What is Educational Design Research

Computational thinking and educational robotics are two terms that are increasingly encountered in the literature when discussing the introduction of digital education in primary school. Computer science education is becoming increasingly important, even for young learners. Since its planned implementation in the Austrian primary school curriculum, it became necessary to find appropriate educational required concepts and methods for its implementation. Therefore, a research project was developed to investigate the use of programmable robots combined with the method of digital storytelling. To combine theoretical knowledge with pedagogical practice, the approach of educational design research was chosen. The study was conducted in five classes of primary schools. The aim was to investigate how to design a robotics-based learning environment supporting computational thinking skills. The purpose of this chapter is to give an overview of the findings of this research project.