All children are great learners

Building on children's natural instinct to explore and always learn more is important not only in school, but also later in life when children grow up to become part of a constantly changing society. A society, which does not ask for the reproduction of knowledge, but for ideas, creativity and new ways of thinking.

From birth, children have the wonderful gift of intuitively wanting to learn. LEGO Educationl concepts support children as explorers and intuitive learners by being open-ended and building on choice and diversity in a congenial learning environment.

By combining carefully designed construction materials with thorough teachers' curriculum guides and student activities, LEGO Education strikes the right balance of challenge, knowledge, and skills. With LEGO Education learning becomes less abstract and more enjoyable. In turn, children are enthusiastic and motivated, thus learning optimally.

Always keeping children's educational needs as our vital concern, with teachers as our trusted partners, LEGO Education learning concepts enable children to construct, learn and grow in fruitful and rewarding learning environments.

Growing your brain

Learning happens in the brain. All our thoughts, behaviour, movements, talk, and sounds – all you do is a result of our brain cells (neurons) making connections. Learning and memory is not a thing, it is a process. The latest cognitive research now indicates that "heritage can be enriched" - that the brain has plasticity. We have the brain cells that we were born with (or less), but it possible to change the structure of our mind, improve our mind's flexibility and ability to make new connections – to think.

Brain research has shown that the plasticity of the brain is improved the more the brain is introduced to problem-solving tasks. Our brain literally grows, becomes heavier the more it is challenged and used.

The learning cycle

The level-of-difficulty argument, on which the LEGO Education philosophy rests, is quite simple: If you’re insufficiently challenged you learn next to nothing. On the other hand if you’re challenged way beyond your abilities, you may give up before you begin and not even try to solve the problem. Again, you learn nothing. But if you are in a learning environment which challenges you optimally as you develop your skills and acquire new knowledge, you will be encouraged to explore, understand and keep on learning.

The emotionally rewarding state of flow emerging from having hard fun is what motivates us to learn. But what makes learning last in our minds?
We believe optimal learning will not come from giving more instruction but rather, from giving children better opportunities to construct. When children construct things in the physical world they simultaneously construct knowledge in their minds. This new knowledge then enables them to create ever more sophisticated solutions yielding more knowledge and so on in a self-reinforcing cycle.

LEGO Education learning concepts encourage students as architects in building knowledge supporting their natural curiosity. In short, what you learn in the process of creation sinks much deeper than what anyone can tell you. We call it learning by making.

Learning should be like a roller coaster-ride: With your seatbelt fastened you know you are safe, so you enjoy the thrill of the ride. Likewise with learning: If children are in supportive learning environments they will enter the learning cycle, confident that they will be able to solve any challenge.

Connect - Construct - Contemplate - Continue

All LEGO Education products and activities support a learning process consisting of four phases:

CONNECT
CONSTRUCT
CONTEMPLATE
and CONTINUE

Optimum challenge for optimum learning

Children don't need to be pushed too hard, nor under-stimulated. The key is to build on their acquired knowledge and push the boundaries of this knowledge into new areas. We all love learning on the edge - and products from LEGO Education allow each child to find his or her own edge in the crucial early years.

Step-by-step learning

It is essential to realise that learning is a step-by-step process. At LEGO Education, step-by-step learning is a core element of the Hands On curriculum. Our aim is to allow individual learners to work at their own pace, giving them time to develop the knowledge and abilities required before moving on to the next learning stage, where the challenges are a little tougher - and a little more fun.