{"id":1947,"date":"2023-02-10T16:21:25","date_gmt":"2023-02-10T16:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/?p=1947"},"modified":"2023-09-27T09:31:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T09:31:10","slug":"little-blocks-of-magic-with-lego-serious-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2023\/02\/10\/little-blocks-of-magic-with-lego-serious-play\/","title":{"rendered":"Little blocks of magic with LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sam Pulman is a Postgraduate Researcher in the School of Education and a trained facilitator of LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae method and materials<\/em><\/p>\n

Many people ask what LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae is and how does it work? LEGO\u00ae was created by Danish carpenter, Christiansen, 1932. From humble beginnings as a toy made of wood, there are approximately 125 million molded plastic pieces produced each day. Made of crude oil, LEGO\u00ae has not always sat well with environmental groups but LEGO\u00ae is looking into petroleum alternatives such as making bricks from sustainable palm oil and recycled plastics. I wonder if you have noticed some of the newer blocks are not as shiny or smooth as older blocks because they have less oil. For all you etymologists out there, ‘Leg Godt\u2019 is the Danish word for \u2018play well\u2019 and was shortened to the brand name LEGO\u00ae. Additionally, the Latin verb “leg\u014d” means \u2018I put together.\u2019 Both definitions aptly fit the LEGO\u00ae ethos of being creative and playful.<\/p>\n

From 2001-2006, the imagination lab researched the use of LEGO\u00ae as a strategic business tool for productivity. After many years of success LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae materials and method became open source in 2010. LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae in its purest form would take several days to complete. For example, working through a series of builds to generate ideas, designing a product, testing out ideas, and refining the strategy to make it all work. LEGO\u00ae activities provided by the University of Exeter are a taster of core elements including construct, metaphor, imagination, and storytelling, which form the process of LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae.<\/p>\n

The beauty of LEGO\u00ae is its limitless application, particularly in higher education, and you do not need expensive kits for a session. A simple choice of blocks is enough to take part and enjoy LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae. Sometimes less is more, and fewer variety of bricks encourages participants to go back to basics, get creative and re-think the foundation of their challenge or task. Stepping back from online gaming, LEGO\u00ae blocks is a multi-sensory approach of touch, colour, and construction of a 3D model to bring abstract ideas into physical form. Dialogic learning occurs through participants storytelling behind the build and develops critical thinking and reflection for problem solving. You name it, and there is a LEGO\u00ae activity that can be created for specific scenario-based learning or part of a research project. For example, the Doctoral College, University of Exeter, delivers \u2018Finding your way out of a rut\u2019 and \u2018Writer’s block\u2019 through LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae activities. This starts with warm-up builds such as picking a shape that reflects something about you to share with the group, followed by builds to overcome specific challenges and develop postgraduate research skills. You might even argue LEGO\u00ae as a research method! There are several learning theories that support LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae materials and methods, based on how knowledge is constructed and experienced, which links with a myriad of pedagogical approaches but that is a blog for another time.<\/p>\n

Having run several LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae type sessions, I have also seen the benefit of simply putting bags of LEGO\u00ae and base boards on a table and watching groups of students gather and talk whilst making free-builds. LEGO\u00ae busies the hands to free the mind and let the playfulness flow. Who can resist delving into a bag of LEGO\u00ae? Additionally, LEGO\u00ae is a fantastic way to \u2018build\u2019 connections across faculties, student groups, and add to the vibrant research community at the University of Exeter. LEGO\u00ae has no agenda, no barriers and is an inclusive approach to explore challenges, concepts, and learning opportunities. There is no right or wrong builds, just use your imagination, keep it fun, trust the process, and seriously, be playful!<\/p>\n

If you want to know more about LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae, please visit https:\/\/www.exeter.ac.uk\/research\/doctoralcollege\/researcherdevelopment\/rdrc\/<\/a> and https:\/\/universityofexeteruk.sharepoint.com\/sites\/EducationToolkit\/SitePages\/LEGO-Serious-Play.aspx<\/a> \u00a0You can also find LEGO\u00ae events on social media and university communications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sam Pulman is a Postgraduate Researcher in the School of Education and a trained facilitator of LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae method and materials Many people ask […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1109,"featured_media":2143,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,43],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLittle blocks of magic with LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae - Doctoral College<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/doctoralcollege\/2023\/02\/10\/little-blocks-of-magic-with-lego-serious-play\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Little blocks of magic with LEGO\u00ae SERIOUS PLAY\u00ae - 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