Investigating the effects of 4C teaching model on creativity and student learning in robotics education: an action research study

With the increasing complexity of scientific and social issues, students should develop creativity through an interdisciplinary lens to build a sustainable future. As the quintessential integrative STEM education, robotics education is an important way to cultivate creativity, as its engineering design process aligns with the nature of creativity. However, current pedagogical limitations hinder robotics education from effectively fostering student creativity. This study figured out a 4C teaching model based on the interplay between the two core cognitive components of creativity (i.e., divergent and convergent thinking). To validate the effects of this model, three iterations of action research were conducted in a robotics course during 2021–2023 at a university in China. Questionnaires, classroom observations, and interviews were used to evaluate students’ creativity and learning outcomes (e.g., interdisciplinary concepts, engineering design skills, collaborative abilities, and cognitive load). The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was performed to compare the pre-test and post-test of all dimensions in each iteration. Results indicated that there was a significant difference in students’ creativity, interdisciplinary concepts, engineering design skills, and collaborative abilities, but no significant difference in students’ cognitive load before and after the implementation of the 4C model. The possible reasons, implications, and future research are also discussed.