LEGO Education Releases New STEAM Learning Resources

LEGO Education, which is represented by a “passionate group of educators from around the world who believe that play and exploration build successful life-long learners,” is offering a new program aimed at helping teachers create the best possible learning environment for their students this year — whether it be in-person or online.

Here’s how LEGO Education describes itself:

We strive to do our best work every day so our students can explore, learn and challenge themselves without barriers. Our community mission is to support and learn from one another, to find inspiration and to connect with our peers.

For 40 years, LEGO Education solutions have been purposefully designed to increase student engagement and confidence for all learners. With these free online resources, teachers and parents can continue STEAM learning in a hands-on way whether in person, online, or a mix of both.

LEGO Education Offering New Learning Resources

According to LEGO Education, the new programs include STEAM lessons that involve physical movement, downloadable teacher and parent guides, and a new online teacher community — or hybrid learning experiences.. These resources are available for free, but some may require access to LEGO or other products that aren’t free.

A new unit called “Training Trackers” — aimed at middle school students — will teach core math and science concepts using LEGO's LEGO Education SPIKE Prime. With personally relevant and engaging lessons, the new unit will support in-person, virtual, and hybrid learning with a focus on core subjects to complete the robust STEAM curriculum designed for SPIKE Prime.

The unit has seven lessons focused on physical science and data, including new coding blocks that improve on data collection and visualization. In the lessons students learn about kinetic energy, speed, potential energy and other concepts as they "stretch, walk and squat-jump," to collect data for analysis and interpretation. Each lesson plan identifies which learning stages can be completed asynchronously or in person, for hybrid learning scenarios.

Featuring seven lessons, the unit is focused on physical science and data – complete with new coding blocks to better collect and visualize sensor data. Taking hands-on learning a step further, students will learn about kinetic energy, speed, potential energy, and more as they stretch, walk, and squat jump to collect data in real-time and then analyze and interpret it. To support hybrid learning, each lesson plan identifies which of the five learning stages can be completed asynchronously or in person.

The SPIKE Prime Training Trackers will first be available in English this fall and teachers can prepare by downloading the LEGO Education SPIKE app, where lessons will automatically be downloaded. LEGO says additional languages will be supported by the app later in the year.

SPIKE Prime offers a variety of lessons using LEGO building elements, hardware and a drag-and-drop coding language based on Scratch or text-based coding with Python — to push students to tackle complex, real-world problems. “SPIKE Prime continuously engages students through playful learning activities to think critically and solve complex problems, regardless of their learning level.”

Esben Stærk, president of LEGO Education, said in a press release: “It’s more important than ever to continue learning through play – wherever the learning happens. LEGO Education solutions provide playful learning experiences that not only teach important STEAM skills, but also social and emotional skills that together help build the confidence and resilience needed among students, teachers, and parents to rebuild and thrive this school year – and for years to come.”

STEAM Learning Goes Virtual

The program and materials are set up in a way that allows teachers to adapt any LEGO Education lesson to virtual learning with the help of new guides, which include tips on preparing for online learning, engaging online learners, and managing materials at home. Since every lesson incorporates hands-on learning and collaboration, students get needed sensory breaks and develop social and emotional skills even during virtual learning.

In addition, LEGO Education teamed up with popular coding and robotics platforms CoderZ to feature a virtual SPIKE Prime experience and allow students to practice their coding and STEAM skills in an entirely online setting. The online experience can complement hands-on building activities with a physical SPIKE Prime Set, either before or in parallel.

Teachers can also engage with students via LEGO Education lessons using the popular Flipgrid video discussion platform. Using discussion prompts and short videos, teachers can see and hear from students and foster fun and supportive social learning, whether in class or at home. Visit the Flipgrid Discovery Library to see available LEGO Education content with more being added soon.

Building A Community of Educators

Launched this summer, the LEGO Education Community is an online platform that brings together passionate educators and technologists from around the world who believe play and exploration build successful, lifelong learners. Educators and parents are encouraged to inspire, support, and learn from one another, while connecting with their peers. The community features active discussions, a lesson plan exchange, community events and challenges, exclusive updates from LEGO Education, and more.

“I’m a teacher, but I’m also a lifelong learner. The LEGO Education Community is a diverse and exciting group of educators willing to share their expertise, as well as learn from others and take these skills back to the children we teach. Sharing and collaborating on ideas with other teachers from around the world will be an incredible resource for both new and experienced teachers, especially as we look to adapt and continue learning in the new school year,” said Jacob Woolcock, Head of Computing and Digital Learning at Penpol School in Hayle, Cornwall, U.K. and new LEGO Education Master Educator.

The LEGO Education Master Educator Program recognizes and celebrates innovative educators with a passion for and expertise in hands-on learning. Announced just last week, the new 2020 Master Educator cohort joins over 200 members, representing local U.S. school districts from 39 states as well as schools in Australia, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Master Educators also take an active role in the community by sharing best practices and tips on STEAM learning, classroom management, and implementation.