Chais2025_Heb_and_Eng-web

Doaa Saad, Igor Verner, Rinat B. Rosenberg-Kima 43E Proceedings of the 20th Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Digital Era D. Olenik-Shemesh, I. Blau, N. Geri, A. Caspi, Y. Sidi, Y. Eshet-Alkalai, Y. Kalman, E. Rabin (Eds.), Ra'anana, Israel: The Open University of Israel Teaching STEM with Educational Robotics: Competencies and Professional Development (Short Paper) Doaa Saad Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Sdoaa14@campus.technion.ac.il Igor Verner Technion – Israel Institute of Technology ttrigor@technion.ac.il Rinat B. Rosenberg-Kima Technion – Israel Institute of Technology rinatros@technion.ac.il הוראת STEM עם רובוטיקה חינוכית: כישורי ם ו פיתוח מקצועי )מאמר קצר( דועאא סעד הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל Sdoaa14@campus.technion.ac.il איגור ורנר הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל ttrigor@technion.ac.il רינת ב ' רוזנברג - קימה הטכניון – מכון טכנולוגי לישראל rinatros@technion.ac.il Abstract This study identifies the competencies essential for integrating robotics activities into STEM education, focusing on Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge as well as 21st-century skills. Additionally, it introduces a professional development program for middle school teachers aimed at fostering these competencies. It also investigates teachers' and students' interest and perceived utility of robotics activities and identifies factors influencing robotics integration. A 30-hour Task-Centered professional development included direct instruction in the context of three tasks was design. Results revealed a significant increase in teachers’ self-efficacy regarding robotics competencies and a significant decrease in anxiety, with attitudes also improving, though not significantly. This study supports the potential of the Task-Centered program in training teachers with no prior technological knowledge to incorporate robotics activities into their STEM classrooms. Keywords: Robotics Activities, STEM Education, Professional Development.