Exploring the Exploits on the Instructional Conveyance of Robotics Course to the 4Cs of 21st Century Education

This explanatory sequential mixed-method research proposes an investigation on the implementation of Robotics course at the Information and Communication Technology High School. Data were generated from relatable knowledge and experiences of the student-participants. The quantitative findings illustrated that it is highly evident amongst students to be able to articulate the standards of the competencies prescribed in the Robotics curriculum and instruction. A highly evident result in the adherence of Robotics to the framework of 21st Century Learning was also registered and thus translates into the relevance and responsiveness of the course in the 21st Century Education frontline. Meanwhile, ten (10) student-participants explicitly described the contribution of Robotics in the pursuit of the 4Cs of education. The qualitative part validated the upshot of the quantitative section. Findings highlight the significance of Robotics in the pursuit of 21st century skills that underscore enhanced ICT skills, focused life-long learning skills, increased knowledge creation, developed creativity skills, enriched critical thinking skills, improved collaborative skills, progressed communication skills, human challenges, and physical barriers. The offering of Robotics in ICTHS has made significant impact on the overall concepts and skills of the students in technology, thus making them life-long learners. However, adjustment in terms of instruction and acquisition of additional state-of-the-art robotics kits were found to be indispensable in the continuous progress of the program.


Introduction
In order to better serve its stakeholders, the Department of Education undertook a major paradigm shift in order to respond positively to the challenges of the 21st century. Due to this, an enhanced school planning and communication system should enable schools to better focus on maintaining balanced operations to become more responsive, efficient, and effective. Since the world shifted to industrial revolution 3.0, artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics increasingly became valuable tools that support learning activities in different learning areas. However, the challenge is to exploit technology within a pedagogically sound teaching and learning environment.
Robotics is one of the promising ways for developing highly demanded competencies such as computational and algorithmic thinking skills and programming. Moreover, it is believed to increase students' motivation towards a subject (García-Penalvo, Reimann, Tuul, Rees, & Jormanainen, 2016). Furthermore, it contributes primarily to the generation of higher order thinking skills for learners. Hence, teachers and student's competence in technology should complement each other. The process of teaching and learning is a form of mutual understanding through communication by sharing the same specific knowledge and language system (Fernandes et al., 2018). Therefore, for teachers to develop digital competence, it is essential to find common ground with their students and be able to implement these skills into the educational process. Today's digital generation, a highly modified version of the original Bloom's Taxonomy is developed as a model for digital literacy skills (Phuapan et al., 2016). All the six categories form Anderson's Taxonomy in 2007 were adapted to the development of digital skills accordingly from lowest to the highest level and called Bloom's Digital Taxonomy (Churches, 2007). Bloom's Digital Taxonomy explains activities with digital tools.
With the advancement of technology, it is complex to foresee what kinds of skills will be required by the time the learners of today finish schooling. Emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, machine learning, artificial intelligence and biotechnology are likely to transform some industries, and the World Economic Forum predicts that seven million jobs in the administrative, manufacturing and construction job families will disappear by 2020 (World Economic Forum, 2016). The International Labour Organization (2016) foresees that │ 3 https://iiari.org/journals/ijicte in 20 years robots will replace the jobs of 137 million people (56 per cent of the current employees) in five South-East Asia countries that includes Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Handful of scholars have specified that students think that robotics courses help them develop hands-on skills, and more knowledge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (Sullivan & Heffernan, 2016). English (2016) developed an integrated STEM framework which links learning objectives and learning activities between different STEM disciplines. Doerschuk et al. (2016) also confirmed that through hands on robotics course, students increase their interest in STEM and career advancement. In general, students have evinced interest in robots, making robotics education popular in STEM areas (Rihtaršič, Avsec, & Kocijancic, 2016).
Numerous facts were provided by researchers on the significant contributions of robotics course in the academic endeavors of the students. While DepEd has the aim to strengthen its current K to 12 basic education curriculum through diverse approaches on how to discover learning as a requisite for 21st century education, robotics course offering can be an avenue to the realization of this goal.
As one of the channels of the foregoing educational paradigm, Robotics as a course is met with different modes of reception. Hence, the proponent proposes to introduce the gains and adherence of Robotics to the standards of 21st century education and examine its progression in a given time.
The K to 12 Basic Education Program of DepEd introduces the 21st Century skills which constitute lifelong learning. Hence, this study aims to assess the integration of Robotics into the curriculum of Information and Communication Technology High School. It is hoped that it will provide inputs for improvement; deliver feedbacks for possible implementation in other schools in the division and serve as basis for stakeholder support.

2.1.Research Design/Method
The study used the mixed method of quantitative and qualitative types of research.
The blending of the two types of research offers a thorough generation of knowledge 4 │ extracted from the trend in the population along with an in-depth knowledge of the participants' perspective and experiences (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007).
Specifically, the explanatory sequential mixed method design (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011) was used in gathering data in teacher instruction and course content and adherence of Robotics Course to the 21st Century Skills (Critical thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Use of Technology) in the Information and Communication Technology High School.

Participants and Sampling
For the quantitative part, the study used stratified random sampling consisted of 89 student-respondents from grade 7 to 10. According to Fraenkel, Wallen and Hyun (2012), stratified random sampling is "a process in which a certain subgroup, or strata, are selected for the sample in the same proportion as they exist in the population" (p. 95). On the other hand, purposive sampling is a non-probability sampling method is used when components selected for the sample are handpicked by the judgment of the researcher (Black, 2010).
While in the qualitative section, the study applied purposive sampling and 10 participants qualified based on the criteria set: a) he/she has taken robotics at ICTHS, S.Y 2016-2017; b) has experienced competing in the Regional and National robotics competitions; and c) has winnings of 1st to 3rd places in the said levels of competition.
Second collection of data through focus group discussion followed. Focus group relies upon words spoken by participants. A report based on focus groups features patterns formed by words, called themes or perspectives. Researchers must use specific methods to analyze patterns in spoken language (Creswell, 1998).

Instrument
Two (2) survey instruments were utilized. The first is a tool used by Berkeley Center graduate research professor in one of the Universities in Pampanga, Philippines to ensure its overall clarity and usefulness in the study.
In the qualitative phase, the researcher used eight (8)

Data Collection and Analysis
The quantitative data gathered were treated with the use of weighted mean. While the qualitative data gathered through focus group discussion and interview were processed using coding and clustering of statements based on the transcript and extracted significant statements. The significant statements were coded using a process that allows organization of materials "into chunks or segments of texts" (Creswell et. al 2009 p 186).
The processing of qualitative data gathered ran from verbatim transcription of participants' responses or stories to the extraction of themes. Significant statements from the 14 groups in the focus group discussion and ten interviewees' transcripts were extracted.
Identification was assigned to significant statements, "Ga, Gb, Gc…" for 'Group' and 'Sa' for Student" and numerals "1, 2, 3…" for the sequence significant statements from the participants. Codes using a process that allowed organizations of the materials "into chunks or segment of text" was later utilized to come up with the emerging themes (Creswell, et.al, 2009 p. 186).
Key point coding process was conducted by reading through the data and creating a storyline; categorizing data in codes; and using memos for clarification and interpretation.
Codes are essence-capturing and essential elements of the research, that when grouped and organized according to analogous and consistent pattern, categories will be recognized and enable to establish a link based on the analysis procedure (Saldaña, 2015).
Then, commonalities were grouped into concepts. At this stage, the researcher analyzed the codes to identify similarities and group them into categories based on their common properties. Concepts are abstract representations of events, objects, actions or interactions which allow the researcher to group similar information to better understand the data (Khandkar, 2015). From similar concepts, themes or categories were created. A theme creates a relevant aspect in connection with the research questions and denotes the level of patterned and marginally organizes and describes your data set in detail (Braun and Clarke, 2006). The researcher deciphered the emerging themes leading to the conclusions and recommendations. Conclusion drawing involves stepping back to consider what the analyzed data mean and to assess their implications for the questions at hand (Qualitative Analysis Handout, cited in Nicdao, 2015). Finally, the researcher sought the assistance of an expert, a Master Teacher in Filipino to analyze patterns in spoken language. With an obtained over-all mean of 3.36. In general, the delivery of instruction by the teacher in teaching robotics is perceived to be effective and compatible with the standards of 21st Century competencies. Of the 18 items in teacher instruction, items 14 and 18 were the indicators that did not register the highest gain. This suggests a need for more efforts to be exerted during class discussions to make learning more productive and achieve its fullest gain.      (Khanlari, 2013, Hussain et al., 2006Nugent et al., 2010;Arlegui et al., 2008;Demetriou, 2011). As stated by Davis et al. (2008) researchers and educators have demonstrated that digital technology dramatically affects and changes students' personalities and identities, increases intellectual capacities, and participates "in the transformation of minds, that is experiences of consciousness". Here are some of the excerpts of the student-participants.

Conclusion
This mixed-method research that provided quantitative and qualitative information has its primary purpose to assess the gains and adherence of Robotics to the 21