On November 29, 2025, the project's principal investigator, and also Associate Professor of the Department of Early Childhood Education at The Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK), Dr Yang Weipeng, reported the evidence-based findings from the study involving nine Hong Kong non-profit kindergartens, at the Tai Po Campus of EdUHK. Ms Ng Shui-chun, Principal of Castar Kindergarten and Castar Kindergarten (Lei Muk Shue), was invited to share practical experience on "Young Children Learning Robot Programming Through Play," engaging in a lively exchange with the audience.
Dr Yang Weipeng and the school team led by Principal Ng addressed questions from the attendees one by one, facilitating further discussion and exploration of related topics with the experts, scholars, and frontline educators present.
Cultivating computational thinking has become an increasingly global focus, with programming education now beginning as early as kindergarten. Previous pilot studies by the EdUHK team indicated that robotics programming, through hands-on interaction with screen-free coding robots, can enhance young children's computational thinking. Recognising that play stimulates children's innate curiosity and supports their learning, the EdUHK team secured funding from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council's General Research Fund to conduct a systematic study. The team successfully developed a play-based robotics programming curriculum for young children and evaluated whether, compared to direct instruction in a structured curriculum, it could foster greater engagement in robotics activities and strengthen their computational thinking.
Based on the theories of constructionism and digital play framework, this research project (RGC/GRF No. 18604423) proposed a play-based learning intervention integrating robotics programming into kindergarten classrooms. EdUHK researchers scientifically assessed the impact of the intervention on children's engagement and computational thinking through video observations and assessment tools.
More details: https://sites.google.com/view/playbot4kids
Dr Yang presenting the research findings
Principal Ng sharing school-based experience
Expert commentary
Audience Q&A session
Dr Yang and Principal Ng's team