Can Educational Robots Improve Student Creativity? A Meta-Analysis Based on 48 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Studies

Abstract

Cultivating innovative talent has become a primary path for China to develop science and technology and solve “bottleneck” technical problems. Catering to the trend of educational reform in the intelligent age, the use of robotics to enhance students’ creativity shows richer practical value and contemporary significance. In this study, 48 China and foreign experimental studies and 6,057 samples are coded using the meta-analysis method, and the findings are as follows: First, the overall effect of educational robots on students’ creativity is 0.576, reaching a medium or above level of influence. Among them, the effect of promoting students’ innovative, practical ability is the most obvious, and the degree of influence on the quality of innovative personality is average. Second, from the perspective of the academic stage, the effect of educational robots on the creativity of students in junior middle schools and primary schools is more obvious. Third, in terms of disciplines, robot courses impose the best effect on students’ creativity. Fourth, among teaching themes, prototype creation has the most impact on students’ creativity, and the level is above the intermediate level. Fifth, in terms of the choice of teaching methods, inquiry teaching can better stimulate students’ creativity. Finally, compared with ordinary classrooms, the laboratory environment is more optimistic for developing students’ creativity. Combined with field research, four practical suggestions are put forward.

Keywords

educational robot / creativity / artificial intelligence (AI) / software programming / teaching mode

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2023 Higher Education Press