LEGO Education

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LEGO Education
legal form A / S
founding 1980
Seat Billund , Denmark
Number of employees 13,974 (April 2020, LEGO A / S total)
sales € 3.85 billion (2019, LEGO A / S total)
Branch Education industry
Website http://www.LEGOeducation.de
As of April 8, 2020

LEGO Education was founded in 1980 as part of the LEGO Group. The globally active LEGO group, based in Billund, Denmark , has been on the market since 1932 and is known for its LEGO bricks, which are now classic toys. LEGO Education products are also based on the LEGO brick. However, the educational branch of the LEGO Group does not develop and sell toys, but didactic learning concepts for primary and secondary schools as well as learning materials for crèches and kindergartens . The focus is on learning through play and learning on the model. Each product has specially developed tasks that refer to the curriculum and are intended to serve as a guide for educators .

Objective of the company

LEGO Education wants to arouse the interest of children and young people in mathematics , IT , natural sciences and technology, prepare them for the digitally shaped future and strengthen their self-confidence in their own abilities. At an early age, the children should discover the fun of researching real topics themselves using a model, be encouraged to experiment and develop a positive attitude towards learning, which ideally lasts a lifetime.

Educators and teachers want to support LEGO Education in motivating children and young people to learn and successfully imparting the knowledge and skills they need for their future careers. Achieving the greatest possible teaching and learning success with suitable learning concepts - that is the overriding goal.

Practice-oriented learning

In order to achieve these goals, the company develops didactic learning concepts for day-care centers and kindergartens, general teaching in primary schools and for the MINT subjects (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology) in secondary schools .

Most LEGO Education learning concepts have three components:

  1. A kit with various LEGO elements for building models
  2. A software for programming the models
  3. Digital teaching materials including exercises, student worksheets, manuals and aids to control learning objectives

Instead of theory lessons, LEGO Education relies on practice-oriented teamwork. In class, the children and young people build models out of LEGO bricks together and program them to solve various tasks - mostly real problems from everyday life. If their solution doesn't work, ask the children to keep experimenting and try again. In this playful learning by touching and trying out, they understand mechanisms and relationships i. d. Usually much faster and learn more sustainably. In addition, according to a new study, this form of learning should be particularly effective and promote self-confidence in students.

When developing the learning materials, LEGO Education is supported by education experts and educators to ensure that the tasks contribute to the current education and curriculum .

Learning materials for day care centers and kindergartens

For children between the ages of 2 and 6 there is a large number of different LEGO and LEGO DUPLO sets that can be used in day care centers and kindergartens. They are suitable both for free play in groups and for playing with a learning-oriented background. All sets were developed in collaboration with educators and are intended to support the positive development of children in the social environment and to prepare the children for everyday life. By building LEGO models and role-playing games , the children are encouraged to explore the world around them and to get to know themselves and their own abilities.

Extract of the available products:

  • Digi train

The Digi-Zug is a versatile educational toy that consists of a kit, an app and learning materials. It was developed with the aim of teaching children between the ages of 2 and 5 their first programming skills and important skills for future professions. For example, with the help of the Digi-Zug, the children can learn about the cause-and-effect principle or the if-then logic. When playing with the Digi-Zug, problem-solving skills, cooperation and social and emotional skills are also encouraged.

  • First simple machines
  • MINT + amusement park
  • Build yourself emotions
  • Minifigure sets
  • My huge world
  • People
  • Animals
  • Letters
  • Tubes
  • and much more

Learning concepts for primary school

  • WeDo 2.0

WeDo 2.0 was specially developed for general science teaching in grades 2 to 4. The learning concept includes different components, software and extensive teaching materials. When working on scientific projects with realistic application relevance, students can gain a solid basic understanding of everyday phenomena. WeDo 2.0 should encourage them to recognize problems and develop creative solutions. When building, programming and experimenting with motorized models, technical, physical and biological basics as well as the elementary logic of programming are taught. Teachers can use more than 40 ready-made teaching units with direct curriculum coverage in their lessons .

  • Simple machines

The practice-oriented learning concept aims to familiarize elementary school students with basic mechanical principles. The kit can be used to build various models from LEGO building blocks, gears, levers, loads, axles, rollers and wheels. The students can try out different solutions and correct their mistakes until the model works properly.

Learning concepts for secondary schools

  • SPIKE TM Prime

The learning concept SPIKE Prime, which was published in 2020, was developed for regular instruction in the subjects of computer science , technology, physics , mathematics and biology in grades 5 to 8. It consists of various LEGO elements, hardware and a child-friendly programming language based on Scratch . With these components, the students can build motorized models that interact with their environment and are suitable for solving complex problems.

The SPIKE Prime hub, which can be programmed via the app, has 6 inputs / outputs for connecting various motors and sensors, a light matrix, Bluetooth, a loudspeaker and a gyro sensor. The SPIKE app is based on the well-known Scratch programming language and has a programming interface with drag-and-drop functionality. It is available for computers and tablets.

In addition to first-step exercises, SPIKE Prime offers four learning units, the contents of which are tailored to the current curricula of the MINT subjects. Most of the tasks included can be worked through in 45-minute lessons.

  • LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3

With the world-famous robotic system, high school students can build complex models with sensors and motors and program them with software called EV3 Classroom. They should learn to work independently, think critically and develop creative problem-solving strategies. EV3 has also been programmable with the Python programming language since 2019 . In two new learning units, students can learn basic concepts of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The comprehensive teaching materials are intended to help teachers integrate the learning concept into the regular teaching of the MINT subjects without much preparation time. In total, over 50 curriculum-related tasks are digitally available for EV3.

In addition to the EV3 basic set, the following supplementary sets are available: EV3 supplementary set | EV3 expansion set space expedition | EV3 extension set renewable energies

  • science and technology

The science and technology learning concept is suitable for teaching mathematics , technology, physics and science and is based on the curriculum for grades 5 to 10. When building simple models and motorized machines, the students should learn how basic mechanical principles work. The tasks included are intended to encourage the students to develop their own ideas and to carry out experiments and measurements on the subjects of drive, friction, engine power and wind energy .

In addition to the natural science and technology set, the following supplementary sets are available: Supplementary set for renewable energies | Extension set pneumatics

Competitions

FIRST LEGO League

The FIRST LEGO League (FLL) is a worldwide sponsorship program. Its aim is to get children and young people between the ages of 10 and 16 interested in science and technology and to convey the idea of ​​team spirit. In the competition, the children and young people are encouraged to master complex tasks with creative solutions. The highlight of the FFL are competitions in which self-made LEGO MINDSTORMS robots have to solve various tasks on a playing field. In the future, the new learning concept SPIKE Prime will also be used at FLL. The competitions are held at local, regional and international level. Every year there is a new topic with current relevance such as climate change , food technology or biomedical technology .

World Robot Olympiad

The World Robot Olympiad is an international educational program in which children and young people aged 6 to 19 can participate. The program is designed to facilitate access to science subjects for students and motivate them to pursue an engineering or IT career. The students form a team of two or three and compete with a coach in one of three competition categories (regular, open or football category). The task of the student teams is to build and program a LEGO MINDSTORMS robot - in such a way that it can solve the task in the best possible way. Any programming language and software such as Scratch , Python or the EV3 software can be used for this. In the future, the new learning concept SPIKE Prime can also be used at the WRO.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ LEGO is probably the biggest education company on earth. Retrieved March 19, 2020 .
  2. ^ Confidence in Learning Poll Executive Summary. Retrieved February 15, 2020 .
  3. ↑ Lego introduces the new WeDo 2.0 education concept for primary schools. Retrieved March 23, 2020 .
  4. ↑ Learning with blocks. Retrieved March 20, 2020 .
  5. ↑ LEGO Education WeDo 2.0 set in the test: What good is Education WeDo 2.0 set from LEGO? Retrieved March 20, 2020 .
  6. ↑ LEGO Education SPIKE Prime presented with new Technic elements. Retrieved March 13, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Lego Education launches Spike Prime to teach engineering and robotics to kids ,. Retrieved March 24, 2020 .
  8. ↑ MINT - learning with CLIL. Retrieved March 20, 2020 .
  9. ↑ FIRST LEGO League. Retrieved March 24, 2020 .
  10. ↑ LEGO Education is celebrating 40 years of STEM learning for children with a new, practice-oriented learning concept. Retrieved March 23, 2020 .
  11. ^ World Robot Olympiad. Retrieved March 24, 2020 .