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Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is a LEGO® Education Center? 2. How many LEGO Education Centers are there and where are they located? 3. Why was Dallas, Texas selected as the location for the new and first US center? 4. How and why did the idea behind the LEGO Education Center originate? 5. How is a LEGO Education Center different from other types of after-school programs? 6. What does the LEGO Education Center concept build on? 7. What age groups do LEGO Education Centers offer classes for? 8. What programs are available? 9. What skills will children develop at the centers? 10. How is a child’s progress evaluated? 11. What Learning Philosophy does LEGO Education Centers follow? 12. How long is a class? 13. What will children do in class? 14. Who develops the center activities/programs? 15. What is the cost for a class? 16. Which products do the children work with? 17. Why do I need to purchase a LEGO Education product? 18. What kind of skills are the staff required to have? 19. Does the staff receive special training? 20. Is there a website address? 1: What is a LEGO® Education Center? LEGO Education Centers are unique learning environments where qualified teachers lead children through hands-on, exploratory activities. Children can develop their full potential by taking traditional classroom concepts to a higher level while developing problem-solving, creativity and team-working skills. [back to top] 2: How many LEGO Education Centers are there and where are they located? In the Asia/Pacific region there are now more than 140 centers in operation and more than 15,000 students enrolled in a LEGO Education Center program. There are LEGO Education Centers in Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and China. The first US center is scheduled to open in Dallas, Texas in September 2007. We have great expectations to the US market, and the Dallas center is planned as the first in a series of US-based centers. [back to top] 3: Why was Dallas, Texas selected as the location for the new and first US center? Dallas, Texas was selected as the location for the first US center based on extensive research. We found for example that the area has the ideal demographic composition in relation to our target group. Dallas is also developing and experiencing rapid growth in terms of the form of new businesses being established, increasing employment rates, etc. making it ideal as the first US location. [back to top] 4: How and why did the idea behind the LEGO Education Center originate? The idea behind the centers was originally born in Korea. Korean parents are very concerned about their children’s education and providing them with after-school activities that develop skills/give them tools that help prepare them for the future. We saw the need for a high-quality after-school environment that provides an add-on to children’s traditional school education, while also teaching them important life skills (see question 9 below). In close cooperation with one of our Korean partners, who has extensive experience in running kindergartens, the idea was realized in 2001 when the first center opened. Today, there are more than 140 centers in the Asia/Pacific region – showing just how successful this concept has been and continues to be! [back to top] 5: How is a LEGO Education Center different from other types of after-school programs? The centers are unique, open and specially designed LEGO environments which will not be found in any other after-school facility. And they are FUN, stress-free learning refuges from today’s performance pressure. "Playful learning", i.e. making learning fun for the children, is always at the heart of the centers. Based on LEGO products and a special LEGO Education Center curriculum, the children are presented with open-ended tasks that allow them to build, discover and invent their own solutions. [back to top] 6: What does the LEGO Education Center concept build on? It builds on • The LEGO Brand • Playful learning • Smaller class sizes • A unique LEC curriculum based on the LEGO Learning Philosophy (4 C approach – see below) • Personal and individual attention for each child • Certified and trained teachers • A holistic curriculum • Validation of learning measured on skills that parents believe their children need • An LEC is a FUN, learning refuge from performance pressure [back to top] 7: What age groups do LEGO Education Centers offer classes for? Our classes are targeted at children from 3 years to 9 years, and we are constantly working on extending and expanding our portfolio. [back to top] 8: What programs are available? 3+ My World Unit 1: Family, Friends and Neighbors Unit 2: Caring for animals Unit 3: Make it go Unit 4: Stories, Songs and Silly Monsters 4+ My World Discovery Unit 1: Super Size It Unit 2: Make it work Unit 3: Making a City Work Unit 4: Let’s play games 5+ My World Adventure Unit 1: Outer Space and Over Land Unit 2: Sea and Time Traveler Unit 3: Investigating Stable Structures Unit 4: Designs and Patterns 6+ My World Inventions Unit 1: Animal Bodies and how they move Unit 2: Machines in my home Unit 3: Machines in the World around Me Unit 4: Imaginative Inventions 8+ World of Robotics 1 Unit 1: Dr. Heartbeat and the NANO-bots Unit 2: The Police Dog Academy Unit 3: The Bot Family Unit 4: Robot Show-bot Birthday Parties for Boys & Girls Ages 5 to 9 • A visit to the Castle • Move your Body • Knights and the hidden Treasure • Dr. Heartbeat • Zoo Rescue Expedition LEGO ROBO Family Unit 1: Dr. Heartbeat and the NANO-bots Unit 2: The Police Dog Academy Unit 3: The Bot Family Unit 4: Robot Show-bot [back to top] 9: What skills will children develop at the centers? Our programs are all targeted specifically at developing the seven skills, which have top priority at LEGO Education Center and which are all-important in the future – a future where creativity and innovation will become ever more vital. We work with the holistic development of each child, and the skills that are specifically measured and developed are: • communication skills • concentration and perseverance skills • social skills • planning and organizing skills • design skills • creative problem solving skills • independent thinking skills [back to top] 10: How is a child’s progress evaluated? The center’s teachers closely follow and monitor the development of each individual child enrolled in a program. It is important to stress that children are NOT measured against other children. Our starting point is each individual child and his/her progress. By closely following and monitoring each child’s work, our professionals – the center’s teachers – are trained to keep track of the child’s intellectual, social, and emotional development. If a child doesn’t progress as expected, immediate action will be taken by differentiating the learning material in order to improve results. Parents receive a report which documents and describes their child’s progress. [back to top] 11: What Learning Philosophy does LEGO Education Centers follow? Our Learning Philosophy builds on Flow theory, the Extra Learning Dimension as well as the 4C approach. In a State of Flow LEGO Education solutions are designed to cater to children’s individual needs and differences. We present them with topics that catch their interest, and build on their existing knowledge. We set them tasks that require that they find their own solutions in their own way. If children are in a learning environment that challenges them, they will be encouraged to explore, understand and keep on learning. In this situation they will typically experience a high degree of enjoyment. If children are insufficiently challenged, they get bored and lose interest in the task at hand – and then they learn next to nothing. If they’re challenged way beyond their abilities, they may give up before they begin and not even try to solve the problem because they are in a state of anxiety. Again, they learn next to nothing because they use the majority of their mental energy on being in a defensive situation. We aim to ensure that children are optimally challenged by designing open-ended tasks, where children can contribute to the learning process in a variety of ways and with a variety of roles. Extra Learning Dimension LEGO Education delivers solutions that help children to become creative thinkers, problem-solvers and effective team-workers. We call this the Extra Learning Dimension. We present groups of children with a challenge, and give them the tools that enable them to find their own solutions. In this way they experience the thrill of genuine achievement. 4C approach All curriculum material is specially developed for the LEGO Education Center and based on the 4C approach and the learning by making approach, i.e. hands-on learning. The following structure is the backbone of all teacher and student material for LEGO Education Centers: • Connect • Construct • Contemplate • Continue (and Continue at Home) One of the key aspects of learning by making is the fact that children learn best when they can either relate new experiences to their existing "knowledge bank" or are exposed to an idea so compelling that it inspires them to learn more about it. This is what could be called the Connect phase. The Construct phase is all about constructing things in the real world and piecing knowledge together in the mind. The children plan, program software or build solutions to solve given assignments. An important phase in an effective learning process is the Contemplate phase, which involves students taking time to think about what they have seen or constructed, thus deepening their understanding of what they experience. They discuss the project, reflect and adapt their idea, and the teacher encourages this process by asking questions. The Continue phase builds on the natural urge to want to know more. Doing so will lead students to a new Connect phase, thus allowing them to enter a positive learning spiral, where they overcome increasingly difficult challenges. The Continue at home phase provides some small, fun homework assignments that children and their families can solve together. [back to top] 12: How long is a class? A class is 45 – 60 minutes long, depending on the age of the child. [back to top] 13: What will children do in class? Children will be presented with engaging tasks to solve in an environment of guided exploration. They will build LEGO models, solve problems and create their own solutions; they will sing, dance, and most importantly have lots of fun. The tasks are designed to be developmentally appropriate for the individual child and thus provide opportunities for differentiated learning. My World (3 – 6 years) activities are designed to give young children opportunities to explore and develop their own ideas and to learn to make sense of their world. Activities are based on popular topics such as Families, Homes, Communities, Transport and Animals. Our World (5 – 8 years) activities provide children with opportunities to find out how things work. Activities allow them to build increasingly complex constructions, to experiment with simple mechanisms and to build their own simple machines. Activities are also based on popular play themes such as outer space and vehicles. World of Inventions (8 years and up) activities are based on the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education Robotics concept. Children get a chance to build and program. Activities are based on themes like emergency rescue, cool inventions and robotics in homes. [back to top] 14: Who develops the center activities/programs? Center programs are designed by qualified and experienced teachers to match the levels of children’s natural development. Activities are open-ended, which means that children can pursue their individual talents and interests as they find new ways to solve problems and develop their own unique solutions. [back to top] 15: What is the cost for a class? Please check with your local center how much you will have to pay for a class. The below example applies to the US center: Each program runs in units of 12 weeks - one day per week. There are 4 x 12 units available per year. For a program you will need to buy: the lessons, the LEGO product needed for the homework and a LEGO Education Center membership fee. Product costs vary depending on the class you are interested in. [back to top] 16: Which products do the children work with? All classes involve LEGO Education sets. Below is a list of the products needed for the different classes. Please direct any questions to your local LEGO Education Center. 3+ My World Product needed: 9230 Town Set 4+ My World Discovery Product needed: 9206 Tech Machines Set 5+ My World Adventure Products needed: 9302 Community Builders Set and 9320 Journey into Space Set 6+ My World Inventions Product needed: 9654 Early Simple Machines Set II 8+ World of Robotics 1 Products needed: 9797 LEGO MINDSTORMS Education Base Set and 2000077 LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Software Birthday parties for boys and girls aged 5 to 9 A birthday party runs for 1˝ hour. This includes gifts for the guest of honor, a birthday party goody bag with LEGO model/elements for each child, but excludes food and drinks. LEGO ROBO Family This is the 8+ World of Robotics 1 course but intended for a parent (adult) and child to participate together. This course is available on Saturdays and also runs for 12 weeks. The course fee is higher because a maximum of three family members may attend, i.e. either two parents and a child or one parent and two children. Each child must be minimum 8 years of age. Products needed: 9797 LEGO MINDSTORMS Education Base Set and 2000077 LEGO MINDSTORMS Education NXT Software [back to top] 17: Why do I need to purchase a LEGO Education product? For each lesson in the course there is something we call "Continue at Home" assignments. These are small "home work" projects that your child can do at home with family and/or friends. This serves to support and reinforce the learning objectives. We also know that children take great pride in showing and explaining what they have done in class. [back to top] 18: What kind of skills are the staff required to have? We have the following minimum requirements for our teachers: • Degree in teaching • Teaching experience with pre-K and elementary children • Passionate about learning and children • Relaxed and playful personality who naturally draws people’s curiosity [back to top] 19: Does the staff receive special training? Yes! LEGO Education Center teachers are specially trained to: • Provide opportunities for children to apply their existing knowledge • Provide hands-on experiences • Facilitate ways for children to exercise their creativity by asking them to come up with new ideas and by giving them problems to solve • Provide children with opportunities to improve their communication and listening skills by supporting them as they work in small teams. [back to top] 20: Is there a website address? Yes! The overall corporate website address is: www.LEGOeducationcenters.com. The US website address is: www.LEGOeducationcenters.us. [back to top] |
