Designing Evaluations for K-12 Robotics Education Programs

While a large number of robotics programs for K-12 students have been developed and deployed in the past twenty years, the effect that these programs have on students' motivations to enter science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers has yet to be fully determined. In order to demonstrate the value of these programs, researchers must make a concerted effort to measure their impact. Based on prior work in the evaluation of educational robotics programs, the authors of this chapter present frequently-utilized evaluation and measurement methods as well as guidelines for selecting these methods based on factors such as a program's duration, size, and maturity. This chapter is intended for use as a reference guide for designing evaluations of K-12 educational robotics programs.