Active learning in a robotics laboratory with university students

Educational Robotics is a research field aimed at promoting an active engaging learning through the artifacts students create and the phenomena they simulate. In fact, designing, building, and programming a small robot, users discover and learn in a playful and joyful way. Moreover, the constructivist approach fosters the development of creative and critical skills, as well as problem-solving, communication skills, cooperation, and teamwork. This chapter presents the results of a research with university students, carried out at the Università della Calabria (Italy): an Educational Robotics laboratory has been integrated in a Cognitive Psychology Course in order to examine the kind of learning, workgroup retention, and engagement. Outcomes show that engaging experiences can remarkably enhance students' learning efficiency and retention of the acquired materials. Moreover, a rich interaction can provide entertaining and appealing experiences capable of promoting learning and understanding. Copyright © 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.