Analysis of Student Self-Efficacy During an Integrated, Life-Centered Robotics Learning Experience

In 2018, the U.S. Federal government published a STEM education strategy report outlining a vision with three goals (building a strong foundation for STEM literacy, increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in STEM, preparing the STEM workers for the future) for providing Americans access to high-quality STEM education and acquisition of future workforce skills (National Science & Technology Council, 2018). This report identified a quality STEM education for American students as one solution with the potential to meet this challenge. In an effort to support the 2018 federal STEM education initiative, this study was designed to evaluate the impact of student engagement in an integrated STEM unit on self-efficacy. Specifically, this research reports on the impact of an integrated robotics educational unit developed within a life-centered context that appealed to underrepresented populations on the level of student Engineering and Design self-efficacy.

Participants in this quasi-experimental, one-sample study included 30 seventh-grade students from a suburban middle school. Once participants completed the unit, individuals responded to the Engineering Skills Self-Efficacy Instrument (ESSE) in a retrospective pretest and a posttest. Gain scores for each student were analyzed with one-sample t-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests. The one-sample t-test results indicated a significant gain in all constructs of the ESSE. The Kruskal-Wallis analysis displayed no significant difference between minority and majority groups indicating an equitable learning experience for all. The integrated learning experience impacted student self-efficacy and provided an equitable unit where all students could develop knowledge and skills.