Motivating students' learning in science and technology by using robots

Abstract

Nowadays, science and technology (S&T) are one of the significant impetuses for economy and development. Therefore, how to arouse students' interest and inspire their motivation toward S&T becomes a hot topic for researchers and educators. The aim of the study is to evaluate how a robot (or a group of robots) can stimulate college students' interest in science and technology and motivate them to learn S&T. A case study was conducted in the Macau University of Science and Technology where robots were brought in the campus in September 2017. An online questionnaire survey was carried out and 264 valid data were analysed by using SmartPLS. The results show that the appearance and functionality of robots affect students' interest in robots, further indirectly affects interest in S&T, and ultimately motivate students to learn S&T.