A group of very lucky TY students were delighted to be invited to visit the exciting LEIS in DCU today.
Dublin City University is partnering with Lego® Education to create an interactive learning hub that will help DCU student teachers and Irish schools develop innovative and creative approaches to teaching STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) subjects in the classroom.
The creation of the flagship Lego® Education Innovation Studio (LEIS), will see the new Institute of Education (IoE) at DCU’s St Patrick’s Campus, Drumcondra become the first centre of teacher education in Ireland to mainstream these innovative approaches across all its programmes. The Institute’s students will develop new approaches to teaching that can be replicated in schools throughout the country, igniting a passion for STEM subjects from early childhood education right through to third level. By adopting Lego®’s playful learning tools, teachers graduating from DCU Institute of Education will be fully skilled in helping schoolchildren develop ‘Hands-on Minds-on’ 21st Century skills such as creative thinking, problem-solving, team-working and communication.
Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU and Chair of the STEM Education Working Group said,
“High quality STEM education is of pivotal importance to a knowledge-based society and economy such as Ireland. Our ultimate purpose at DCU Institute of Education is to inspire and develop students to think creatively, reason systematically and release the potential to shape their own future and the future of their students in turn. This unique collaboration with Lego® Education can play a key role in transforming the future of STEM learning in Ireland, helping future generations to develop a sense of wonder about the subjects that allow us to understand, measure, design and advance our physical world.”
The new Studio has the capacity to develop research projects through linkages with existing DCU research centres such as the Centre for the Advancement of Science and Mathematics Teaching and Learning (CASTEL), and to explore cross-faculty research possibilities with the Faculty of Engineering & Computing. Internationally the Lego Education Innovation Studio at DCU will lead a European teacher education network to develop new teaching methods across Europe and exchange ideas and best practice. The network will include existing partners from Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Switzerland.
