June 9, 2015

How LEGOS® Can Help Facilitate STEM Learning

How LEGOS® Can Help Facilitate STEM Learning

The highest-selling building blocks on the market are more than just toys. LEGOs® build an edutainment bridge to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning.

Since the 1980s, educators have used these bricks to creatively teach children scientific and mathematical principles including simple machines (gears, levers, pulleys, wheels and axles), forces and motion, energy and powered machines.

Using the sophisticated interlocking brick system, children can use the blocks to create personal masterpieces while promoting STEM skills. LEGO® programs engage students in STEM learning in a unique way that other teaching tools can’t.

Studies, such as Taylor & Francis’ Block Play Performance Among Preschoolers as a Predictor of Later School Achievement in Mathematics, suggest that children who play with LEGOs® from an early age will score higher on standardized math tests. The 16-year long Block Performance study, published in the Journal of Research in Childhood Education, followed a group of 37 preschoolers all the way through their high school graduation to see if playing with blocks such as LEGOs® would impact their education. Researchers found that by 7th grade, students saw a positive correlation between preschool block play and math performance on standardized tests.

Today, LEGOs® are being used to professionally train children around the world engineering concepts such as how to program, design and build robotics. This allows children to use their STEM skills in a fun and compelling way that has them excited to learn again.

The LEGO® program trend has even grown to include competitions and exhibitions, such as the FIRST Championship’s 2015 FIRST LEGO® League World Festival which took place in St. Louis, Missouri in April. About 27,000 teams around the globe competed for a chance to participate in the event and 104 were selected.

e² Young Engineers offers children a unique enrichment program through an engaging, hands-on learning platform. Their sessions provide theoretical knowledge and practical implementation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics basics through the use of K’nex®, Engino® and LEGO® brick kits and specialized lesson plans.