STEAM and educational robotics in the development of statistical literacy

Source abstract

In primary school, the teaching of mathematics and natural sciences should promote meaningful, context-based learning that enables students to apply knowledge in real-life situations. Interdisciplinary approaches such as STEAM foster 21<sup>st</sup> century competences through active and collaborative methodologies, while educational robotics (ER) supports the development of computational thinking and social skills. This study analyses the influence of a STEAM practice, incorporating ER on the development of statistical literacy and learning about ocean plastic pollution among 4<sup>th</sup> grade students. The research adopted a mixed-methods, interpretative action research design. Data were collected by the trainee teacher as participant researcher through performance tasks, field notes, photographs and audio recordings, later used to construct multimodal narratives. Findings reveal statistically significant improvements in global level of knowledge and global performance. The study concludes that steam practices incorporating ER and grounded in real-world problem-solving constitute an effective strategy for fostering statistical literacy.