What is the difference between LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® & learning with LEGO® bricks?

LEGO® bricks are the material. LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is the methodology.

LEGO® bricks can be used in many different ways to support learning, engagement and discussion. A trainer, educator or facilitator may use them to illustrate a concept, represent an idea, stimulate creativity or introduce an interactive activity.

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is different. It is a defined methodology that uses LEGO® bricks within a structured, facilitated process to help people think, communicate and solve problems. The distinction is not the bricks themselves, but how they are used, how the process is structured and what the participants are expected to achieve.

Learning with LEGO® bricks

When LEGO® is used as a learning tool, the bricks can support a particular activity or learning objective. For example, participants might be asked to select bricks that represent what makes a good manager, explain their choices and then discuss the topic as a group. The LEGO® helps make the activity more engaging and gives participants something tangible to talk about.

There is considerable flexibility in how such an activity is designed. LEGO® may be used as a warm-up, an illustration, a creative exercise or a way to stimulate discussion. The learning objective comes first; LEGO® is one of the tools used to support it.

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

With LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®, the methodology and process are integral to the outcome. Participants are taken through a series of facilitated and iterative steps. A challenge or question is posed, participants build their individual responses using three-dimensional models, each person explains what their model means, and the group then reflects on what has been built and shared. Further questions can build on the previous models, progressively deepening the exploration.

The process is designed so that participants do not simply discuss an issue. They think through building, give their thinking a physical form, explain their own meaning and then use the models as a basis for deeper exploration. That structure is what makes LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® a methodology rather than simply an activity involving LEGO® bricks.

The Key Differences

	LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®	Learning with LEGO® bricks
Structure	A defined, facilitated and iterative methodology	A flexible activity designed around a learning objective
Process	Challenge → Build → Share → Reflect, with further exploration as required	May involve building, discussion or other activities in any sequence
Purpose	Deeper thinking, communication, problem-solving and shared understanding	Engagement, illustration, creativity or discussion
Participation	The methodology is designed around active contribution from every participant	Participation can be structured or open, depending on the activity
Building	Participants construct models to represent their own thinking and use them as the basis for dialogue	Bricks may simply illustrate or represent an idea
Depth	Can progressively explore relationships, assumptions, challenges and complex situations	Usually focused on the specific learning or discussion objective
Facilitation	Facilitation is integral to maintaining the methodology and guiding the process	The facilitator determines how LEGO® is incorporated into the activity

The distinction is therefore not whether the session uses LEGO® bricks, or whether participants are having fun while using them. It is whether the bricks are being used as part of the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® methodology and its structured process.

Why the distinction matters?

It is easy to see people building with LEGO® in a workshop and assume that they are experiencing LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. They may not be. A LEGO® activity can be useful without being LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. Equally, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is not simply a more elaborate LEGO® activity.

The methodology has been developed around a specific understanding of how people think, learn, communicate and contribute. Its process is designed to move from individual thinking to shared exploration, using models as a common basis for conversation. The LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® training material describes the method as drawing on research in business, organisational development, psychology and learning and being based on the concept of “hand knowledge.”

It is easy to see people building with LEGO® in a workshop and assume that they are experiencing LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. They may not be. A LEGO® activity can be useful without being LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®. Equally, LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® is not simply a more elaborate LEGO® activity.

In simple terms:

Learning with LEGO® bricks: Use LEGO® to make learning or discussion more engaging.

LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®: Use a structured methodology in which building becomes a way to think, communicate, explore and solve problems.