Walk into many classrooms today and you’ll see a familiar scene: students on screens, headphones on. It’s quiet… but not in a good way.

At the same time, teachers are under increasing pressure – balancing curriculum demands, student wellbeing, and their own growing workload.

So, how do we reconnect students with learning in a meaningful, lasting way?

At the recent Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit, Søren Thomsen, Global Content Director at LEGO^® Education, shared a clear and compelling message. Hands-on learning isn’t something extra we add when there’s time. It should sit at the core of how we teach.

With over two decades of experience as both a teacher and a global leader in education, Søren’s philosophy when developing educational solutions is: “play like a student and think like a teacher.”

And at the heart of this approach is something we strongly believe in at WESHOL:

Learning should be active, not passive.

Hands-on learning gives students the opportunity to explore, test ideas, and make meaning for themselves. In doing so, it builds far more than subject knowledge. It develops confidence, curiosity and the kind of real-world problem-solving skills students need to navigate an increasingly complex future.

Research continues to reinforce this. When students physically engage with concepts by building, experimenting, and reflecting, they understand more deeply, retain more, and are better able to apply their learning in new contexts.

There’s also a human side to it. Classrooms become more collaborative. Students feel a stronger sense of ownership over their learning. And importantly, hands-on experiences can reduce stress by shifting students from passive consumption into active participation.

Midway through the session, Søren paused and handed out six LEGO bricks to everyone in the room. The task was deliberately simple: build a duck in one minute.

Almost instantly, the energy in the room changed. People leaned in, started talking, comparing ideas, and testing different ways to approach it. What had been a room of quiet listeners became a room full of conversation and movement.

When time was up, everyone held up their ducks. No two were the same. Some were detailed, others abstract, but each one reflected the thinking behind it. That was the point. There wasn’t a single correct answer. What mattered was the process. The decisions people made, the way they interpreted the task, and how they explained their thinking to others.

In less than a minute, the activity created engagement, creativity and connection. It showed how quickly learning can come to life when people are given something to build, explore and share.

A LEGO survey revealed that 70% of teachers felt the tools available to them did not incorporate hands-on materials. Instead, many lessons rely on screens and individual tasks, not because they are the best option, but because they are often the most practical.

Søren identified six structural barriers to implementing hands-on learning:

• Too difficult or complex to set up within limited time spans
• Hard to maintain stock and manage replenishment efficiently
• Lack of teacher buy-in or professional development
• Insufficient alignment with standards
• Difficulties engaging students while managing the classroom effectively

So, how can teachers overcome these challenges? Rather than treating hands-on learning as an ideal, LEGO® Education focuses on designing for real classrooms. That means creating experiences that fit within time constraints, align clearly with curriculum outcomes, and are simple for teachers to implement without unnecessary complexity. 

When these elements come together, hands-on learning becomes more than an activity. It becomes a practical, sustainable way to deepen understanding. 

With AI now a major focus in education, Søren also explored how we can teach it in a meaningful and safe way. 

For many students, AI feels like a black box. They can use it, but they don’t fully understand how it works. 

But AI isn’t magic. It’s a tool. And like any tool, it becomes far more powerful when students can explore it, question it, and experiment with it themselves. Hands-on learning helps make this possible. 

It shifts students from being passive users to active participants. Instead of simply adapting to technology, they begin to understand it, challenge it, and shape how it is used. 

At its core, hands-on learning is about making ideas tangible. When students build something, test it, revise it and share it, the learning becomes visible. Students can see their thinking take shape, and that makes it easier to reflect on and refine.

This is where deeper understanding happens. Not through repetition, but through experience.

Søren’s final message was to “put away the headphones, get hands-on, collaborative and creative”.

For us at We Support Hands-On Learning, it reinforces what we know to be true in classrooms. When students are given the chance to actively engage, create and explore, learning becomes genuinely meaningful.