Edinburgh Napier University

  This workshop will explore some of the different ways to use Lego construction toys as a mechanism for encouraging Active Learning. As a learning tool Lego has many uses and offers a low barrier for understanding. From building literal models to constructing tactile metaphors Lego evokes nostalgia, playfulness and creativity. Similarly, play in the classroom creates an atmosphere in which it is safe to take risks, make mistakes, and stimulate reflection. More traditionally seen in the context of business improvement, Lego Serious Play (LSP) is a relatively new instructional method in Higher Education that can be used to facilitate a playful learning environment (McCusker, 2014). For example, this technique can be adapted to support student learning of threshold concepts (Barton and James, 2017). Employing a variation on LSP, we explore the build-share-reflect cycle and the use of metaphor to support student discussion about complex ideas and the relationships between them. However, as our experience will show LSP is not without its limitations, particularly in terms of accessibility of collaborative, social learning experiences. Much can be learned from the experience of others in other collaborative learning situations (reviewed in Chown and Bevan, 2011). The purpose of this workshop is to encourage colleagues to reflect on how playful activities can improve student learning and their appropriateness in this setting. Join us as we reflect on and share our experiences using Lego as an instructional tool in a variety of Higher Education settings.

References
Barton, Graham, and James, Alison (2017). Threshold concepts, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY and whole systems thinking: Towards a combined methodology. Practice and Evidence of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Special Issue: Threshold Concepts and Conceptual Difficulty 12:2, 249-271.
Chown, Nick and Beavan, Nick (2012). Intellectually capable but socially excluded? A review of the literature and research on students with autism in further education, Journal of Further and Higher Education, 36:4, 477-493, DOI: 10.1080/0309877X.2011.643771
McCusker, Sean (2014). Lego® Serious Play™: Thinking about teaching and learning. International Journal of Knowledge, Innovation and Entrepreneurship 2:1, 27—37