Wired USA - 12.2019

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learning. It was determined

that these methods of teach-

ing did, in fact, evoke the

same effects that traditional

learning through play had on

younger students, at the same

time having a more joyful,

meaningful, engaging educa-

tion experience. This, in turn,

positively affects students’

learning across all domains—

social, emotional, physical,

creative, and cognitive—which

equates to well-rounded and

adjusted individuals.

Embracing this joyful, mean-

ingful and engaging learning

experience, LEGO® Education,

the education division of

LEGO®, has developed a

continuum of preK-12 STEAM

solutions, which are geared to

all different age groups, that

fit the approach of “learning

through play”. For example,

WeDo 2.0 is made for ele-

mentary school students and

helps bring science, computa-

tional thinking, and engineer-

ing principles to life. Designed

for middle school, LEGO®

Education SPIKE™ Prime is

another project-based STEAM

solution that combines LEGO

bricks, coding language

based on Scratch, and a

programmable Hub to help

students of all learning levels

build confidence and critical

thinking skills. At the high

school level, there is LEGO®

MINDSTORMS® Education

EV3, which is a hands-on,

cross-curricular STEM

solution that mixes LEGO®

Technic™ elements, class-

room-friendly software, and

standards-aligned lessons in

engineering, coding, physics

and more. All of LEGO®

THE LEGO FOUNDATION

recently released the findings

of a five-year research initia-

tive that looked at the role

“learning through play^1 ” during

school has in a successful

educational curricula. The

LEGO Foundation worked with

the Australian Council for Edu-

cational Research to review

international research studies,

and found that the way to

build a strong academic

home in which children’s edu-

cational advancement is nur-

tured, is to encourage joyful,

meaningful, actively engaging,

and iterative learning by way

of purposeful play in school.

To fully understand—and

appreciate—the role learning

through play should have in

our educational system, you

first have to debunk a couple

of common misconceptions.

MISCONCEPTION #1:

The Benefits of Learning

Through Play Are Only Rel-

evant to Younger Students.

Since learning through play is

usually found only in the lower

primary grades, the LEGO

Foundation looked at peda-

gogical approaches in upper

levels that equate to (or are

highly relevant to) learning

through play—namely active,

collaborative & cooperative,

experiential, guided discovery,

inquiry-based, problem-

based, and project-based

Education’s solutions engage

students in active learning, in

a meaningful way, regardless

of their grade level.

MISCONCEPTION #2:

Learning Through Play is

Unstructured and Completely

Student Directed. This implies

that learning through play in

school would not be effective

because there are no set

parameters. However, if you

look at the idea closely, you

find that learning through play

is not the same as only having

“free play,” (child-directed,

voluntary, and flexible) but

rather a mix of child-directed,

teacher-guided, and teach-

er-directed learning—all of

which must work in harmony

together as they are not

effective when one approach

dominates. That brings us to

the need for an integrated

teaching methodology, as it

has been found that a multi-

pronged approach stimulates

communication, creativity,

collaboration, and critical

thinking skills.

In short, we must reimagine

the traditional notion of learn-

ing through play in school to

include students of all ages

and backgrounds—even

upper level students—as

there is evidence to show that

this approach is an essential

component to a more inte-

grated way of teaching—and

learning, regardless of age.

We must also embrace the

idea of purposeful play and

find a balance between

student- and teacher-led

play, which working together,

To learn more, visit LEGOeducation.com

LEGO FOUNDATION

RELEASES A NEW STUDY

THAT FINDS LEARNING

THROUGH PURPOSEFUL

PLAY IS VITAL TO

STUDENTS’ SUCCESS

(^1) Learning through play at school
(ISBN: 978-87-999589-6-2): https://
http://www.legofoundation.com/media/1740/
learning-through-play-school.pdf
can create active, coop-
erative, experiential, and
ultimately effective learning
environments. LEGO has
always been a proponent
of these types of integrated
approaches to learning. This
is at the core of the non-profit
social purpose of the LEGO
Foundation. It’s also the rea-
son LEGO® Education devel-
ops and creates hands-on,
cross-curricular solutions that
are founded on purposeful
play—bringing forward the
confidence in teachers to use
these approaches effectively.
But the real takeaway is
that in order to create
learning environments that
enable students of all ages
and levels to thrive,
When we apply the
educational approach of
learning through play, we can
have both highly engaging
experiences for students, to
develop a breadth of skills
important in the future, as
well as a deep understanding
of academic content.
Learning
Through Play:
Common
Misconceptions
“ we must continue to
challenge traditional
misconceptions and
embrace integrated
approaches to
both teaching and
learning.”