Design, development, and implementation of a simulation application for gifted students in robotics teaching

Abstract

The fact that gifted students have different developmental characteristics compared with their peers makes it necessary to differentiate their educational activities. For this reason, different teaching programs and materials are needed to meet the learning needs of gifted students correctly. The purpose of this study is to design, develop, and implement a simulation-based virtual application for gifted secondary school students to be used in robotics technologies education. The effects of the application on the academic achievement of the participants, satisfaction, self-confidence, the development levels of the students, the importance of the design elements for the students, and the metacognitive awareness levels were examined. In addition, a qualitative analysis of participant views was made. The research was created with embedded research design, which is one of the mixed research methods. As a result of the research, the academic success of gifted students in robotics, their satisfaction with simulation programs, their self-efficacy, the skills, and importance they attach to the use of simulation, and their metacognitive awareness levels showed positive development.