A Video Conversation with Lego Serious Play Gurus

Thinking With Things in action! Here’s a video of me in conversation with Dr. Jane Hession and Ronan Healy of the design studio How Might We in the UK. We bonded over our enthusiasm for the Lego Serious Play approach which, when I first learned about it, reinforced my conviction that the methods I was developing in my classroom were valuable. Lego in the classroom, the conference room, and the board room is all about posing a question or challenge, having participants build with Lego (structures, metaphors, expressionist collage) in response, then sharing the results of their work with the group. As I said in one of my earliest posts, As a professor, I’ve watched how the classroom dynamics change when I introduce “things to think with.” The students become more engaged, create new and unexpected “constructions” (both physical and intellectual) and become “makers” rather than “consumers” of information and learning.

This is a LONG video, but Jane and Ronan have thoughtfully provided an index in the YouTube notes. I repeat it here. So you can pick and choose, or just run this in the background while you’re folding laundry or something!

0:00 - Introduction

2:35 - Dr. Sarah's Childhood Play and Maker Experiences

8:03 - Defining Adult Playfulness and Creativity

10:05 - Balancing Seriousness and Play in Work and Life

18:45 - The Connection Between Play and Learning

25:05 - How Hands-On Materials Enhance Learning

35:07 - The Role of Embodied Cognition in Education

41:54 - The Impact of Lego and Playful Activities in Classrooms

52:23 - Incremental Changes and Creating Permission for Play

1:16:05 - The Story of Crocheted Hyperbolic Planes and Closing Remarks