The role of robotics in early childhood education: a systematic review for skill development
Abstract
Robotics is increasingly becoming an indispensable resource in everyday life, and continued use is expected in the coming years. In this context, it is necessary to address how to integrate the use of robots in education from the earliest stages of development. To this end, a systematic review of the literature was carried out using the PRISMA-P protocol to analyse the different areas and educational content related to robotics in early childhood education (2013-2022). The areas and contents used for teaching robotics, the technologies used, the challenges and obstacles that arise in this context, as well as the impact of this integration in early childhood education were evaluated. The results show the most frequent incorporation in areas of cognitive and language development, although experiences are defined for motor and socio-emotional development. Regarding the educational content worked on, STEAM content such as computational thinking stands out in comparison with others such as spatial notions, dance, recycling, self-identity, or self-regulation, as well as its relationship with the content found in the infant curriculum, proving its interdisciplinary nature in the classroom, in addition to the positive impact on the students. The research highlights the use of robots such as the KIBO robotics kit, LEGO, CHERP software and Beet-Bot. In conclusion, robotics allows to address areas such as literacy, emotions, physical education, among others, relating the contents with music, culture, play, programming, etc. demonstrating its adaptability in early childhood education classrooms and the positive influence on the teaching-learning processes of infants, allowing the learning of STEM concepts and in turn areas and educational content established by legislation.
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