A study on the effect of robotic coding training on the high school students' metacognitive and reflective thinking skills

The basic aim of this study is to investigate whether robotic coding training would have an effect on high school students' reflective and metacognitive thinking skills. In this regard, the sample of the study were a total of 28 high school students studying in electric, engineering, and civil engineering departments of a Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in a city of Eastern Region of Turkey. Throughout the process, students were provided with robotic coding trainings, thanks to which any difference before and after treatment would be measured; during this procedure, "Reflective Thinking Level Scale" and "Metacognitive Awareness Scale"were used as data collection tools. IBM SPSS programme was used for statistical analysis. Besides, in order to strengthen quantitative data, an open-ended semi structure interview form was prepared by the researcher; through face-to-face interview technique, qualitative data were collected and analyzed through content analysis. The findings of the study showed that there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of metacognitive and reflective thinking skills, and students' both metacognitive and reflective thinking skills developed in a meaingful way. The verbatim account by students were also in line with the statistical data; students were aware of their own metacognitive skills and they could use their knowledge and experiences in terms of behavioral change. Based on all these data, some recommendations were given to guide for further studies.