性別因素對學生使用不同類型機器人學習運算思維之影響

Abstract

一般在中小學課堂使用的機器人（如 LEGO NXT）外型與應用上都較為工程導向，或較有利於吸引男生使用；2014年 Dash& Dot 機器人問世，外型可愛具聲光效果，簡易的外觀設計亦減去硬體組裝及其操控上延伸的問題，或有利於提升女生對程式設計之興趣。本研究探討兩種不同類型機器人－ Dash & Dot 和LEGO NXT對不同性別學生學習運算思維之影響，包括其學習表現、對學習活動態度、學習程式設計刻板印象、對機器人的偏好等。本研究採準實驗設計，參與者為台北市某公立國小四個班級的六年級學生，共計103名。以其中兩班為實驗組，共51人，使用 Dash & Dot 機器人；另外兩班為控制組，共52人，使用 NXT 機器人。兩組實驗實施時間均為兩週共160分鐘，都由同一位電腦教師授課。教材共分成寵物學走路、寵物學看路、寵物找玩具等三個單元，每個單元皆以「認識→活用→創造」教學模式進行，並讓學生在學習單上寫下演算法思考流程，培養學生解題前先釐清問題並規劃解決策略。 研究結果發現：（1）學生皆對於Dash & Dot機器人有較高的偏好，尤其是在外型與顏色的部分；（2）學生的性別與組別在學習的態度上並無顯著差異；（3）男生在學習程式設計上具性別刻板印象，認為他們學習表現較女生好；（4）學生的性別與組別在演算法思考上並無顯差異，大部分學生能觀察到重複模式，然而無法找出判斷迴圈終止的條件。建議未來研究（1）讓學生選擇喜好的機器人進行學習活動；（2）教學設計上，給予學生更多思考的時間，並讓學生有時間熟悉機器人軟硬體設備；（3）成就測驗時，也讓學生實際操作機器人執行演算法思考。建議未來教學設計（1）使用搭配中文軟體的機器人設備；（2）指定小組分工任務避免分工不均；（3）對學生的學習單給予適當的回饋；（4）注意授課環境的選擇與設置。

Robots are generally used in schools to help students learn programming and computational thinking (CT). Traditional robots such as LEGO NXT are more engineering-oriented-- students need to deal with hardware in learning processes, and are considered favor the male students. A newly educational robot, Dash& Dot, was designed with cute appearance and sounds to arouse girls’ interest, and students deal with very few hardware. This study investigated how the two kinds of robots, Dash & Dot and LEGO NXT, affect students’ learning in terms of students' gender. We employed a quasi-experimental design. The participants were one hundred and three sixth grade students. Fifty-one students, served as the experimental group, learned CT through Dash & Dot robots. Fifty-two students, served as the control groups, learned through NXT robots. The results showed that students preferred using Dash& Dot robot than LEGO NXT, especially for their appearance and color; There was no significant difference in students’ learning attitudes between genders or groups. Boys revealed stereotypes in genders when learning programming-- they considered themselves better than girls. No significant difference was found in algorithm thinking between gender or between groups. We suggest to give students options to choose their favorite robot to learn programming, extending teaching hours so that students would have more time in thinking, and conducting the achievement test by using the robots.