Empowering Kids to be Lifelong Learners Through Purposeful Play

Rethinking how we teach and how kids learn will help them build a better future
Photo courtesy of LEGO® Education

The Education Commission estimated that by 2030, more than half of the world’s children (roughly 800 million young people) would not have the skills necessary to participate in the emerging global workforce. To help change this trajectory, there needs to be a transformative shift in the way we educate our young people, placing emphasis on developing a love of lifelong learning. To do this, we must rethink the current state of education in order to empower our children to help reshape their own future. The model should be one that boasts a balanced mix of foundational and 21-century skills, such as communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and creativity.

And it has never been more important than it is today to make this change. Students are still struggling to recover from the side effects of hybrid and all-remote learning. Educators and parents have seen slides in learning as well as more pronounced social and emotional challenges. Over the past year-and-a-half, students have been deprived of socialization during their highly formative years and are experiencing increased anxiety, decreased confidence, and may be struggling to articulate their feelings.

The pandemic has also brought other educational challenges to light, notably the inequity in access to learning. Less advantaged students had limited access to technology when hybrid or remote—and suffered learning losses up to 60 percent more than students from more advantaged homes. To help equalize this differential, we need to foster learning that engages all students and ensures equitable learning outcomes for students from all backgrounds. It calls for a re-examining of how we teach—even down to the physical classroom—in order to develop a plan to make learning more enjoyable and build resilience among our children—effectively creating an environment that organically integrates life skills into the fabric of everyday learning.

A change here or there won’t make a difference. There has to be a real shift in our approach to the education of our K-12 students. We need to re-examine current models and embrace an approach that values and cultivates a growth mindset. So, what’s the solution? Purposeful play.

Purposeful play has so many benefits. A LEGO Foundation report found that learning through play can close achievement gaps between more and less advantaged groups, helping all children develop important skills they will need to succeed at any life stage. Open-ended group projects promote collaborative play, which builds communication and negotiation skills, and can lead to shared “a-ha” moments that break down barriers between classmates. It also helps to teach students resilience and perseverance; if something doesn’t work the first time, pivot and try again. A curriculum that incorporates purposeful play gives students the power to learn in any environment and cultivates a love of learning that can last way longer than the school day—it can last a lifetime.

Photo courtesy of LEGO® Education

Seeing the beneficial outcomes purposeful play delivers for children of all ages —including resiliency, confidence in learning, and perseverance—is what drives LEGO® Education to create and continually hone a systematic approach to STEAM learning  — one that aims to develop the whole child. Through the LEGO® Learning System, LEGO Education provides hands-on STEAM learning solutions that include rich professional learning options for educators and standards-based lesson plans, which together, allow educators to build a classroom experience that motivates, engages, and inspires students.

“Using LEGO Education solutions (hands on learning) helps students learn team building, problem solving skills, and most importantly, that it is ok to fail and make mistakes because that is often when we learn the most," says Tonya Robbins, General Education Teacher K-6 Reeds Elementary, Lexington, NC and LEGO® Education Master Educator. "Once this lesson sinks in they then feel more confident to share with their peers their thought process."

By offering opportunities to learn through play, we are equipping our young people with the tools they need to both imagine and build a better future. Purposeful play strengthens their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, creativity, resiliency, and confidence in learning. All of which fosters enthusiasm and a love of lifelong learning.

This story was produced by WIRED Brand Lab for LEGO® Education

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