This presentation was given by Elisabeth McClure at the international conference “Fostering creativity in children and young people through education and culture” in Durham, United Kingdom on 4-5 September 2017.

1. The LEGO Foundation
Elisabeth McClure
Research Specialist in Creativity & Learning

2. Chapter 1
About the LEGO
Foundation

3. LEGO®
entities
Our LEGO heritage

4. The LEGO® Idea
​With the LEGO bricks, we can build anything we
can possibly imagine as if they were glued
and yet they can easily be taken apart and
reconfigured into a new idea.
​When we do this, we are not only creating, but
also evaluating, reflecting and recreating to
achieve new possibilities. We learn through play
in a self-motivated and fun way.
Our LEGO heritage

5. Our aim is to
re-define
play and re-
imagine
learning
We are dedicated to building a
future in which learning
through play empowers
children to become
creative,
engaged, lifelong
learners.

6. “How strange and
self-defeating
that a supposedly
free country
should train its
young for life
in totalitarianism.”
- Grace Llewellyn

7. Chapter 2
Building activity

8. Build a duck
You have 45 seconds

10. +2 =2 4

11. =
2+2
4
10-6
22
√16
8/2
3+1
6-2
16/4
24/6
9-5

12. What happened?
visual perception
systems thinking
long-term memory
mental imagery
attention
executive functioning
self-regulation
emotional regulation self-efficacy
visual search
symbolic representations
spatial visualization
self-assessment
perspective-taking
adaptive social functioning
imitation
sensory-motor skills
cognitive flexibility
kinesthetic awareness
short-term memory
mental rotation task performance
fine motor skills
working memory
spatial reasoning

13. CREATIVE
• Imagine things that
do not exist
• Being open to new
experiences
SOCIAL
• Sharing ideas and things
• Being helpful
• Listen to others
• Relate to peers
• Seek feedback
• Handling conflicts
PHYSICAL
• Balance
• Movement
• Exploration
• Manipulation of objects
• Spatial understanding
EMOTIONAL
• Self-belief
• Perseverance
• Reflect on outcomes
• Regulate and
express emotions
COGNITIVE
• Focus and sustain
attention
• Keep information in
mind
• Follow rules
• Monitor actions
Play is
learning

14. Playful experiences in
the early years allow you
to acquire…
From the early indicators of…
• Attention
• Self-control
• Spatial understanding
• Motivation and confidence
• Problem-solving and reflection
• Perspective-taking and collaboration
• Imagination and symbolic
representation
….the critical
skills for learning
throughout a
lifetime
…to a successful adulthood
• Education
• Innovation
• Health
• Job

15. Chapter 3
How do we
make systemic
change?

16. Ecological Systems
Model

17. Example: Playful Writing

19. Question
How do we move all the
gears simultaneously,
to change the broader
early childhood
ecosystem?

20. Thank you