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A Guide to Delivering LEGO-A-GO-GO

Dr. Alan Richards, Mr. Alex Masters, and Mr. Oliver Wood

Date: 5th April 2017Version: v1.3

This document and the content within it is licensed under the creative commons CC BY-NC-SA license.

LEGO-A-GO-GO is an interactive and engaging Beyond Flipped method for problem solving; regardless of discipline, learning level, or topic area. Application of the method results in a rich environment that facilitates a deep learning experience.

Utilising the L·E·A·R·N framework, LEGO-A-GO-GO creates a learning model that delivers quality by placing the student at the centre of the learning experience.

OverviewBriefIntroductionApprox.10minutes.ProvidetheclasswithanintroductionfortheuseofLEGO®asalearningandteachingresource.Youcanusethefollowingexplanationstodescribetheconcepttoparticipantswithintheirsession:

1. WhatCanitdo?Legocanbeutilizedasanexplorationanddeliverymethodforconceptuallearningthroughacombinationofmodelsandnarratives.TheuseofLEGO®facilitatesdeeplearningthroughinteractiveandimmersiveactivitiesintendedtosupportself-organisedlearningenvironments.

“WhenplayingwithLEGOyouarenotaconsumer;youareaproducer.”

OlafurEliasson,Danish-IcelandicArtist

2. HowDoesitdoit?TobestdescribehowtheuseofLEGO®canimprovelearningandteachyoucanrefertoDonnaDeniofromTeamDynamicsBoston’sexcellentexplanation:

1. 100PERCENTPARTICIPATIONGUARANTEED–ThehighlystructuredLSPprocessdesignguaranteesthateverypersonintheworkshopparticipatesequally.

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2. GIVESSHYPEOPLECONFIDENCE–Havingtimetothinkduringthebuildingprocess,amodelforreference,andaspecifictimetospeakbuildsconfidence.

3. FRESHPERSPECTIVEGUARANTEED–Thenumberofoptionsandsolutionsgeneratedandthefactthateachmodelisanoriginalexpression(insteadofbuildingonanideathathasalreadybeenvoiced)guaranteesthatfreshperspectiveemerge.

4. GETSTOCOREBELIEFSANDVALUES–Youlearneveryone’sREALfears,areasofdisagreement,hopesanddreams(insteadofthesanitized,politicallycorrectbusiness-speakorlips-sealed-shutsilencewehavecometoaccept).

5. AUTHENTICEXPRESSION(NOLIES)–ItisdifficulttomisrepresentorinflateyourrealitywhenusingLSPtoexpressideas.

6. CREATESACOMMONLANGUAGE–Professionaltrainingandculturalnormsinformeachperson’sverbalexpressionsowordscanmeandifferentthingstodifferentpeople.Somewordsorphrasesareonlyunderstoodbypeoplewithsimilarprofessionaltraining.TheLSPmodelseachpersonbuildscreatesacommonlanguagethatcanbeseen,questionedandunderstoodwithoutchallengingthemodelbuilder.

7. CLARIFIESCOMPLEXITY–Theprocesssupportscreatingalandscapewhichmakesconnectionsandrelationshipsamongandbetweencomponentsclear,concrete,andeasytounderstand.

8. GROUPALIGNMENTGUARANTEED–ThehighlystructuredLSPprocessincombinationwithskilledfacilitationassuresthateveryperson’scoreideas,valuesandconcernsareincorporatedinthefinalsolutions.

9. MEMORABLERESULTS–Ithasbeensaidthatonepictureisworthathousandwords.Three-dimensionalLSPmodels,storedinyourmemoryaspicturesofrecognizableobjects(suchasagear,globeortiger)triggeraccesstotheworkshop’skeyinsights.

10. SAVESTIME–Inpostworkshopsurveysandinterviews,participantsagreethatLSPworkshopsacceleratetrustandconsensusbuildingattwo-to-threetimesthespeedofothertraditionalmethodsforgroupdecision-makingorstrategydevelopment.

http://seriousplaypro.com/2014/07/30/top-ten-reasons-to-use-lego-serious-play/

3. WhatWillitAchieve?Throughthemediumofplay,participantsfeelmorecomfortableintakingrisksandexploringnewconceptsandideasthroughemploymentofkinestheticlearning.

Generatingsolutionsthrough3Dmodellingenablescreativecentreswithinthebraintobeengagedinwayshithertounderutilisedbytraditionallearningadteaching.Throughtheexplorationofideasinthreedimensions,aricherlearningexperiencecanbeachieved.Themethodalsoexpandsthedepthofparticipantengagementbyremovingunnecessaryrules,conventionsandcreativerestrictionsimpliedbytraditionaltwo-dimensionalpracticesandliteralrepresentations.

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BringintheBricksAstheintroductionsessiondrawstoaclose,nowisthetimetointroduceyourLEGO®boxesintothesession.Placethemaroundtheroom,readyforparticipantstouse.Note:Itisimportanttodothisattheendoftheintroduction-notthebeginning-soasnottointroduceadistractionintothesession.

DeliveryResourceList:

• BoxofLEGO• IntendedLearningOutcomes• Slide:Corequestions,plusthedictionarydefinitionof‘metaphor’• Pre/PostFeedbackQuestionnaire.

LOCATE5minutes.Poseuptothreediscipline-specificquestionstothegroup,basedupontheintendedlearningoutcomes.ParticipantswillthenexploretheascribedproblemdomainthroughcreationofmetaphoricalLEGO®modelsandassociatednarratives.

EncourageSelf-organisation

Individual Groups

Allowparticipantstooperateasindividuals,utilisingtheirownLEGO®kit.

Kitscanbepooledasacentralresource.Whatlargergroupssacrificeinindividualcontrol,theygaininphysicalresources.

Werecommendallowingparticipantstoestablishsmallergroupsthemselves,ratherthansettingtheseoutsideoftheircontrol.Thiswillencouragetheroomtoself-organise,furtherestablishingtheirindependence.Ifthisdoesnotproduceadequategroups,thenstepinandarrangegroupsaccordinglytopreventthepresentationsrunningover.

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EVALUATE30minutes.Taskallgroupsandindividualstoidentifyandutilisecrediblesourcesofinformationthroughonlineresearch.ThisresearchisdesignedtoinformthedevelopmentoftheLEGO®modelsandassociatednarratives.Thiscanbeachievedthroughtheuseofasmartphone,tablet,laptoporanyavailabledesktopmachinesorwrittenmaterialscontainedwithinthespace.

Instructparticipantstogeneratemodelsbasedupontheirresearchintotheaforementionedproblemdomains.IfthisisthefirstLego-A-Go-Gosessionthattheparticipantsaretakingpartinthen:

Inthefirstinstance,THEMODELMUSTBEMETAPHORICAL,NOTLITERAL.

Ifthisistheirsecondsessionormorethenwerecommendgivingparticipantstheoptiontocreateeithermetaphoricalorliteralmodels,dependingonwhichapproachbestsuitstheirneeds.

ARTICULATE3minutespergroup/individual.ParticipantsgeneratenarrativepresentationsbasedupongeneratedLEGO®modelsfordeliverytopeers.Staffshouldinterject(whereappropriate),andsummarise,withcoursespecificreal-worldexamples,baseduponparticipant’spresentations.

Theseinterjectionsmustbefactualnottheoretical!

Theaimofthisprocessistoaddreal-worldcontexttothemodelsgenerated,inordertohighlightlinkstoexistingpracticesthatdirectlyrelatetotheconceptsdemonstratedbyparticipants.

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RE-EVALUATE15minutes.Alloweveryonetospendafewminutesdiscussingallthegroups’ideasandconceptmodels,selectingthosemostpertinent,andamalgamatingthemintoarevisedmodeloftheirown.

Thiswillcreateanin-depthunderstandingoftheself-organisedlearningenvironment,inadditiontotheinitialquestionposed.

Thiscreatesasharingeconomywithintheclassby:

• Addingvaluetoeachgroup’smodels(throughinspirationwithinothergroups)

• Addingdepthtoeachindividual’sunderstanding(notonlytheproblemdomain,butalsoassociatedtopicsandconcepts)

• Raisingawarenessofthevalueofgroupcollaborationforsolutiongeneration.

NATURALISE3minutespergroup/individual.Oncegroupshavesuccessfullycompletedthere-evaluationstage,theyshouldpresenttherevisednarrativestotheirpeers.Groupsshoulddemonstratelinksbetweenpriorknowledgeandnewcollectivefindingsgainedthroughthisexercise.

Optional:Recordthefinalpresentations,transformingresultantinformationintoknowledgeforadoptionintofuturesessiondelivery.

Testimonials

“LEGO®allowsstudentstobecreativeinacompletelyoriginalway;unlikeanyotherpracticaltoolIhaveused.”

CassDavenportCourseDirector,BSc(Hons)AviationManagement

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