Implementing a Robot-Based Pedagogy in the Classroom: Initial Results from Stakeholder Interviews

Research suggests that robots can provide an engaging learning experience, particularly for students with special education needs (SEN). However, few studies have sought to examine how such technology could be implemented within current teaching practices and curriculum. This paper seeks to explore how SEN teachers currently approach their teaching and, through qualitative interviews, examine how a robot-based pedagogy might be implemented within it. Findings demonstrate that the teachers are required to teach a diverse student cohort within a single typical teaching session, where each student has their own individual needs and specific learning outcomes. A robot-based pedagogy would therefore need to be able to adapt to these specific learning challenges while maintaining an acceptable level of accessibility. To achieve this, it must have pre-designed templates of learning activities that are generic enough to quickly implement in everyday teaching but also adaptable enough for individually tailored learning outcomes. Example tasks are provided, that meet these aims, examining behaviour imitation and speech input. However, barriers to adoption include the low level of skill on behalf of the teacher, the ease of setting up the robot for use in activities and the control over the robot during sessions.