The effect of simulation-supported block-based robotics programming environments on students' academic achievement, attitudes and opinions towards robotics programming

This study was conducted in the second semester of the 2021-2022 academic year with fifth grade students attending a public school in Kahramanmaraş province. The main purpose of the study was to examine the effects of simulation-supported block-based robotic programming environments such as Tinkercad and MakeCode on the academic achievement, attitudes and opinions of middle school students. The research consists of three groups: Experimental Group 1 working with Arduino Uno microprocessor board in Tinkercad environment, Experimental Group 2 working with Micro:Bit microprocessor board in MakeCode environment and Control Group working on physical robotic programming in Mblock Web version environment. The method of the study included an experiment design lasting eight weeks, and "Academic Achievement Test", "Attitude Scale Towards Robotic Programming" and "Semi-structured Interview Form" were used as data collection tools. The quantitative data obtained were analyzed using SPSS program and qualitative data were analyzed using NVivo program. According to the research findings, in-group academic achievement increased in all three groups and this increase was statistically significant. When the effect on in-group attitude was examined, it was seen that the increase in the Control Group and Experimental Group 1 was statistically significant, while the increase in Experimental Group 2 did not create a statistically significant difference. In terms of academic achievement achievement mean scores, it was seen that the environments used in the groups did not create a significant difference in the comparisons between the groups, while it was concluded that there was a statistically significant difference between Experimental Group 2 and Control Group in terms of RP attitude achievement mean scores. This shows that physical robotic programming in Mblock environment is more effective on student attitudes. In the study, it was found that gender had no effect on academic achievement and attitude. In the interviews, students found the environments they worked in fun and stated that these environments facilitated their learning. The study reveals that simulation-supported block-based robotic programming environments have a positive effect on the learning of middle school students and that students find these environments fun.