Nao Robot vs. Lego Mindstorms - The Influence on the Intrinsic Motivation of Computer Science Non-Majors

Physical computing including robots is a proven concept to attract students to Computer Science and for increasing their motivation to learn programming, which is a critical issue especially for freshmen, who study interdisciplinary degrees featuring Computer Science as a minor [51]. To examine the intended motivational effect, this article compares the Lego Mindstorms robot and the humanoid Nao robot with regard to their potential of creating intrinsic motivation from the viewpoint of Computer Science non-major freshmen. A controlled experiment with 172 participants was conducted. The data was collected with the help of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The Nao robot was found to be significantly more effective in creating intrinsic motivation across both genders and fields of study. Generalization of results is limited due to the fact that only undergraduate students participated in the study and because of the unequal distribution of characteristics. The results reinforced existing positive experiences with the Nao robot and confirmed previous studies on the competence issue of female Computer Science students.