Learning to Program a Humanoid Robot: Impact on Special Education Students

Robots are making steady inroads into the world of education, where they are used mainly to teach students about computer programming or coding. These versatile tools allow for student learning through experimenting with programs which lead to the building and control of real objects. However, although these teaching aides are increasingly incorporated into everyday classrooms, few studies have examined the affordances they provide to students with special needs. An exploratory study with the aim of examining the educational benefits for programming of a new type of humanoid robot called NAO for special education students was therefore conducted. A variety of data collection methods, including interviews, videotaped observations, and trace analysis were used. The results show a number of positive student outcomes: they developed coding skills and improved in several areas critical to scholastic success, such as increased motivation to attend school, peer collaboration, and task engagement.