The Australian government, along with many industry groups, is a keen supporter of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and believes the next generations of young Australians should have the skills they need for our future workforce, particularly in the increasingly important disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The National STEM strategy articulates the schooling should encourage the development of skills in critical and creative thinking, along with problem solving and digital technologies which will be essential for 21st century occupations.
Many people and groups are equally looking at how Arts contributes to the creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship aspects, and have broadened their focus on STEAM (with the inclusion of Arts to the disciplines). A great CIO article explores this in more depth.
While there has been much focus on digital literacy and programming for children, these skills need to be built upon a foundation that leverages left-brain and right-brain thinking. This is seen in the Australian curriculum, as the general capability of Critical and Creative Thinking that underpins the specific Science, Technology and Mathematics learning areas.
Creation of solutions to ill-defined problems, require imaginative thinking, curiosity, together with problem-solving, logical thinking and perseverance. These attributes can be encouraged and strengthened from early childhood, through the use of open-ended educational toys that drive both left brain and right brain development together.
LaQ has been used in childcare centres around the world for the development of critical and creative thinking for children of all ages and abilities. It is used as one of the tools that can be used by children to imagine, create and express themselves. For the specific areas outlined in the Benefits page - such as logical thinking and problem solving, these benefits are simply developed through playing with LaQ - by following the instruction guidebooks and persevering in the face of any difficulties.
The simple 7 part type range, together with the sensory Snap and Click sounds encourages concentration and long play time. Sometimes it is amazing to see how long children will play with LaQ.
For older age children, the challenge of following 3D instructions stimulates their logical thinking and spatial ability first, which develops their critical thinking ability. Once they have a good grasp on this, it then enables open-ended play as they start to mimic real life objects or imagine first and build second. This is one step in developing creative thinking.
The beauty of playing with LaQ is that it enables development of both critical and creative thinking simply through play - and it's a fun learning journey for both children and parents.
The Power Shovel model is a great example of how using just fixed static parts together with the Hamacron wheel parts, you can design and build a movable arm. The arm is jointed, and by pulling on the black handle, the white claw closes while the red arm collapses. It is one way that LaQ can help children to understand design.
On our Instagram page, you can find a great example of a transformable robot / airplane, where again it is just using 7 types of parts but the design allows for movement.
These examples are just 2 possibilities where critical thinking are emphasised - many of the models are incredibly well designed and showcase the unique 3D possibilities that LaQ enables.
Check out some of these products where the models have outstanding movable designs, that will engage and inspire:
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