ROSIE: Robot-Supported Inclusive Education - A Play-Based Approach to STEM Education and Inclusion in Early Childhood Transitions

The presence of educational robots in preschool and early primary school settings is getting stronger and has shown to have powerful playful qualities and to support interest in STEM. The question is whether it is possible to make use of these advantages and apply a play-based approach to Robot-Supported Collaborative Learning (RSCL) to facilitate inclusion and improve the challenging educational transfers in children’s early life (5-8 years of age). Based on research in inclusive education, playful learning and educational robotics as well as an empirical pilot study on the educational robot KUBO in Denmark, this paper proposes a design-based research approach to the development of situated and practice-based RObot-Supported Incluve Education (ROSIE) specifically aimed at the transition between preschool and primary school. The aim is to support and empower children’s essential life skills including imagination, collaboration and communication skills and to provide pathways capable of including and detecting a diversity of children’s needs, skills and interests in STEM early and in a more advanced way than currently offered by traditional usage of educational technology.