This study explores the impact of a Task-Centered Robotics Professional Development (PD) on teachers' self-efficacy, anxiety, and attitudes toward integrating robotics activities into STEM education. A 30-hour PD included direct instruction in the context of three tasks based on the Task-Centered Instructional Strategy, focusing on developing the pedagogical, technological, and content competencies needed to implement robotics activities into STEM classes. Data were collected through three questionnaires consisting of closed and open-ended questions. Sixteen Israeli Arab middle school teachers participated in a PD, utilizing LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robots' kits. Results revealed a significant increase in teachers' selfefficacy regarding robotics activities and a significant decrease in anxiety, with attitudes also improving, though not significantly. This study supports the potential of Task-Centered PD in training science teachers with no prior technological knowledge to incorporate robotics activities into their classrooms.
Robotics allow students to see, touch, and interact with the principles they learn in class. This
hands-on experience deepens understanding and sparks curiosity and engagement, making
complex topics more accessible and enjoyable [
This study presents a Task-Centered PD
Program to foster middle school teachers’
competencies for effective robotics integration into STEM. Grounded in the Task-Centered
Instructional Strategy [
Sixteen Israeli Arab middle school teachers participated in the PD in 2021-2022 (mean age=39, SD=6.5, teacher’s seniority=15, SD=6.5, ten females and six males). Six teach computer science and mathematics, while ten teach science. Eleven (~69%) of the teachers had no prior experience with robots, either as a user or a teacher. The participants signed a consent form approved by the Institutional Ethical Committee.
During the program, teachers engaged in hands-on activities using LEGO Mindstorms EV3 robots,
chosen for their robustness and classroom suitability [
The STEM Education with Robotics Activities PD was designed to foster STEM teachers’ needed
competencies to develop and implement robotics-based STEM lessons. It follows the Task-Centered
Instructional Strategy [
Task 1 focused on teachers’ hands-on experience with robots in science contexts, developing skills in building, programming, and troubleshooting educational robots, along with 21st-century skills like collaboration, teamwork, communication, and problem-solving. During the first seven sessions, teacher pairs built and programmed robot models and conducted physics experiments relevant to science instruction (see Fig. 2, 3).
Task 2 focused on developing a robotics-integrated STEM lesson plan, expanding teachers’ technological-pedagogical knowledge (e.g., teaching students to build robots), technologicalscientific knowledge (e.g., solving math and science problems using robotics), and technologicalpedagogical-scientific knowledge (e.g., enriching scientific concepts through robotics). It also addresses 21st-century skills, including creativity, critical thinking, self-regulation, and decisionmaking.
Task 3 focused on implementing and evaluating the lesson plans. Teachers presented their plans and robotic models, enabling peers to test them as student simulations. Feedback helped refine the lesson plans and offered insights into classroom management. The session concluded with a group discussion summarizing the PD.
This mixed-method participatory study [
We utilized three questionnaires, which included closed and open-ended questions, administered before and at the end of the PD. The questionnaires were adapted for robotics education by refining phrasing for STEM teachers and adding items on robotics-related competencies and attitudes. Experts in STEM and robotics validated these modifications.
To assess the program’s impact on teachers’ competencies in integrating robotics activities into
STEM education, teachers rated their perceived competency of 22-item on a 5-point Likert scale
from 1=“very low level” to 5=“very high level”, which included three categories (TK, TPK, and
TPACK) [
This questionnaire, adapted from Malik et al. [13], included six items to assess teachers’ anxiety in performing different aspects of robotics activities (e.g., “redesign and construct a new robot”). Responses were ranked on a 5-point Likert scale from 1=“very low level” to 5=“very high level”. A Cronbach’s alpha test indicated high reliability (α=0.93). Furthermore, the questionnaire included an open-ended question: “How anxious do robotics tasks make you?”.
This questionnaire contains 11 items based on [14] (e.g., “integrating robotics into STEM education should be mandatory”) and addresses teachers’ attitudes toward using robotics in STEM education. Responses were ranked on a 5-point Likert scale from 1=“strongly disagree” to 5=“strongly agree”. A Cronbach’s alpha test indicated high Results (α=0.91).
At the beginning of the program, teachers were hesitant to disassemble robot models or modify code without supervisor approval, strictly following instructions. As the program progressed, they became more independent and creative, confidently experimenting, making changes, and testing new scenarios without guidance. Next, we present the influence we found on self-efficacy, anxiety, and attitudes.
Before and after the program, teachers reported their self-efficacy toward robotics activities on a scale of 1=“very low level” to 5=“very high level” (see Table 1). Teachers’ TPK self-efficacy significantly increased t(16)=2.13, p<.05. Likewise, teachers’ TPACK self-efficacy significantly increased t(16)=2.13, p<.05. Although teachers’ TK self-efficacy improved, the difference was only marginally significant, t(16)=2.13, p=0.071. After the program, we also asked the teachers: “Do you need additional training to teach new robotics topics in your STEM classes?”. Teachers reported that they would be interested in such training. Specifically, teachers were interested in more scientific activities (e.g., “I need to be exposed to additional scientific activities in robotics”) and in a community of practice (e.g., “If I want to receive advice, I will have someone to turn to”).
Before and after the program, teachers rated their anxiety when performing robotics tasks on a scale from 1=“very low” to 5=“very high”. We found that anxiety levels significantly decreased by the end of the program, t(16)=2.13, p<.05 (see Table 1). Furthermore, teachers’ responses to the open-ended question “How anxious do robotics tasks make you?” revealed several insights. Some teachers reported becoming more open to independently developing models after the program (e.g., “Before, I only allowed my students to build robots with ready-made building instructions. Today, I encourage students to be creative and implement their ideas”). Three teachers reported very low anxiety about robotics tasks both before and after the program (e.g., “I’m curious and not anxious by challenges...”). Interestingly, some teachers reported increased anxiety after the program, as they became aware of the complex interdisciplinary nature of integrating robotics into STEM education (e.g., “I feel stressed when I can’t support students with programming or building ideas in real-time”).
Before and after the program, teachers reported their attitudes toward using robotics on a scale of 1=“strongly disagree” to 5=“strongly agree”. Although teachers’ attitudes improved, the difference was only marginally significant, t(16)=2.13, p=0.07. Overall, teachers’ attitudes remained high, slightly increasing from M=4.01, SD=1.12 to M=4.54, SD=0.52 (see Table 1). Self-efficacy, anxiety, and attitudes scores pre- and post the PD
Self-efficacy
Total TK self-efficacy score
Total TPK self-efficacy score
Total TPACK self-efficacy score Overall anxiety level Total attitudes toward robotics in STEM education Pre
Post M 2.85 2.16 2.17 3.13 4.01
SD 1.50 1.24 1.18 1.56 1.12
M 3.35 3.85 4.02 1.83 4.54
SD 1.02 0.85 0.84 1.01 0.52
P-value
This study examined the potential of a Task-Centered PD for integrating robotics into STEM
education. Findings show an increase in STEM teachers’ self-efficacy in hardware, software, and
pedagogical robotics activities, regardless of prior programming experience. These findings align
with Bandura’s social cognitive theory [15], which links perceived personal control in facilitating
behavioral change. As teachers experienced success with robotics tasks, their self-efficacy increased
[15]. The study demonstrates how the Task-Centered Instructional Strategy [
Future studies should address this study’s limitations, including the absence of a control group, small sample size, and lack of actual competence measurement. Although most participants had no robotics experience, their STEM backgrounds may have supported their development of roboticsrelated competencies.
In conclusion, this research suggests an approach to prepare STEM teachers with no robotics background to incorporate robotics into their lessons. We believe this approach can be implemented to support teachers’ use of educational robotics across different domains.
This research is partially supported by the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology grant.
During the preparation of this work, the authors used Grammarly and aqauillabaot in order to: Grammar and spelling check. After using these tools, the authors reviewed and edited the content as needed and takes full responsibility for the publication’s content. [13] A. Mallik, S. B. Rajguru, and V. Kapila, “Fundamental: Analyzing the Effects of a Robotics Training Workshop on the Self-efficacy of High School Teachers,” in American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition”, June, 2018, pp. 24–27. [14] A. Khanlari, “Teachers’ perceptions of the benefits and the challenges of integrating educational robots into primary/elementary curricula,” European Journal of Engineering Education, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 320–330, May 2016, doi: 10.1080/03043797.2015.1056106. [15] A. Bandura, “Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective,” Asian Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 21–41, 1999, doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-839X.00024.