Fifth graders use LEGO ® s and LEGO ® robotics
collaboratively to create solutions to real-world problems.
skills to come up with creative solutions to complex challenges.
While we all may remember working with LEGO ® s as
children, using them to problem-solve is not always an easy
task. Boys must work collaboratively with their partners
and devise ways for their designs to include input from all
members of the team. LEGO ® s offer boys a chance to take
risks with low stakes; if a design does not work out, you can
always take it apart and build again. This experience allows
our students to work as engineers, going through the design
process several times until they have developed the best
solution possible. Researchers at the Queensland University
of Technology discovered that robotics lessons helped
students be more reflective about problem-solving decisions.
Additionally, students were able to apply what they learned
from LEGO ® s robotics to real-world problems and context. 1
At their best, LEGO ® s help our students expand the
possibilities of what is doable and implement those designs
in real time. As Danish architect Bjarke Ingels said about the
benefit of using LEGO ® s, “As architects and as people, we
can imagine what kind of a world is it that we want to live
in, then we can design and build that world, and then we can
actually go and live in it.” 2
One student summarized this aspect of LEGO ® s by
explaining that his favorite part was “creating machines
because I love making things.” M
Emily Einhorn and Anna Liebowitz teach Upper School
Science at Saint David’s School.
Works Cited
1. Castledine, Alanah-Re and Chalmers, Chris, “LEGO Robotics: An authentic
problem solving tool?” Design and Technology Education: An International
Journal 16(3) 2011 19-27
2. Winchester, Ashley. “In Denmark, Lego House Is the New Kid on the Block.”
The New York Times Oct. 2017. Web.
Winter 2018 • 17