LEGO Education’s Dr. Jenny Nash, Head of Education Impact, previewed compelling and surprising data on the U.S. student disengagement crisis. The #1 barrier to engagement with learning according to admins is the “curricula not broadly applying to all student abilities.” Only 1 in 3 (37%) US parents say their child tells them about their day on a daily basis without prompting from the parent. Teachers say the current lack of engagement in learning in K-8 leads to:
- Increased behavioral issues (61%)
- Poor retention of what they learned (56%)
- Lack of confidence in subject matter (50%)
- Surface level knowledge of materials (50%)
- Increased absenteeism/tardiness (48%)
- Inability to apply learnings in the real world (43%)
- Not being prepared for the future (42%)
- Declining test scores (38%)
The findings reaffirm core aspects of LEGO Education’s approach: Hands-on, playful learning is a powerful approach in reengaging students the classroom–and is providing students with critical, future-ready skills.
Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s prestigious Philip Merrill College of Journalism.