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By Liam Isaac
Liam Isaac is Director of Learning and Innovation at SERIOUSWORK. He was previously the Head of Engineering, Enterprise and Technology at Cheltenham Ladies’ College. In this article he shares with us the work of LEGO® Serious Play® and how it can be used in Design and Technology.
As a design and technology teacher, the chances are that you have used LEGO at some point in your classroom. Why wouldn’t you? There are so many potentially relevant applications: sketch prototyping, visualising in 3D for technical drawing, exploring structures. And all this before you actually tap into the wealth of LEGO Education products that help make robotics, electronics and mechanical engineering so accessible for students of all ages.
One application you may not be so familiar with is LEGO Serious Play. However, this low-tech use of LEGO bricks can have a potentially transformative effect on learning.
What is LEGO Serious Play?
LEGO Serious Play was conceived by the LEGO Group in the mid 1990’s. It was exploring how the same principles of play and constructivism, that had been inspiring children to ‘build their dreams’ for decades, could be harnessed to help corporations full of adults to build their strategic visions.
And so, the LEGO Serious Play method was born.
At its heart, it is a simple four stage process:
Learners are set a challenge in the form of a build question. They then construct their response, using the LEGO bricks and connections they create as metaphors to communicate their thinking. Once complete, individuals share their model stories with their peers before then engaging in meaningful reflection on what they have learnt.
So far, so good.
Within LEGO Serious Play there are different Build Levels, each one representative of a different ‘type’ of build:
Build level 1 is also referred to as an individual build. This is where each learner constructs their own individual response to the Build Question. In this way, the LEGO bricks serve as a sort of 3D printer for the learner’s thinking.
In Build level 2, or Shared Builds. Learners must work in teams to construct shared understandings. This is where the LEGO Serious Play Method builds learners’ capacity for tolerance, empathy and collaboration.
Systems Builds (Build level 3) encourage learners to think systematically, consider the different agents that can influence a system, before then playing out scenarios to understand the potential impact and ripple effects that these events and situations might have.
Why LEGO Serious Play in design & technology?
Outstanding learning experiences are built on the principles of engagement, collaboration, and deep reflection. LEGO Serious Play seamlessly integrates these elements to create immersive and impactful educational experiences. Here's why the method is a potential game-changer for your classroom:
It fosters problem-solving and creative behaviours:
The inherent flexibility of LEGO bricks nurtures creative problem-solving skills; the very skills that we know are central to success in our design and technology context. Learners are encouraged to find innovative solutions by manipulating, reassembling, and experimenting with their models. This approach stimulates critical thinking, adaptability, and the capacity to think outside the box. The iterative nature of LEGO Serious Play, with learners building and then rebuilding, also provides a safe space for learners to explore and learn from failures, fostering a growth mindset.
It is a versatile tool:
LEGO Serious Play can be used in conjunction with other design thinking tools, strategies and frameworks to supercharge the positive influence that these can have on learning. My students have used the method to construct ‘personas’, before then using these models to tell rich stories about these fictional representations of their intended end-users. I regularly use affinity mapping at the end of a LEGO Serious Play activity so that whole classes can identify emergent patterns and trends. I will also use techniques like sketchnoting to capture the learning and help students to consider ‘what next’.
It helps to connect the dots.
LEGO bricks act as powerful storytelling tools, allowing learners to construct narratives and metaphors. These stories provide a platform for sharing insight, enabling a deeper understanding of complex topics; particularly where interconnection between topics exist. This tangible construction of systems make LEGO Serious Play an ideal tool for concept mapping. In a curriculum like Design and Technology’s, this can prove invaluable in making learning meaningful through these explicit connections between different concepts and ideas.
Bringing LEGO Serious Play into Your Context
As Design and Technology teachers, we strive to create exceptional learning experiences that resonate with our students and inspire them to reach their full potential. Here are a few suggestions for how you might look to incorporate LEGO Serious Play into your Design and Technology lessons:
Kickstarters: Start a new project using LEGO Serious Play with your classes. Why not challenge them to build models that represent their goals linked to a particular brief or design problem, before sharing and discussing these with their peers.
Problem-Solving Workshops: Facilitate workshops using LEGO Serious Play to tackle real-world problems or complex issues. By allowing participants to build and share models that represent their ideas, you can unlock their creativity and encourage collaborative problem-solving.
Reflection: Ask students to create models that represent their learning journey, showcasing their growth, challenges, and future aspirations for your subject area. This activity can be particularly helpful to conclude a period of research into a design problem
Want to Learn More?
For a more detailed exploration of LEGO Serious Play’s relevance in education, check out Liam’s book, 'Building Better Learning Using the LEGO Serious Play Method in Education' for heaps of case studies and examples of how the method has been successfully used in a variety of different school contexts.
You can also sign up for a training course - specifically for educators - to become an accredited LEGO Serious Play classroom practitioner. More details can be found here
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