid user interfaces. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 25(3), 293–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strawhacker, A., Sullivan, A., & Bers, M.U. (2013). TUI, GUI, HUI: Is a bimodal interface truly worth the sum of its parts? In Proceedings from IDC ‘13: The 12th international conference on interaction design and children, ACM, New York, NY.

  • Stricker, L. J., & Ward, W. C. (2004). Stereotype threat, inquiring about test taker’s ethnicity and gender, and standardized test performance. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34, 665–693.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2013). Gender differences in kindergarteners’ robotics and programming achievement. International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 23(3), 691–702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2015). Robotics in the early childhood classroom: Learning outcomes from an 8-week robotics curriculum in pre-kindergarten through second grade. International Journal of Technology and Design Education (Online First).

  • Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2016). Girls, boys, and bots: Gender differences in young children’s performance on robotics and programming tasks. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 15, 145–165. Retrieved from http://www.informingscience.org/Publications/3547.

  • Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2017). Dancing robots: Integrating art, music, and robotics in Singapore’s early childhood centers. International Journal of Technology and Design Education (Online First).

  • Sullivan, A., & Bers, M. U. (2018). The impact of teacher gender on girls’ performance on programming tasks in early elementary school. Journal of Information Technology Education: Innovations in Practice, 17, 153–162.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, A., Elkin, M., & Bers, M. U. (2015). KIBO Robot demo: Engaging young children in programming and engineering. In Proceedings from IDC’15: The 14th international conference on interaction design and children, ACM, Boston, MA, USA.

Download references

Funding

The funding was provided by National Science Foundation (Grand No. DRL-1118897).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The DevTech Research Group, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA

    Amanda Sullivan & Marina Umaschi Bers

Authors
  1. Amanda Sullivan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marina Umaschi Bers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amanda Sullivan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sullivan, A., Bers, M.U. Investigating the use of robotics to increase girls’ interest in engineering during early elementary school. Int J Technol Des Educ 29, 1033–1051 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-018-9483-y

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10798-018-9483-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation