LEGO® is great for gaining engagement and involvement in sessions, BUT as an L&D professional my eye is firmly on the underlying learning principles, one of which is the debrief. 

Without a purposeful debrief you’re simply playing with LEGO®!

Here’s just a few things to keep in mind:

• As part of the design of the activity, have a clear outcome for the debrief.
• Allow learner/s to consider what they have learnt from the activity individually before asking for examples of learning from group.
• To help solicit more insights, you could ask them:
  • What themes did they notice when others were sharing their learning?
  • Did people have different pieces but the same answer, or visa-versa?
  • What did they notice about their own answers / other people answers? 
• How would they draw their own learning from the activity back to our main topic of the session?
• Recap on main comments and help them reflect on anything not already mentioned.

This is just one of the things we discuss in the ‘LEGO® Workshop for Training Teams and ​​L&D Professionals’.  Check out the full content here:  https://www.curiouslighthouse.co.uk/lego-workshop.html

#curiouslighthouse #learningwithlego #learninganddevelopment

“I like the idea of using LEGO® in my session, but don’t want to go full in yet.  Do you have a quick activity I could try out?”

This is a question I get asked a lot, so I thought I'd share a possible discussion starter as an example of how you can use LEGO® in a session, without making it the main focus.

• Introduce the LEGO®. (Some people might need a bit of theory here to accept play as a form of learning – see previous post on why I use LEGO® in my sessions.)
• Let them know you are going to ask them to build something from the LEGO® to help get a discussion started.
• Explain that the bricks can mean whatever they want them to mean.

Perception discussion starter

• Ask your learners to select three LEGO® pieces that represent their personality at work. (Xtra bags and LEGO® Accessory work really well for this activity)
• Ask them to explain why they chose those pieces.
• Ask them to pick one further piece that they think others may have picked for them
• Again, ask them to explain why they chose that piece.
• Continue the discuss linking to your session outcomes

 
This short activity is good because there are no perceived right or wrong answers.  It also allows everyone to have time to think about the topic before you launch into any theory or deeper discussion.
 
Want to find out more about learning with LEGO®?  Check out: https://www.curiouslighthouse.co.uk/learning-with-lego-courses.html
 
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Using LEGO® in your training, facilitation, or coaching sessions can really help learners engage on a different level.  But why use it at all? I often use these examples when opening my sessions (or when convincing Managers that we're not just 'playing'... we're learning!)
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• IT INCREASES ‘LEAN IN’ INTERACTION.  By this I mean, if you ask a question of your learners, they often go into their heads to answer, and if this is a group setting, only a few will actually voice their thoughts. By using LEGO® to build the answer, people have to use external processes too, plus everyone is encouraged to explain their build (answer) meaning more people are heard… they ‘lean in’ to the learning.  (Better conversation means even the quiet ones get heard.  With better engagement comes better overall learning.)
• IT ALLOWS FOR BETTER RETENTION OF LEARNING.  Building, explaining, and having some fun in the process makes the event more memorable, which when mixed with learning new information releases chemicals in the brain to aid retention better.  (Better retention means quicker uptake in changes.) 
• LESS EXPECTATION OF BEING CORRECT - LEGO® is a universally recognisable product. Put it in front of people and they simply start building, this is because LEGO® can mean anything to anyone.  With less restrictions on being ‘right’, more people take part and experience better learning.  (Less expectations mean quicker learning, which means better use of budget)

Want to find out more about how to use LEGO® in your sessions?  Check out:
https://www.curiouslighthouse.co.uk/learning-with-lego-courses.html 
or 
www.curiouslighthouse.co.uk/lego-workshop.html


#curiouslighthouse #learningwithlego #learninganddevelopment