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

IntroductionThis 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.MethodsTwenty-nine third-grade pupils (8–9 years old) from an Italian p