Publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Place of Publication

Chattanooga (Tenn.)

Abstract

This program focused on work with the DJI (2023b) Tello EDU drone, which is programmable through an app or can be flown with an app or a controller. The DroneBlocks App (DroneBlocks, n.d.) was used for flying through drag-and-drop, block coding, and the DJI (2023a) Tello App was used for flying without programming. Each teacher self-evaluated knowledge and skills, before and after a multi-day workshop.

Balogun and Miller (2022) developed, and pilot-tested, a drone club model for out-of-school STEM learning and career pathway exploration. K-12 educators and subject-matter experts provided feedback for revision. Feedback topics ranged from safety to instruction to assessment. Goodnough et al. (2019) collected data regarding teacher pedagogical content knowledge while presenting a unit using drones to study animal habitats. Teacher efficacy was strengthened as they created inquiry-based, classroom environments to engage learners in science. Tsai et al. (2019) developed a computer programming self-efficacy scale. The five subscales included Logical Thinking, Cooperation, Algorithm, Control, and Debug.

During summer 2022 and spring 2023, 16 teachers provided survey data for the self-efficacy scale (Tsai et al., 2019) and responded to open-ended questions. The goal was to provide high-quality, teacher professional development to increase knowledge and instructional skills for integrating drones into the elementary, middle, and secondary grades classroom. Measurable objectives included:

1. There will be a statistically significant increase in teachers’ scores on a 16-item, computer programming self-efficacy survey, between administrations of the instrument. 2. There will be a statistically significant increase in teachers’ scores on the five sub-scales of the computer programming self-efficacy survey, between administrations of the instrument. 3. Responses to open-ended questions will be analyzed for trends.

Results showed a significant increase in computer programming self-efficacy and significant increases in sub-scale scores.

References

Balogun, A. O., & Miller, J. (2022). Drone club: Exploring engineering and employability skills outside the classroom. TechTrends, 66, 923-930.

DJI. (2023a). Download center. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://www.dji.com/downloads/djiapp/tello

DJI. (2023b). Tello EDU. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://m.dji.com/product/tello-edu

DroneBlocks. (n.d.). Download the DroneBlocks Apps. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://droneblocks.io/app

Goodnough, K., Azam, S., & Wells, P. (2019). Adopting drone technology in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics): An examination of elementary teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 19, 398-414.

Tsai, M.-J., Wang, C.-Y., & Hsu, P.-F. (2019). Developing the computer programming self-efficacy scale for computer literacy education. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 56(8), 1345-1360.

Document Type

posters

Language

English

Rights

http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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Assessing the programming efficacy of teachers through workshop learning combining drones and STEM activities

This program focused on work with the DJI (2023b) Tello EDU drone, which is programmable through an app or can be flown with an app or a controller. The DroneBlocks App (DroneBlocks, n.d.) was used for flying through drag-and-drop, block coding, and the DJI (2023a) Tello App was used for flying without programming. Each teacher self-evaluated knowledge and skills, before and after a multi-day workshop.

Balogun and Miller (2022) developed, and pilot-tested, a drone club model for out-of-school STEM learning and career pathway exploration. K-12 educators and subject-matter experts provided feedback for revision. Feedback topics ranged from safety to instruction to assessment. Goodnough et al. (2019) collected data regarding teacher pedagogical content knowledge while presenting a unit using drones to study animal habitats. Teacher efficacy was strengthened as they created inquiry-based, classroom environments to engage learners in science. Tsai et al. (2019) developed a computer programming self-efficacy scale. The five subscales included Logical Thinking, Cooperation, Algorithm, Control, and Debug.

During summer 2022 and spring 2023, 16 teachers provided survey data for the self-efficacy scale (Tsai et al., 2019) and responded to open-ended questions. The goal was to provide high-quality, teacher professional development to increase knowledge and instructional skills for integrating drones into the elementary, middle, and secondary grades classroom. Measurable objectives included:

1. There will be a statistically significant increase in teachers’ scores on a 16-item, computer programming self-efficacy survey, between administrations of the instrument. 2. There will be a statistically significant increase in teachers’ scores on the five sub-scales of the computer programming self-efficacy survey, between administrations of the instrument. 3. Responses to open-ended questions will be analyzed for trends.

Results showed a significant increase in computer programming self-efficacy and significant increases in sub-scale scores.

References

Balogun, A. O., & Miller, J. (2022). Drone club: Exploring engineering and employability skills outside the classroom. TechTrends, 66, 923-930.

DJI. (2023a). Download center. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://www.dji.com/downloads/djiapp/tello

DJI. (2023b). Tello EDU. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://m.dji.com/product/tello-edu

DroneBlocks. (n.d.). Download the DroneBlocks Apps. Retrieved February 21, 2023, from https://droneblocks.io/app

Goodnough, K., Azam, S., & Wells, P. (2019). Adopting drone technology in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics): An examination of elementary teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 19, 398-414.

Tsai, M.-J., Wang, C.-Y., & Hsu, P.-F. (2019). Developing the computer programming self-efficacy scale for computer literacy education. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 56(8), 1345-1360.