This research-to-practice full paper describes a study that employs the CTProgER educational process [37] within High School environments to enhance programming skills. Computational Thinking (CT) is recognized as crucial for developing these skills, especially in high school programming education. Teaching programming presents challenges, necessitating improved educational processes and guidelines. Based on the Anthropological Theory of Didactics, CTProgER operates on the principle that human-created entities are interconnected with individuals, forming relationships denoted as R(X,O). This research investigates the efficacy of CTProgER through a rigorous intervention study conducted in a Brazilian Technical and Vocational High School (TV High School). The results reveal a significant performance disparity between the experimental and control groups, with the experimental group showing notable improvements. These findings highlight the potential of CTProgER to guide and enhance programming instruction within high school curricula, offering valuable insights for validating educational processes.

This Research-to-Practice Full Paper aims to introduce a methodological framework to foster Computational Thinking (CT) skills by teaching programming with Educational Robotics (ER) in High School. Problem-solving is an essential skill for human development, so it is necessary to introduce actions to improve this skill in High School. It is possible to stimulate problem- solving through computer programming teaching with ER. However, as far as we know, there are no methodologies for teaching programming with ER focusing on CT development in High School that went through scientific validation of the proposal. This study is an Educational Design Research that aims to introduce a methodological framework for teaching programming in High School with ER (named CTProgER) and validate two instances of the framework. It was considered consolidated teaching methodologies with ER, combined with the Anthropological Theory of Didactics and evidence from our ER studies. As a result, we present the CTProgER Framework guideline, two instances of the CTProgER Framework, and these instances’ validation through the Delphi method.

Educational Robotics (ER) is a tool that can favor teamwork, stimulate creativity, and the ability to solve students' problems through the process of assembling and programming robots. In this sense, ER has been used to improve educational practices. There are several initiatives that seek to stimulate Computational Thinking (CT) to stand out. Although ER being used to develop CT, there are still no guidelines based on scientific studies that support this use. The objective of this Research Full Paper is to identify: a) the main pedagogical approaches are applied in classes with ER focused on developing students' CT; b) the central difficulties are encountered in classes with ER focused on developing students' CT; c) the CT skills are presents in classes with ER focused on developing students' CT; d) the instruments are used to assess students' CT during classes with ER; e) the students' profile who participated in classes with ER focused o on developing students' CT; f) the educational robotics technologies are adopted in classes focused on developing students' CT. To achieve these goals, we planned and carried out systematic mapping of the literature. The results show that, through ER, CT is approached through the teaching of programming languages in a collaborative way in Early Childhood and High School. The most CT skills observed are related to programming, such as sequencing, algorithm, loop, generalization, decomposition, and debugging. The main instruments for assessing students are tests, and the most significant difficulty is the limitation of class hours. Finally, LEGO® is the most used technology in class.

This Research to Practice Full Paper investigates the effect of Computational Thinking (CT) and robotics on learning mathematics. CT involves problem-solving skills based on Computer Science concepts. However, there is no CT formal definition as well as information on how to integrate it with other high school subjects. Studies are still searching for methods, tools, and instruments to evaluate CT skills to allow effective adoption. Problem-solving is critical to mathematics, and introducing robotics in this context can favor the learning process. The goal of this study is to apply educational robotics in a Brazilian public high school and evaluate the impact on the development of CT skills and mathematical performance. Two research questions guide the study: (RQ1) Can the use of robotics favor the development of CT skills? (RQ2) Can the use of robotics favor math learning? The development of CT skills was evaluated through the Bebras Challenge, and the annual performance obtained by the students in mathematics was considered to evaluate the impact on mathematics. The overall results pointed out that the use of robotics can favor the learning of mathematics and they bring some indications that the use of robot kits can stimulate the development of CT skills, but still more research is needed.

Educational Robotics (ER) has revealed several benefits in the educational context, not only helping the teaching of disciplines, but also making possible the development of several abilities, such as teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity. Among various robotics kits, LEGO®Robotics has been shown one of the best results considering some evaluated criteria (modularity level, hardware, curriculum, price, etc.). Some studies analyze the teaching practices, some compare technologies, and others evaluate the kits in a pedagogical way. However, it is essential to investigate all these contexts together in order to improve the impact produced by the ER in education and to know the best teaching practices associated with the most powerful technologies. The objective of this Research Full Paper is to identify: a) environments and programming languages adopted in the LEGO®Robotics context, b) educational practices applied during classes based on LEGO®Robotics, and c) the educational levels in which robotics has been applied with positive results. To achieve these goals, we planned and carried out a systematic review of the literature. Our main findings are: a) the most widely used environment and programming language are LabVIEW along with the LEGO®'s block-based programming language, b) we identified LEGO®Robotics is used for teaching programming, interdisciplinary contents, participation in tournaments, robotics, and computational thinking, c) LEGO®Robotics is used with success by students of different levels, such as K12, undergraduate, and graduated. Finally, we discuss some problems and limitations related to ER and point out that there is no standardization of teaching practices or methodologies for evaluating results, indicating that more research is needed to find the best scenario regarding technologies, methods, and target audience.