Educational Robotics: Evaluating the Role of Computational Thinking in Attaining 21st Century Skills

Abstract Educational Robotics (ER) has gained prominence in the literature on Computational Thinking (CT) because of its modularity, a feature that potentially facilitates the development of abstract thinking through complex robotic parts. The field of robotics encompasses the characteristics of technology, intelligence, embodiment, and interaction, and these characteristics can serve as means of instruction for CT. Essential 21st Century Skills include decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and the use of algorithms; which are fundamental to effective problem-solving skills. Although CT is believed to be the key to developing 21st Century Skills, its role in doing so is significa…