Building Thinking Skills through Educational Robotics
Elif Anda, Caner Anda, Mellis Ed-Tech
When a preschool teacher brings an educational robot and a coding mat to the classroom, his or her primary purpose should be to develop children’s thinking skills, such as algorithmic thinking, problem-solving strategies, and spatial awareness, through a concrete experience.
Let’s consider the teacher narrates that the robot’s balloon flies away and lands on a tree. It is made of plastic and can pollute nature if the robot can’t get it. Also, playing with a balloon is fun. This narration is not a coincidence since it refers to children’s own life experiences and eases the process of creating a real connection. This scenario attracts children’s attention and encourages them to plan their steps to rescue the balloon. Here, the core purpose is to make children’s thinking processes visible.
As children plan the robot’s path on the mat, they first engage in mental simulation, such as “First I need to take two steps forward and then turn left…” The sequential thinking skill active in this process pushes them to take logical steps. When the robot moves and hits an obstacle, such as a flower on its path, children make an instant error analysis. “I forgot to turn left.” Or “I moved forward too far.” The critical observation activated then makes children internalise the cause-and-effect relationship as well. The examples can be multiplied.
Pressing the robot’s buttons should never be considered only a physical action for children since each tap concretises the link among the pre-action thinking process, action itself, and outcome. Children learn through this experience that errors are not the end of everything, but learning opportunities. The most significant outcome of the robotics-integrated learning activities lies in the mental models constructed, such as disciplined planning, spatial reasoning, and strategic resilience. Robots act as tools that support children’s thinking pathways – the true attainment resides in the cognitive development provided through this support.