Grounded in Piaget’s (1952) constructivism and Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory, the study explored how hands-on robotic-based activities enhance students' narrative skills. The research focused on changes in students' self-reported expressive language, improvements in descriptive language, storytelling coherence growth throughout the robotic-based activities, and their reflections on learning experiences and challenges.
A mixed-methods approach was employed to capture both qualitative and quantitative aspects of students' narrative skill development. The quantitative component involved pre- and post-self-surveys and pre- and post-storytelling assessments. The qualitative component included semi-structured interviews with students and instructors and audio recordings of group conversations during collaborative storytelling tasks. By integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods, the research aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of whether a robotic-based storytelling approach supports children's narrative skill development in a five-day summer camp setting through the following questions:
• How do students' self-reported abilities of expressive language change from pre to post self-survey?
• Do students demonstrate increased use of descriptive language and improved storytelling structure in their post-stories compared to pre-stories?
• How do children describe their learning experience after their five-day camp?
• How do children express themselves verbally when using robots to tell stories?
Participants
The study included 14 students, aged between 6 and 10 years. Students were selected for participation in the study on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the camp registration opened, families who expressed interest and completed the required forms were enrolled until the available spots were filled. Four undergraduate students from the public university have been hired as instructors, maintaining an instructor-to-student ratio of either 1:3 or 1:4.
Research Instruments
A self-assessment survey was developed to assess students' self-awareness regarding their expressive language abilities. Students were required to complete the same survey on the first and last day of the camp. The survey consists of four categories: retelling, writing/vocabulary, drawing, and body movement, featuring eleven items. For example, students read the statement, "I like to use new words I have learned from stories or in conversations." Then, they rated each item using a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 represents "strongly disagree" and 5 represents "strongly agree."
With reference to Stein and Glenn's (1975) story grammar components, the rubrics, adapted from Mokhtar et al.'s (2011) and Liang and Hwang's (2023) assessment rubrics for storytelling abilities, included eight criteria: development of story elements, use of descriptive language, grammar and vocabulary, narrative coherence, body movement, facial expressiveness, voice and sounds, and building. Each criterion is rated on a 4-point scale, where 1 indicates "needs improvement" and 4 represents "excellent." For example, if a student received an Excellent in "Development of Elements," the student effectively develops characters, setting, and plot in response to the prompt. The maximum score for both rubrics is 32 points. Pre- and post-storytelling assessments were conducted on the first and last days of the camp to evaluate students' narrative skills.
Camp instructors conducted semi-structured small-group interviews with students at the end of each camp day. Students' group storytelling presentations were recorded. Audio recordings were made during group storytelling presentations at the end of the camp. These recordings were used to analyze students' use of language, including vocabulary, sentence structures, and narrative coherence.
The findings from the pre- and post-self-survey indicate an increase in students' self-awareness regarding their expressive language abilities, particularly in areas such as retelling, writing/vocabulary, drawing, and body movement. Notably, writing and vocabulary showed a significant improvement. Compared to pre-storytelling assessments, the means of post-storytelling decreased by 1.5 points. When looking into the two measured areas: story creation and presentation skills, the means of story creation improved while the means of storytelling skills decreased. Based on the results, the two subcomponents of story creation, development of elements and narrative coherence, revealed significant improvements.
The findings from group interviews showed that students described their five-day camp experiences as engaging and enjoyable. Students highlighted the positive learning environment by describing the camp as "fun," "awesome," and "amazing" and showed their willingness to rejoin the camp. Moreover, students rated the camp as their "second-best camp." The students' enthusiasm reflected more than just enjoyment. Students showed excitement while working on hands-on activities, such as building robots, coding, and designing story settings. These interactive tasks support constructivist teaching by using physical tools to help children understand abstract ideas, which is especially important for their age group (Inhelder & Piaget, 1972). Social interaction and collaboration also emerged as the key components in students' experiences. Phrases like "building is way more fun with people" and "working together was a lot easier" illustrate the importance of peer collaboration. Students got opportunities to negotiate meanings and develop narratives while working in groups to design and present stories.
All four group stories included emotional expressions, descriptive language, and action verbs, which enhanced the storytelling and engaged the audience. The words and phrases students used, such as "embarrassed," "mad," "a hot day in July," "clear water," "bright and yellow sand," "flight," and "blew up," effectively described the characters' emotions, the story's setting, and the events in detail. Also, students mastered the five elements of storytelling by organizing their narratives with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Each group presented settings and characters, introduced a conflict, and resolved problems effectively. By using these five storytelling elements, students developed their cognitive and narrative skills (Farantika et al., 2022; Satriani, 2019) and demonstrated their ability to construct coherent and sequential narratives (Isbell et al., 2004; Peck, 1989).
This study is important for research and practice in early childhood education, especially regarding language development, storytelling, and the integration of technology. First, this research addresses gaps in the literature on children's oral narrative ability development. While storytelling is widely recognized as an effective method for supporting children's linguistic and cognitive growth (Berman & Slobin, 1994; Farantika et al., 2022; Nicolopoulou, 2019; Peterson & McCabe, 1983; Rafiola et al., 2022; Speaker et al., 2004), the majority of prior studies have focused on storytelling or computational thinking, with limited studies on how robotic-based storytelling activities impact children's narrative skills. By investigating a robotic-based storytelling approach, this study extends traditional storytelling into a technology-enhanced context, which supports children's narrative skill development through meaningful and engaging experiences.
This presentation will offer both research-based insights and practical strategies, making it highly relevant to educators, researchers, and curriculum designers. Attendees will explore a replicable instructional model that blends storytelling and robotics to enhance language learning, gain insights that connect theory and practice, and receive adaptable tools, such as collaborative coding activities.
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Farantika, D., Shofwan, A. M., & Purwaningrum, D. (2022). The benefits and purpose of storytelling for early childhood education. SINDA: Comprehensive Journal of Islamic Social Studies, 2(2), 122–129. https://doi.org/10.28926/sinda.v2i2.497
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Satriani, I. (2019). Storytelling in teaching literacy: Benefits and challenges. English Review: Journal of English Education, 8(1), 113. https://doi.org/10.25134/erjee.v8i1.1924
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Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
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