Fourth graders explore a computational thinking task using Robot Emil: A multimodal analysis of pupils’ thinking

This paper presents an analysis of two pairs of fourth graders’ exploration of a computational thinking task (related to optimization) within a multimodal paradigm perspective in the Robot Emil context. The data included video recordings of the pupils’ work and the analysis was guided by the theoretical lens of the Action, Production and Communication space’s semiotic bundle. According to findings, the semiotic bundle regarding solving an optimization task through the Robot Emil context had three major components: verbal signs, tool use, and gestures. Pencil and finger gestures mediated an interpretative link between the tool use and the discourse. Further, they were acting as a strong communication tool when pupils described the trials and the conjectures to each other and also when they evaluated the obtained results. However, we underline that the Robot Emil context does not provide feedback, and therefore the teacher’s role is crucial to orchestrate collective classroom discussions in order to compare and consolidate pupils’ strategies and optimized solutions.