Educational Robotics for Inclusive Design

This research stems from the need to prepare future teachers to design digital inclusive teaching. The contribution thus presents a distance training course on Coding and Educational Robotics (ER) for pre-service support teachers (PSSTs). The aim was not only to enhance PSSTs’ digital skills but mainly to foster their ability to design for all, using technologies in an inclusive perspective. Trainers supported them without offering predefined work packages. They stimulated PPSTs to become experimenters and researchers to identify functional paths for the introduction of coding-ER in their future curricular teaching. We investigated the evolution of PSSTs’ basic knowledge and self-confidence on coding-ER tools and methodologies and their beliefs on their introduction to PSSTs’ education. We finally detected their satisfaction with this training course. From the results, the training proved to be effective, despite the distance implementation and the lack of an embodied approach. The PSSTs showed a greater self-confidence and a higher awareness about the benefits of ER. They also demonstrated a conscious use of tools and a focus on inclusiveness in the design of learning paths. We can identify the following as success factors: the strong interaction between participants supported by the course structure; the continuous feedback from both peers and trainers; the possibility to experiment in groups and share successes and failures. These positive results have also led to a greater awareness of the role of support teachers in the complexity of classroom life.