EDUCATIONAL ROBOTICS AS A MEDIATOR TOOL IN A SCIENCE TEACHER TRAINING WITH THE THEORY OF ACTIVITY

Abstract

Educational Robotics is an information and communication technology tool, initially used only in the areas of computing and engineering, began to be explored in education and with a great interdisciplinary potential, despite its costs. This work, an Intervention-Research, sought to investigate the limits and possibilities of using Educational Robotics in science content, through teacher training through Didactic Workshop, we conducted this study based on the theoretical and methodological assumptions of the Activity Theory. Data were collected through the answers to the previous questionnaire, throughout the didactic workshop, with discussions on the possibility of using educational robotics, in the assembly and programming processes of robot prototypes, during the presentation of lesson plans in the content of the human body and in the answers given through the semi-structured interview at the end of the process. We analyzed the data through the elucidation process based on the Activity Theory and from this analysis we identified some more general limitations for the use of Educational Robotics, such as the cost of material and its maintenance, in addition to the difficulty in the assembly process and especially in the programming, other limitations are more in the science area, such as the issue of class time within the official schedule. Regarding contributions, this tool is very promising, as it can stimulate research with problem solving, develop empirical, computational thinking and logical reasoning, engagement, motivation, creativity and teamwork.