Lego Education MoreToMath
Lego Education
We worked with Lego education to create and develop their first portfolio product for math. MoreToMath is for grade 1-2 students and targets the math curriculum, including the mathematical practices and Common Core State Standards. It is designed to develop students' problem-solving abilities and vocabulary, especially reading, thinking, listening and speaking skills related to mathematical topics.
Hands-on math
MoreToMath 1-2 is a hands-on educational tool for teaching mathematical problem-solving bridging to mathematical facts. The learning experience centres on the students. The goal is to create learning experiences characterized by playful, hands-on activities that engender motivation and engagement with the mathematical concepts.
One student worksheet per lesson
To help create a simple experience in the classroom, we worked on creating a full lesson of up to 30mins on one student worksheet. Each worksheet contains all the information the student requires to complete the lesson, including the bricks required, single-image building instructions and tasks. Hundreds of iterations were made to models, graphic layouts, tasks and wording to get this to work on a single page and in multiple languages. 48 lessons were created in total for the set.
Testing, testing, testing
The exciting part of the process was testing the theory and concepts in practice within classrooms full of students. Here it became very obvious to see what worked and what didn't. Testing was an ongoing part of the development throughout the project.
Mathbuilder Software
The Mathbuilder software can be used to enhance learning in the classrooms. It supplements the physical building and enables the students to show how they think with their hands. We supported the development of the software through proposals for the Ui and interaction, as well as directing the look and feel to fit coherently with the physical set.
Introduction animation
The introduction animation is intended to be shown to the class before commencing with the material. The mini figure character students, Max and Mia, demonstrate an example of a task from the worksheets in a fun and engaging way. We were responsible for the design direction and created the initial concept and storyboard for the animation.
Connecting activities to real life
Each theme in the set is accompanied by a Connect image that connects the class to the theme to be worked with. There is a link to the real world and a transition into mathematics through it. The teacher may use the image to set the scene and ask the class questions about the image. Eg. What do Max and Mia see when they look through the Mathnifier? How many snakes are there? How long is the shortest/longest snake, and how do you know?
Single image building instructions
One of the big challenges with the design was creating simple themed models that could be understood, contain enough manipulative content for the learning tasks, and be easy to build from one building instruction image. We tested multiple models from each theme on a range of students with different levels of Lego-building ability to get it right.
