Does lego training stimulate pupils' ability to solve logical problems?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a one-year regular robotic toys (lego) training on school pupils' performance. The underlying pedagogical perspective is the constructionist theory, where the main idea is that knowledge is constructed in the mind of the pupil by active learning. The investigation has been made in two steps. The first step was before the treatment and the second after treatment. For both cases we have constructed and included control groups. The data was gathered from different pupils from two different age categories, from different classes, from different schools, and finally from different places in Sweden. We have investigated whether the approach of involving the lego training in the schools activities might lead to improving the adoption process and that the pupils would perform better in mathematics and technique. Our null hypothesis states that the lego robots do not have a positive or negative effect on the pupils' ability to solve mathematical and logical problems. A one-way ANOVA test leads to acceptance of the null hypothesis. However, when ANOVA test was performed on sub groups of pupils, the null hypothesis was rejected in some cases. This indicates that lego training may be useful for some groups of students. Furthermore, a hypothesis test regarding certain correlation measures was conducted, supporting this theory. In general, the statistical analysis suggest that there is no obvious over-all effect of lego, though there are significant positive effects of lego for sub groups of pupils. In all, we find the results promising enough to suggest a larger experiment to be performed. The pupils have different learning styles in their approach to LEGO training. The role of the teacher, as a mediator of knowledge and skills, was crucial for coping with problems related to this kind of technology. The teacher must be able to support the pupils and to make them understand the LEGO Dacta material on a deeper level. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.