The Programme
FIRST® LEGO® League shows young people what it means to be an engineer and work with STEM skills and subjects, but focuses on practical, hands-on learning, so they are doing, not watching. FIRST® LEGO® League Explore is designed for 6-9 year-olds and it's an exciting, non-competitive STEM challenge that rapidly develops teamwork, design, programming, digital and communication skills.
Each year a theme relevant to the world around them is chosen as a focus for the children’s work. The teams research the topic, displaying their ideas on a team poster, build a LEGO® model and programme one part to move using LEGO® Education SPIKE Essential. Teams will then prepare to share their work and celebrate what they have discovered with a team of reviewers and other local teams at a FIRST® LEGO® League Explore Festival.
FIRST® LEGO® League Explore Class Pack is an ‘in house’ version of the globally recognised FIRST® LEGO® League Explore programme. It gives you the opportunity, resources and guidance to run and deliver the programme within your curriculum time.
What you can do
Teachers and coaches are fully supported with comprehensive resources available to download on the IET Teacher Resources webpage, training videos, digital assets and support.
You can sign up here, and if you're in a location with funding, complete the 30 Day Challenge to get grant funding to cover all the costs associated with delivering the programme in your school or community group. The team at Learnit (Ireland) or the IET (UK) will support you through the process.
The Programme
FIRST® LEGO® League shows young people what it means to be an engineer and work with STEM skills and subjects, but focuses on practical, hands-on learning, so they are doing, not watching. FIRST® LEGO® League Explore is designed for 6-9 year-olds and it's an exciting, non-competitive STEM challenge that rapidly develops teamwork, design, programming, digital and communication skills.
Each year a theme relevant to the world around them is chosen as a focus for the children’s work. The teams research the topic, displaying their ideas on a team poster, build a LEGO® model and programme one part to move using LEGO® Education SPIKE Essential. Teams will then prepare to share their work and celebrate what they have discovered with a team of reviewers and other local teams at a FIRST® LEGO® League Explore Festival.
FIRST® LEGO® League Explore Class Pack is an ‘in house’ version of the globally recognised FIRST® LEGO® League Explore programme. It gives you the opportunity, resources and guidance to run and deliver the programme within your curriculum time.
What you can do
Teachers and coaches are fully supported with comprehensive resources available to download on the IET Teacher Resources webpage, training videos, digital assets and support.
You can sign up here, and if you're in a location with funding, complete the 30 Day Challenge to get grant funding to cover all the costs associated with delivering the programme in your school or community group. The team at Learnit (Ireland) or the IET (UK) will support you through the process.
Thanks to the invaluable funding we received, our school has successfully integrated LEGO into our everyday curriculum. This addition has not only made learning more interactive and enjoyable for our students but has also enhanced our overall pedagogical approach. By utilizing LEGO, we now incorporate building and coding activities regularly, making mathematics more tangible, engaging, and memorable.
LEGO isn’t just a plaything – it’s a dynamic tool that cultivates collaboration, teamwork, and strengthens fundamental mathematical skills. As educators, our goal has always been to provide the most effective and stimulating learning environment, and with this support, we have managed to make leaps in this direction.
Our innovative approach didn't go unnoticed. We were proud to showcase our LEGO-centric educational strategies on RTE news, acting as an inspiration for other schools in our community. Furthermore, our methods attracted attention beyond our borders; schools from Europe and even as far as Cambodia paid visits to witness our strategies in action.
While we faced unexpected challenges that prevented us from participating in the First Lego League this year, this setback only furthered our resolve to grow and improve. Our initiative led us to connect with the UK's winning team, who generously shared their project insights and execution strategies. Their experience will undoubtedly help guide us in future endeavors.
In our journey of continuous improvement, we have also liaised with the Irish organisers of the First Lego League. Together, we're working on a groundbreaking project: mapping the LEGO Education Suite of projects to align perfectly with the Irish curriculum. Once completed, this will be shared widely, ensuring that schools across Ireland can benefit from this hands-on, engaging, and effective teaching method.
In conclusion, the funding has been a catalyst for a transformative shift in our teaching approach. With the continued support, we look forward to further exploring the boundaries of innovative education, ensuring our students not only learn but thrive.
We have arranged a meeting with LearnIt to coordinate our First Lego League entry. We will be using the funding to purchase the necessary equipment and necessary administration costs involved. The Lego will then be further integrated into our digital curriculum to ensure that it becomes a standard part of our curriculum going forward. We will follow all necessary COVID-19 precautions in line with our policies relating to same.