Children's playful learning with a robotic construction kit

Robotic constructions offer the opportunity to explore a class of cognitively relevant concepts such as emerging behaviours, theory of control, etc. The overall aim of our research was to assess the suitability of a robotic construction kit for young children (5 to 8-year-olds): could children of this age build and program robots on their own? If so, what kind of activities, tools, environments are best suited for the task? To this end, we focussed on two distinct but parallel approaches: the LEGO MindStorms kit was partially redesigned to increase the typologies of possible constructions (through the design of new sensors, actuators and pre-assembled mechanical components). A programming language was designed that is context specific and extensible, and is therefore capable of facing a range of problems that are tightly related to the typologies of activity for which it has been predisposed. This chapter provides a description of the theoretical background, the adopted research methodology, the evolution of the physical play material, the features of the programming environment, and some selected findings of the field-testing. Possible evolutions of the work are outlined, that would enable children to build and program robots in less supportive contexts.