LEGO in University Curriculums

LEGO learning is not just for the kids. In the advanced education world of colleges and universities, one is never too old to be inspired. Constructing with LEGOs allow for a variety of science, technology, engineering, and math concepts, including:

• Structural Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Physics

Structural Engineering requires the use of planning, understanding materials in use, and mathematics. With LEGOs, a creator can use their imagination and just build, or they can take it to the next level by designing the final product prior to the build. For the haphazard builder, trial and error can improve the understanding of structures by adding supports where weak points occur. For the more methodical builder, STEM skills can be used for sizing, estimating loading capacities, and building to functional limits (Spoon, n.d.).

In my experience, using LEGOs gives a builder a good sense of security. If a build fails, it is easy to repair. Taking it to a different level, it even helps in design decision making – do I start over completely, or do I improve upon what I started with? All-in-all, it gives the builder the ability to learn in a safe environment.

Mechanical Engineering involves the use of robotics. LEGO has had multiple programmable robotic bricks over the past 20 years. The most recent is the EV3 which came out in 2013. This is a very good learning tool with the intuitive native LEGO programming interface that allows development from your PC or tablet (EV3, n.d.). Very little programming knowledge is required using this drag and drop method allowing for very fast development. Use your imagination to design simple robotic arms, remote control vehicles, or even intelligent mechanical pets!

All of my LEGO robot development has been with the Mindstorms 2.0 using the third party leJOS operating system. leJOS allows me to program the sensors and servo motors with the Java programming language of which I had plenty of experience with through my professional career. 

LEGO Mindstorms 2.0 NXT Brain Brick with the leJOS Java based Operating System

leJOS 0.9.0 version for the LEGO Mindstorm 2.0 NXT

  Physics at the theoretical level is great for stretching your mind. Taking the mechanical concepts to a more academic level, LEGOs are then utilized less for creating products, and more to teach students how to think. This is called the constructivist theory of learning, allowing students to use knowledge and experience to solve real world problems (Danahy, Wang, Brockman, Carberry, Shapiro, Rogers, 2014).

I would have loved to use LEGOs at the University level for my engineering education. In my pre-college youth I was very engaged with LEGOs which spurred my curiosity, but without the practical engineering behind it I would not say that it helped me with understanding core scientific concepts. On the other hand, my development efforts with the LEGO brain brick was after earning my engineering degree which made me more effective with LEGOs!

References

Danahy, E., Wang, E., Brockman, J., Carberry, J., Shapiro, B., Rogers, C.B. (2014). LEGO-based robotics in higher education: 15 years of student creativity. International Journal of Advanced Robotic Systems. doi:10.5772/58249. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.5772/58249

EV3 Programmer App. (n.d.) Lego.com. Retrieved from https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/apps/ev3-programmer-app

Spoon, M. (n.d.). 5 things Lego blocks can teach you about structural engineering. HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved from https://science.howstuffworks.com/engineering/structural/5-things-lego-blocks-teach-structural-engineering3.htm