Lego says only 1/3 of educators, parents believe students are engaged in learning

As students return to the classroom, a new report by Lego is looking into whether students are engaged while in class, and how teachers and parents can help build their confidence. It works out that the company behind the report is familiar with the building part.

Lego Education released its “State of Classroom Engagement Report” during the week of Sept. 1, which includes insight from over 6,000 administrators, teachers and students from the U.S. and four other countries.

According to Lego, only one-third of the group said their students are engaged in learning. In a short film released by Lego Education in conjunction with the report — called “What Does Engagement Look Like?” — teachers and administrators responded to that very question.

Some of their responses:

• “It is active. It is participatory.”
• “Lots of talking.”
• “Noisy.”
• “They’re taller.”
• “Spark and energy.”
• “To me, engagement looks like I’m happy to be here every day with you and I can’t wait to see what you learn and I learn and what we learn together.”

According to the report, administrators and teachers have varying opinions on how to address disengaged students.

Administrators point to the curricula needing change. Around 96% believe new resources and approaches are necessary to increase engagement.

While teachers see a lack of training as the biggest hurdle. Eight in 10 teachers say they would be happier in their careers if their students were more engaged.

The report said 47% of U.S. school administrators believe that absenteeism and overall declines in enrollment are related to students being disengaged.

Lego Education said a way to get students more engaged is by learning through play . This is something Lego has a lot of research in. Through its Lego Foundation, the company has an entire website dedicated to the learning-through-play concept.

According to the report, 89% of students said their favorite way of learning is through interactive experiences. Beyond the report, others are also looking into play as a tool to benefit students in the classroom including Harvard and UNICEF.

A team at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education published a book last year based on eight years of research looking at the benefits of the technique.

In 2018, UNICEF released a brief on learning through play.

Both of these publications were in collaboration with the Lego Foundation.

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