Impact of Educational Robotics on Enhancing Fine Motor Skill Development in Adolescents

Impact of Educational Robotics on Enhancing Fine Motor Skill Development in Adolescents | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Impact of Educational Robotics on Enhancing Fine Motor Skill Development in Adolescents Jose Carlos Sanchez Tapia, Luis Alfredo Calle, Fernando Moscoso, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9349325/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study sought to evaluate the effect of robotics workshops, centered on hands-on assembly and block-based visual programming, on the fine motor skills of adolescents. A quasi-experimental pretest-postest design was employed involving 53 participants aged 12 to 17. Manual dexterity was evaluated before and after a two-week robotics-based educational intervention, consisting of structured robotics courses utilizing LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 and VEX IQ kits, using the Purdue Pegboard Test. The results revealed a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.005) across the four test metrics: dominant hand, non-dominant hand, both hands, and assembly. The effect size was particularly substantial for bimanual coordination (d = 0.71). Furthermore, the analysis demonstrated that the improvement was consistent and independent of the participants' initial skill levels. It is concluded that participation in robotics workshops involving intensive manipulation of small components was associated with significant pre--post improvements in fine motor performance in this sample. Given the one-group pretest--posttest design, these findings should be interpreted as evidence consistent with a beneficial effect, while acknowledging potential threats to causal inference. Biological sciences/Neuroscience Biological sciences/Psychology Social science/Psychology Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 30 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 28 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 24 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 22 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 20 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 18 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 15 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 09 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 09 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 07 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9349325","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":629631120,"identity":"c26a1b41-c089-4a52-8c40-e5c5f3214021","order_by":0,"name":"Jose Carlos Sanchez Tapia","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA50lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYYwd6AECBOCw/PASK1wJXxSCQQqYW5//CzBz932NjbS74xe/iDwUZ2wwHmgx/wWjAjzdyw90waM490jrkxD0Oa8YYDbMkS+LUwmEkzth1mA2oxk2ZgOJy44QCPGX5v9B//BtTyn4dH8oyZ5A+G/0At/N/wa2nIAdlyQIJHgsdMgofhAMgWNvxaZuSUSfa2JRvwnEkrN+YxSDaeeZjNGK9fDPuPb5P42WZnz95+eNvDHxV2sn3Hmx/iDTHDBgQb6B4DIMWM11kMDPJIbPxeGAWjYBSMgpELAFTnQ+HZ/JrHAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Politécnica Salesiana","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jose","middleName":"Carlos Sanchez","lastName":"Tapia","suffix":""},{"id":629631121,"identity":"5d17f71d-0b94-4be8-bed0-6c85d218cc59","order_by":1,"name":"Luis Alfredo Calle","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Politécnica Salesiana","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Luis","middleName":"Alfredo","lastName":"Calle","suffix":""},{"id":629631122,"identity":"b8315f01-b570-449f-8c5d-a866099f888a","order_by":2,"name":"Fernando Moscoso","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Politécnica Salesiana","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Fernando","middleName":"","lastName":"Moscoso","suffix":""},{"id":629631123,"identity":"90c67357-b819-475f-b98b-02d07d26e845","order_by":3,"name":"Juan Cárdenas Tapia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Politécnica Salesiana","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Juan","middleName":"Cárdenas","lastName":"Tapia","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-07 21:08:06","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9349325/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9349325/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":107863620,"identity":"6f3cc7cc-570a-47cf-80d6-6bde23913f1e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-27 06:11:19","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":929100,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"ImpactofEducationalRoboticsonEnhancingFineMotorSkillDevelopmentinAdolescentsScientif.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9349325/v1_covered_5b6b7500-df68-43fd-a466-510e62c4374d.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Impact of Educational Robotics on Enhancing Fine Motor Skill Development in Adolescents","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9349325/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9349325/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study sought to evaluate the effect of robotics workshops, centered on hands-on assembly and block-based visual programming, on the fine motor skills of adolescents. 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