Effect of Pair Work in a Robotics Program on Computational Thinking Skills in Primary School Children
Abstract
Despite the growing momentum to integrate computational thinking into primary education, little is known about how collaborative dynamics—particularly peer interaction—shape the development of these skills. This study examined the effects of the COGNI-MACHINE program in a sample of 111 children aged 10 to 11 years through a cluster randomized controlled trial in which participants were assigned to either an experimental group or an active control group. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to assess the effects of the intervention, and a multilevel regression analysis was conducted to estimate the impact of working in pairs. The results revealed significant improvements in the experimental group, with a large effect size. Although the gender composition of the pairs was not a differentiating factor, the specific characteristics of each pair influenced individual performance. These findings underscore the pedagogical value of collaborative interactions for enhancing computational thinking in school settings.
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