Enhancing the coding experience in primary school with pepper: learning gains, cognitive workload, and student engagement

Introduction: This study examines a Pepper-based coding activity in primary education through three complementary dimensions: changes in coding performance, perceived cognitive workload, and pupils' post-activity engagement responses. Rather than testing the causal effectiveness of Pepper in isolation, the study investigates how a robot-mediated coding activity can be implemented and evaluated in an authentic classroom context. Methods: Twenty-nine third-grade pupils (8-9 years old) from an Italian primary school participated in a teacher-orchestrated coding activity in which they programmed the Pepper robot to navigate a floor grid. Coding performance was assessed using curriculum-aligned pre- and post-tests scored on a 0-10 scale. The perceived workload was measured with a child-adapted NASA Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire. Post-activity engagement responses were collected using an adapted version of the User Engagement Scale-Short Form (UES-SF), with particular caution in interpretation due to the limited internal consistency observed for several subscales. Results: The coding scores increased significantly from the pre-test (M = 5.83, SD = 3.09) to the post-test (M = 7.97, SD = 2.54), t(28) = 3.75, p < 0.001, with a size of the effect size of medium-to-large paired-samples (d(z) = 0.70). NASA-TLX responses indicated low mental and temporal demand, moderate physical demand, high perceived performance, and low frustration, suggesting that the activity was perceived as manageable by the pupils. The adapted engagement questionnaire provided limited descriptive evidence of positive post-activity responses, especially on the Reward subscale, while the other UES-SF dimensions were interpreted cautiously due to weak reliability. Discussion: The findings provide preliminary classroom-based evidence that a Pepper-mediated coding activity was associated with increased coding scores, manageable perceived workload, and positive descriptive indications of perceived reward. However, because of the single-group pre-post design, small sample size, unequal pre- and post-test formats, short-term scope, and limitations of the adapted engagement measure, the results should not be interpreted as causal or generalizable evidence of Pepper's effectiveness. Instead, the study offers methodological and design insights for future comparative research on robot-mediated coding activities in primary education.