Co-facilitator Alex Hackett
Within a graduate elective on Community Forest Management, a facilitation-based research project explored how LEGO® SERIOUS® Play (LSP) can support collective thinking, knowledge exchange, and co-design among interdisciplinary students engaged in forest conservation. With the instructor’s approval, the final course paper was based on a facilitated LEGO workshop designed and led alongside Alex Hackett, who also assisted with facilitation and documentation.
The initial workshop involved volunteer participants and examined how gamified, embodied methods could help students reflect on the social complexities of community forest management, articulate challenges, and explore collaborative approaches relevant to their research and future engagement with conservation stakeholders. The session functioned both as a learning activity and as an exploratory research probe into the pedagogical potential of LSP.
Following the strong reception of the pilot workshop, a second iteration was invited by the course instructor and implemented as a required activity during the final class session. With full student participation, this iteration enabled deeper comparison and expanded discussion, offering further insight into the role of LSP as both a pedagogical strategy and a research method. A revised paper incorporating findings from both iterations is currently in progress.
Special thanks to Dr. Kainer
