Investigating mental representations in children in teracting with small mobile robots

This research aimed at investigating the acquisition of comprehension of a robotic system in school age children by using two different methods: concept maps and interviews. We demonstrated that concept maps are an important instrument of verification of knowledge, offering the possibility to graphically re-examine the expressed knowledge, and training children to decompose a problem (analysis) and re-compose it in a more structured way (synthesis). The interviews confirmed the subjects’ ability to apply the acquired technological concepts to different contexts, showing not only a deep comprehension of the functioning of the Lego MindStorms kit, but also the reorganisation of knowledge, a critical reflection on the contents, and therefore the restructuring of mental models.