I recently read a thought provoking article that challenged the need for Reflection in LEGO Serious Play. It advocated for reflection as an ongoing process, rather than a discrete ‘stage’ at the end of a LEGO Serious Play experience. 

I agree that viewing reflection as the end stage of a linear four-step process is potentially limiting; but, as an educator, I see protected space for reflection as a strength of the process, not a weakness. For me, the issue lies in the way we think about and articulate the process itself.

In my book, Building Better Learning, I expand on the concept of Build Cycles: an approach that encourages us to rethink LEGO Serious Play’s core four-stage process; from a linear model to a cycle; one where emergence is acknowledged, and explicitly informs ongoing thinking. 

Reframing the Model: The problem with Lines

Traditional LEGO Serious Play Core 4 Stage Process

LEGO Serious Play as a neatly segmented linear process is problematic. It offers structure and makes the method accessible to newcomers, but it is simply too… simple! It operates on the assumption that every workshop – even every build – will flow nicely from A to B.

In reality, participants experience LEGO Serious Play as a more complex cognitive experience: where ‘making thinking visible’ evokes sense-making through reflection, and then stimulates insight and deeper-learning; which in turn informs ongoing thought and so on.

At the heart of this circular view of LEGO Serious Play lies the Build Cycle; the idea that the method – when at its most powerful – informs and feeds itself; connecting explicitly with the constructivist principles upon which the method was created. 

LEGO Serious Play Build Cycle

The true transformative power of Build Cycles is their capacity to leverage iteration. Rather than a single linear event, the most profound learning occurs when participants repeatedly transition from building and sharing stories, to reflecting and making sense of what they are seeing and hearing. This iterative process fosters emergence – the discovery of new ideas and deeper insights that were not previously evident. Furthermore, it enables participants to more effectively use their models as tangible representations of their knowledge structures (schema).

This process of Build Cycles in LEGO Serious Play mirrors Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (1984), where knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.

The Iterative Engine: Transforming Experience into Meaning

LEGO Serious Play’s learning cycle can be mapped directly against Kolb’s four stages of experiential learning:

LEGO Serious Play Build Cycle mapped against Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

1. 1. 1. Concrete Experience – The Build: Participants make thinking visible, using bricks as metaphors to construct 3D representations of their thinking. This hands on experience serves to make what is tacit, explicit.
      2. Reflective Observation – The Story: Sharing model narratives activates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic communication. Students listen with their eyes, observing their own and others’ ideas objectively, in the third point (decoupling).
      3. Abstract Conceptualisation – The Reflection: This is where sense-making happens. Facilitators use a combination of targeted questions, reflective frameworks and stimuli to help the group identify patterns and make meaning; fostering deeper learning.
      4. Active Experimentation – The Rebuild: By iterating – flipping back to a new build challenge based on these reflections – participants incorporate these insights into their own models. They are actively testing their new understanding to rebuild their internal schema – in real-time – in front of their eyes.

Through these repeated build cycles, emergence occurs.

Design-Specific Reflection: Facilitating Deeper Learning

To bridge the gaps between iterative builds and drive deeper learning, facilitators can introduce specific reflection activities that serve as sense-making catalysts:

Persona cards to stimulate reflection in LEGO Serious Play

• Mental Models / Thinking Frameworks: Using tools like Diamond 9 ranking or Hopes and Fears matrices helps participants disaggregate their models and organize complex data sets quickly to find commonalities and patterns where they exist.
• Persona Cards: Introducing fictional agents – such as representations of key demographics – forces a shift in perspective; fostering an increasingly empathetic mindset. This forces participants to reflect on their models through different lenses and iterate to make them more inclusive.
• Affinity Mapping: By transferring key ideas from models to cards, and then organising them, groups can synthesise raw data from multiple models into data sets that can be organised and filtered for the purpose of sense-making: away from the builds