A Robotics and Coding Project-Based Learning Module: Creative and Critical Thinking in Primary Classrooms

Abstract

Creative and critical thinking are emphasized in curriculum policy, yet little is known about how they appear together in primary project-based robotics and coding. This video-based study examined observable modes of creative and critical thinking, their phase-specific variation, and the affordances of robotics and coding in a Grade 4 project-based learning module. The data consisted of approximately 7,200 min of video from eight small groups in four classrooms. From this dataset, 112 one-minute segments were sampled across skill-building, ideation, implementation, and co-reflection phases and analyzed deductively using five creative and five critical thinking modes. Critical thinking was observed more often than creative thinking, especially interpretation and analysis during skill-building. Divergent thinking was most visible during ideation, whereas implementation involved the strongest overlap between creative and critical modes. Coding mainly foregrounded interpretation and analysis, while robotics created conditions for ideation, testing, and revision through tangible feedback.