Exploring the Conceptual Space of LEGO: Teaching and Learning the Psychology of Creativity

Abstract

This paper reports on the use of the construction toy LEGO as an effective learning resource for undergraduate classes in the psychology of creativity. Students first attended a short series of lectures on aspects of creativity, including learner characteristics such as motivation and metacognition, and theoretical approaches to problem-finding and problem-solving including the Geneplore model and the metaphor of learning as navigation in a multidimensional conceptual space. This was followed by three sessions in which students explored the conceptual space of LEGO under each of three conditions: freeplay in session 1, constraints on process in session 2 (rules for assembly), and constraints on product in session 3 (set goals). Throughout this time, students were required to keep a ‘metacognitive diary’ of their experiences, and to reflect on their own learning processes within and across sessions. Evaluation was carried out by means of a post-activity questionnaire. The paper reports on the kinds of structures produced under each set of constraints, patterns of student learning experiences, motivational changes, and student evaluations of the activity as a whole. It is suggested that, used in this way, LEGO provides a simple, highly enjoyable, yet effective medium for teaching, learning and research in the psychology of creativity.