Assessment of Students' Construction of Scientific Definitions in Thematic Areas of Robotics and Engineering - Utilisation of the Illustrated Physics Dictionary for School (ELeFyS)

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Published: Apr 18, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.12681/codiste.9867
Keywords:
content and language integrated learning elementary education scientific definitions scientific literacy
Elpida-Dikaia Karampali
University of Macedonia
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2023-8203
Ioannis Lefkos
University of Macedonia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1895-4588
Maria Mitsiaki
Democritus University of Thrace
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4185-3881
Nikolaos Fahantidis
University of Macedonia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8838-8091
Abstract

This paper evaluates definitions given by pupils of a primary school concerning terms of robotics and mechanics, within the broader context of scientific literacy by leveraging the illustrated dictionary of physics for school as well as by using robotic equipment. More specifically, a total of 26 students (grades 5 and 6) defined six terms from different ontological categories: objects, qualities and processes. The definitions collected before and after the intervention were evaluated in terms of lexical accuracy, syntactic density and informativeness. The results show that students have more difficulty defining abstract concepts than definitions of tangible objects, even after the intervention.

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