Programmable Robotics as a Mediator of Computational Thinking: A Mixed-Methods Study on the Development of Computer Skills in the Technical Baccalaureate

Ecuadorian technical secondary education continues to struggle with the gap between declarative computer-science instruction and the curricular demand that graduates leave school with operational competencies transferable to the productive sector. This article examines the extent to which the incorporation of the programmable mBot robot as a didactic resource within the computer-science subject affects the development of computing skills among twenty-eight second- and third-year technical baccalaureate students at Unidad Educativa Fiscal José Joaquín Pino Ycaza, in Guayas province, Ecuador. A mixed-methods design with purposive sampling was employed, combining pretest and posttest diagnostic instruments administered to students with semi-structured interviews conducted with teachers and analyzed through inductive coding in ATLAS.ti. The quantitative results show substantial progress in the technical mastery of peripherals: 100% of the sample correctly identified the infrared sensor as the indispensable component for line-following and the logical cause of a directional error on the posttest, while 85.7% successfully programmed the ultrasonic sensor for obstacle avoidance. Attitudinally, 92.8% of students rejected the notion that robot programming is a waste of time, and 82.1% positively valued collaborative work as a facilitator of problem-solving. Qualitative analysis confirms that teachers perceive a transition from theoretical instruction toward tangible practice, accompanied by greater autonomy and concentration, although infrastructure and instructional-time constraints persist. It is concluded that educational robotics, grounded in Papert's constructionism, functions as an effective mediator of computational thinking in technical secondary education, and its progressive curricular institutionalization is recommended.