“I Want to Be Unique From Other Robots”: Positioning Girls as Co-creators of Social Robots in Culturally-Responsive Computing Education

Title of the Paper

“I Want to Be Unique From Other Robots”: Positioning Girls as Co-creators of Social Robots in Culturally-Responsive Computing Education

Paper Information

• Research Domain: Human-Computer Interaction, Computing Education, Culturally-Responsive Educational Design
• Keywords: Culturally-Responsive Computing Education, Co-creation, Social Robots, STEM Education, Girls’ Technology Education, Human-Computer Interaction, Creator Role, Design Decisions, Dynamic Relationships

Research Background and Problem

• Identified Issues or Challenges: In traditional computing education, robots are typically treated as tools or companions rather than collaborators with design input capabilities. Additionally, computing education has limited reach among minority groups (e.g., girls, ethnic minorities) and lacks cultural responsiveness.
• Significance: Technology is not only a tool but can also serve as a vehicle for social change. Designing more inclusive and culturally relevant educational programs can bridge gender and racial gaps in computing education while encouraging students to actively participate in technological and social transformation.
• Research Motivation and Related Work: Traditional robotics education focuses on technical skill development but overlooks the potential to integrate social and cultural issues. Related studies suggest that co-creation can foster deep reflection and autonomy during the design process, offering a new direction for introducing robots as active participants.

Solution

• Proposed Solution: The authors explore the potential of culturally-responsive computing education through the “co-creation” process involving social robots and students. Students are not only creators of robots but also collaborators in designing with robots.
• Innovations:
  1. Proposing robots as participatory materials that directly interact with designers, rather than merely serving as tools.
  2. Combining the core principles of culturally-responsive education with co-creation to foster deeper reflection on technology and society.
  3. Integrating robots as both learning tools and social learning partners.
• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:
  • Participatory Design: Co-creation workshops where two teams of girls engage in designing robot identities and functionalities through storytelling, dialogue, and prototype creation.
  • Prototype Design Activities: Students use virtual tools (e.g., Google Slides and Jamboard) to design robots’ appearance, language, functionality, and personality, interacting with robots to discuss design decisions.
  • Reflection Discussions: Guided discussions on the social and cultural significance of design choices, as well as identity and power dynamics in human-robot relationships.

Research Outcomes

• Specific Results:

  1. Role Transformation Observations: Students demonstrated different design decisions when positioned as creators and co-creators, such as prioritizing their own needs when designing functionalities while being more open to allowing robots autonomy in personality choices.
  2. Reflection and Negotiation Skills: Through co-creation activities, students began to consider how to redistribute design power, negotiate with robots, and learn from new human-robot relationships.
  3. Identity and Social Relationship Reflections: When robots were positioned as co-creation subjects, students paid greater attention to the social dynamics of human-robot relationships and began designing robots aligned with community and cultural values.

• Advantages:

  • Compared to traditional computing education, this approach emphasizes students’ creativity, autonomous decision-making, and deeper reflection on technology and social relationships.
  • While promoting culturally-responsive education goals (e.g., asset building and social connection), it views the technology design process as a tool for social transformation.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  1. Students valued the systematic nature and shared purpose of technological design decisions over single-task objectives.
  2. When allocating robot functionalities, students preferred controlling core functions but allowed robots autonomy in choosing personality or appearance, demonstrating the potential for negotiation in human-robot relationships.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • Limitations: Small sample size (N=15), with most students having prior robotics experience. The experimental framework did not involve real robot interactions, relying solely on virtual design activities.
  • Future Directions:
    1. Expand sample diversity in terms of race and gender, including students with minimal technical experience.
    2. Explore the practical application of robot prototypes in co-creation and evaluate their ability to foster social cognitive reflection.
    3. Conduct deeper analysis of whether co-creation activities can inspire broader social critical awareness and the capacity to practice technological social transformation.

Contributions of the Paper

• Proposes a new model for culturally-responsive computing education and technological innovation.
• Demonstrates how robot technology design can foster student self-reflection and human-machine collaboration.
• Provides specific guidance and design opportunities for future robot design and educational models.