Learning problem solving through educational robotics competitions: first results of an exploratory case study

Abstract

Educational robotics competitions are an important part of extracurricular Computer Science (CS) education and gain international popularity year by year. One of the aims of these competitions as e.g. the "World Robot Olympiad" (WRO) or the "First Lego League" (FLL) is developing students' problem solving skills. Problem solving counts as important competence of today's CS education. In such competitions students are confronted with a particular educational robotics task which they need to complete. Our research aims at investigating the learning of problem solving in educational robotics competitions. In an exploratory case study we analysed the use of problem solving strategies of participating teams and their influence on the results of the teams. This work-in-progress paper presents first empirical results of our exploratory case study. They can be useful for further development of educational robotics competitions and disseminate ideas for the integration of educational robotics into CS Education in schools.