Effects of Robots Using Board Games to Promote Computational Thinking in Humanities Students

In recent years, advancements in robotics have led to the development of educational support robots designed for classroom use. In this study, we explored the use of a partner-type robot that learns alongside human learners in programming education. In Japan, revisions to the national curriculum by the Ministry of Education have made programming education increasingly mandatory. Although board games that foster computational thinking are widely used in educational settings, they typically involve multiple players, which may not be available in-home environments. Single player modes may reduce the enjoyment of learning and hinder motivation. In this study, we propose a partner-type robot that enables learners to engage with programming board games independently. The robot displays the game on an internal monitor, and the user learns by competing against the robot. We also conducted an experiment with humanities students who had no prior programming experience, in which we compared their learning outcomes across three scenarios, including learning with a robot, learning with another human, and a control group that was not exposed to information on programming. The results suggest that competition with the proposed robot effectively supported the development of computational thinking in humanities students.