“Experience” on the Screen. Training Pre-service Teachers on Educational Robotics

Training teachers is relevant for Educational Robotics’ (ER) effective and motivated introduction in schools. Teachers’ self-confidence and beliefs about new technologies are crucial elements for the students’ proficiency. A lack of self-confidence could often prevent the successful implementation of new activities in schools. For this reason, Pre-Service Teachers (PSTs) are a key category to invest in. Furthermore, given the potential of ER to achieve inclusive education, there is a solid reason to train Pre-Service Support Teachers (S-PST) as well. Coding and ER training is indeed generally provided through in-person and extra-curricular courses aimed primarily at in-service teachers. The present study addresses the need for training PSTs and S-PSTs on those topics, also through experiential distance curricular courses. Specifically, we examined PSTs’ and S-PSTs’ knowledge and self-confidence towards ER pre-post training, their beliefs and their satisfaction with the courses. The study also investigates whether a distance experiential pathway can be successful despite the lack of a face-to-face experience. The results are satisfactory not only for improving knowledge but also for the effectiveness in enhancing PSTs’ self-confidence towards ER and coding. We also achieved positive results in terms of beliefs and satisfaction with the course.