An innovative approach has been taken in the design of the foundation year for a new Extended Degree in Computing, whereby assessment is by competencies in a 120 credit module. The students need to pass 40 competencies to pass. In order to pass a competency they may have to demonstrate this first in class to the tutor where there is a practical element, and in addition the students are required to write a reflective blog post about each competency. This paper will discuss how the use of Lego Serious Play was used first of all as a means to develop the students' communication skills and to explore effective teamwork and personal skills. The students are encouraged to draw, mind map, take photos or video of any aspect of their learning, and to use these within their reflective multimedia blog posts. An introduction to reflective practice used the 'what - so what - now what' as a starting point; considered how reflective practice is used by the military who routinely conduct after-action reviews; and then how Gibbs six point reflection cycle can provide trigger points for reflective writing. This provided a pedagogical foundation for why reflection was used, but more importantly for the students it provided why it was beneficial to them both in academia and in preparation for placement or graduate employment. An abundance of research has highlighted that communication is a skill that all graduates need to demonstrate, and is one our Computing graduates most often need to develop. The outcomes of the blogs to date have demonstrated that allowing students to take a more creative approach to expressing themselves has helped them to become more confident in reflective practice and articulation of their learning.

1. Using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
and Multimedia Blogs to Stimulate
Effective Reflective Practice
Sue Beckingham SFHEA | @suebecks | Sheffield Hallam University
Certified Facilitator of LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
Computing Education Practice Conference
University of Dundee, January 11th 2017

2. Skills Development
An abundance of research has highlighted
that communication is a skill that all
graduates need to demonstrate.
However this skill continues to be one that is
challenging for many students.

3. “There is a disconnect
between managers and recent
graduates regarding their
preparedness for employment
2016 Workforce-Skills Preparedness Report
http://www.payscale.com/data-packages/job-skills

4. CBI (2016:49)
The Right Combination: CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2016
http://www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-prod/assets/File/pdf/cbi-education-and-skills-survey2016.pdf
23% of employers
not satisfied with
communication skills

5. Skills Disconnect
• Overall, 44% of managers feel writing proficiency
is the hard skill lacking the most among recent
college graduates. Public speaking follows behind
with 39% of managers feeling this way.
• Overall, 60% of managers feel critical thinking/
problem solving is the soft skill lacking the most
among recent college graduates. The soft skills
attention to detail (56%) and communication
(46%) closely follow.
2016 Workforce-Skills Preparedness Report
http://www.payscale.com/data-packages/job-skills

6. 2016 Workforce-Skills Preparedness Report
http://www.payscale.com/data-packages/job-skills

7. “Almost half the recruiters who took
part in the research repeated their
warnings from previous years –
that graduates who have had
no previous work experience
at all are unlikely to be successful
during the selection process and
have little or no chance of receiving a
job offer for their organisations’
graduate programmes.”
High Fliers (2016:6)

8. To apply for a placement or graduate job
entails an interview. The students need to
be confident communicators and able to
articulate the skills they have developed.

9. Course Leader of a new Extended Degree in Computing
Blank canvas

10. An opportunity to build in new
steps to help the students develop
their skills

11. 1. LEGO SERIOUS PLAY
Aim
To develop the students'
communication skills and
to explore effective
teamwork and personal
skills. Provide space to
learn from each other.
2. MULTIMEDIA BLOGS
Aim
To develop the students’
reflective writing skills
through engaging with
multimedia. Build
confidence in articulating
the skills developed.

12. WHY
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

13. “You can learn more
about a person in an
hour of play than you
can from a lifetime of
conversation” – Plato
Personal experience
taking part in
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
workshops.
Now a trained facilitator in
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
having completed the
official 4 day course.
Wanted to take an
innovative approach.

14. WHAT IS
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

15. Participants in response to the facilitator's questions,
build their own 3D LEGO models and these are then
the focus for:
• group discussion
• knowledge sharing
• problem solving and
• decision making.
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
It is a facilitated thinking, communication and
problem solving technique for groups.

16. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
core process
Pose the Question
The facilitator asks the questions
Construction
Everyone builds
Sharing
All talk about what has been built
Reflection
There is time to reflect and ask clarifying questions

17. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
4C Framework
Connect: reflecting on experiences and
learning
Construct: constructing of a model
linked to this
Contemplate: verbalising and analysing
the model
Continue: extending engagement
through sharing and commenting on
models made by others

18. The theory behind
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
Constructionism
x
This builds upon constructivism (Piaget) a theory that argues
knowledge is not simply acquired but constructed into knowledge
structures based on the individual's experience in the world.
Constructionism (Papert) is a way of making formal, abstract
ideas and relationships more concrete, more visual, more
tangible, more manipulative, and therefore more readily
understandable by engaging in constructing a product.
"Better learning will not come from finding better ways for the
teacher to instruct, but from giving the learners better
opportunities to construct" (Papert)

19. The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Kit

20. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
activities
Two examples: the students were asked to
build a model in response to the questions.
1. Teamwork
• What makes a good team?
• What are the barriers that can disrupt good teamwork?
2. Skills
• Think of a key strength, skill or attribute that you bring to your team.
• Choose a skill that needs development. Why is this skill important?

21. Students are encouraged
to take photos for their blog

22. The students used their mobile phones
to capture the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®
learning activities. The photos were
used in their reflective blogs.
Reflective Blogs
The students are assessed on 40 competencies and are
required to write a reflective blog post for each
competency. This practice has encouraged them to
consider beyond the descriptive of what they have done.

23. Scaffolding reflective practice
Reflection is difficult. The following need
to be introduced and discussed:
1. What reflection is
2. How to do it
3. Where to capture it
4. Ways in which multimedia can be used
e.g. video, audio, mind map, photos

24. Scaffolding
“Scaffolding is any tool, procedure,
or aspect of the learning
environment that is specifically
engineered to assist learners in
performing tasks for which they
would otherwise be unprepared.”
Laffey et al 1998

25. passive and
alienated
proactive
and
engaged
Relatedness
Go write 500 words
and reflect on your
learning
No structure
Provide context
Introduce a structure
Encourage multi media
formats
OR

27. Scaffolding reflection

28. Scaffolding reflection

29. Signposting
Guided instructions
1. Reflect upon what skills you have and
the skills you wish to develop
2. Write a blog post that considers the
following
– What skills will you bring to your team?
– What skills do you think you need to work
on?
– What are the key skills that will make your
team effective?

30. Building a confident vocabulary
Reflect on their
talents in context:
skills, experience,
knowledge, responsibilities,
achievements, strengths,
weaknesses, areas for self-
improvement

31. The Students created valuable reflections,
capturing not only what they had done and
what they had learned;
they reflected on their contribution, what they
might do differently, and are starting to
articulate the skills they have developed.

32.  Interconnected learning - learning with
and from each other
 Learning by doing
 Improving students' digital literacy
 Visuals aid recall when reflecting on
skills developed
Results

33. References
• CBI (2016) The Right Combination: CBI/Pearson Education and Skills Survey 2016
http://www.cbi.org.uk/cbi-prod/assets/File/pdf/cbi-education-and-skills-survey2016.pdf
• High Fliers (2016) The Graduate Market in 2016 Annual review of graduate vacancies
& starting salaries at Britain’s leading employers
http://www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2016/graduate_market/GMReport16.pdf
• Laffey, J., Tupper, T., Musser, D. and Wedman, J. (1998) A Computer-Mediated
Support System for Project-Based Learning. Educational Technology Research and
Development, 46 (1), pp. 73-86. Online at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30221051
• LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® https://www.lego.com/en-gb/seriousplay
• Kristiansen, P. and Rasmussen, R. (2014) Building a Better Business Using The
LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Method. Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley.
• Papert, S. (1991) Situating Constructionism. In Idit Harel and Seymour Papert (Eds)
Constructionism. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.
• Payscale (2016) Workforce-Skills Preparedness Report
http://www.payscale.com/data-packages/job-skills

34. Using Lego Serious Play and Multimedia Blogs
to Stimulate Effective Reflective Practice
Abstract
An innovative approach has been taken in the design of the foundation year for a new Extended Degree in
Computing, whereby assessment is by competencies in a 120 credit module. The students need to pass 40
competencies to pass. In order to pass a competency they may have to demonstrate this first in class to the
tutor where there is a practical element, and in addition the students are required to write a reflective blog
post about each competency.
This paper will discuss how the use of Lego Serious Play was used first of all as a means to develop the
students' communication skills and to explore effective teamwork and personal skills. The students are
encouraged to draw, mind map, take photos or video of any aspect of their learning, and to use these within
their reflective multimedia blog posts.
An introduction to reflective practice used the 'what - so what - now what' as a starting point; considered how
reflective practice is used by the military who routinely conduct after-action reviews; and then how Gibbs six
point reflection cycle can provide trigger points for reflective writing. This provided a pedagogical foundation
for why reflection was used, but more importantly for the students it provided why it was beneficial to them
both in academia and in preparation for placement or graduate employment.
An abundance of research has highlighted that communication is a skill that all graduates need to
demonstrate, and is one our Computing graduates most often need to develop. The outcomes of the blogs to
date have demonstrated that allowing students to take a more creative approach to expressing themselves
has helped them to become more confident in reflective practice and articulation of their learning.
http://community.dur.ac.uk/cep.conference/fullprogramme.php

35. Sue Beckingham | @suebecks
Educational Developer and Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University
with a research interest in the use of social media in education.
Blog: http://socialmediaforlearning.com/
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/suebeckingham