ROBOTICS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL: FROM PLAYFUL ACTIVITY TO CONSCIOUS STEM PROJECTING

The article explores the role of educational robotics as a universal didactic tool within the context of Industry 4.0. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the mechanisms of a systematic transition from playful activity to conscious STEM projecting and to define the conditions for forming innovative competence in primary school students. The research methodology is based on a combination of theoretical analysis of scientific sources and a comparative-pedagogical study of hardware platforms like LEGO Education and VEX GO, as well as virtual simulators such as Tinkercad Circuits and VEXcode VR. The research procedure involves the implementation of the “4C” cyclic model (connect, construct, contemplate, and continue), ensuring a logical transition from playful curiosity to a complete engineering design cycle. The results reveal the essence of robotics as an integrative foundation for developing engineering thinking, which stimulates divergent problem-solving and visualizes abstract scientific concepts. It is proven that the use of visual programming environments eliminates technical barriers, while the “learning-by-teaching” paradigm involving a robot partner improves long-term knowledge retention. The study justifies the effectiveness of the fragmentary integration of robotic elements into mathematics, informatics, design and technology, and the “I Explore the World” course for the comprehensive formation of soft skills. The authors identified key challenges in technology implementation, such as personnel shortages and material barriers, and outlined strategies for overcoming them through international scientific cooperation within the EDUROB project. It is concluded that the systematic transition to STEM projecting transforms the primary school into a space for scientific inquiry, where children become active creators of future technologies.