Higher order thinking
Justin Osterstrom took part in a project to test the LEGO®SERIOUS PLAY™ classroom solution during its development. He has now used the method with his 10 and 11-year-old students for almost two years and is convinced that it deeply enriches their learning. Justin reports:
The LEGO SERIOUS PLAY initiative brought a huge interest to the students learning. The idea of using bricks created intrinsic motivation. The method includes a set of rules such as: Think with your hands; explain meaning rather than looks; everyone must participate. All of this changes the norms in a classroom.
I want a resource that deepens higher order thinking, communication skills and imagination and this method answers that need. It expands on the art and science of teaching by adjusting our practice and offering a method that meets student needs and interests.
When they build they tend to go deeper ...
I might say read the first three chapters of a book. Then I will have them build a model that represents the main character and a particular event. So instead of just having a verbal discussion about what we’ve read, we’ll have a discussion based on the model they each build.
This is asking students to make something abstract into something concrete. If you look at Blooms model for higher order thinking, applying knowledge is in the middle. So just having them build a model is a higher skill. The idea that they can build a model from their reading is above the grade level test criteria.
LEGO SERIOUS PLAY works across the board, even the students who don’t enjoy reading love to build LEGO models. Before I had the LEGO kits I was pulling out my hair to get some of them to talk, but when they build, they talk.
After months of using the bricks and merging ideas from other teachers, my students developed stronger verbal skills than in the five months prior to this program. Students didn’t feel intimidated to speak because they were talking about a model.
I had a student from China, who at the beginning of the year didn’t speak a word of English, and who by the end of the year could use his LEGO bricks to build a model that described an author’s purpose.
Students know how to use symbolism in their expression, for example by using colors to describe different moods and emotions. Their LEGO® models allow me to better understand their thinking at a much deeper level.
It also supports my highest readers because they are capable of bringing a higher level of thinking into the process. They are questioning things at a higher level. They enjoy digging deeper into another person’s interpretations. It’s empathic … it’s not just listening, but beyond that.
There is still that ‘Yes! Factor’. I have done a lot of cool things with my kids, but the novelty of LEGO building never wears off.