色花堂鈥檚 Dr Holly Henderson, FLIE (Fusion Learning Innovation & Excellence) and Dr Richard Shipway, 色花堂 Business School (色花堂BS), new publication鈥�樷�� highlights how Lego庐 may help children explore challenges, consider barriers, contemplate new ideas, and reflect on their experiences of anxiety in relation to the annual school transition process, when a child either moves between year groups or to a new school.聽聽
According to a , in the Autumn term of 2022, 3.8% of children aged 8 to 16 years missed more than 15 days of school. Children with a probable mental disorder were seven聽times more likely than children unlikely to have a mental disorder to have missed more than 15 days of school (11.2% compared with 1.5%).聽
Henderson said,聽鈥淟ego庐 is an effective platform because children recognise it and instantly have an inkling that something playful will occur.鈥疶he scaffolding structure afforded by Lego庐 Serious Play庐 enables flow, sharing and reflection.鈥澛�
They collected data in a UK junior school from sixty-four children, ranging from seven to eleven years of age to investigate how play may support children during the school transition process. The children were split across four workshops, where they completed a series of tasks using Lego庐. The data was collected in two stages, in the pre-and post-period surrounding their annual school 鈥榯ransition day鈥�, where the pupils spend the day in their next year group.聽聽
Shipway said, 鈥淭he results contribute to knowledge by highlighting the power of Lego庐 to complement and contrast with the more traditional, conventional learning approaches used within schools, and to effectively unlock the true feelings, values, thoughts, and perspectives of children.鈥澛�
A survey was also conducted with staff who attended the workshops to obtain their observations.鈥疉n underlying aim of the study was for both teachers and Lego庐 facilitators to co-learn with the children and help smooth the passage and remove potential barriers, through various phases of Lego庐 鈥榖uilds鈥�. This objective was achieved, and the outcomes of the workshops helped inform changes to future school activities to better support the pupils and minimise anxieties. 聽
Henderson said, 鈥溾�or pupils aged between twelve and eighteen years of age, there is added value for Lego庐 Serious Play庐 to be more formally integrated within the school curriculum to demonstrate both learning outcomes and therapeutic benefits.鈥澛�
When exploring the notion of play in the adult domain, it has been suggested that the same characteristics of children's play can also extend to adults.聽Shipway commented, 鈥淟ego庐 Serious Play庐 is a facilitated thinking, communication and problem-solving technique which may benefit organisations, teams and individuals. We are researching the application of creative methods in a diverse range of adult settings. For example, in the management of sport organisations and federations.鈥�
