Building Urban Futures: LEGO®-Enabled Gamification to Bridge Theory and Practice in Planning Education

Abstract Book of the 11th International Conference on Advanced Research in Teaching and Education

Year: 2026

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Building Urban Futures: LEGO®-Enabled Gamification to Bridge Theory and Practice in Planning Education

Dr. Wing Man Samantha Kong

ABSTRACT:

Urban planning education at the tertiary level grapples with a core challenge – the disconnect between theoretical instruction and practical application, intensified by lecture-dominant delivery, limited interactive feedback, and the proliferation of AI-generated content that erodes authentic learning. This pedagogical gap is especially pronounced given environmental engineering’s pivotal role, as the technical bedrock for pollution control, waste management, wastewater treatment, and urban design parameters, in bridging abstract planning concepts with spatial, density, green space, and sustainability decisions essential for resilient cities. This interdependence creates a strong need for pedagogical approaches that foreground systems thinking, collaboration, and the translation of technical knowledge into spatial and policy decisions.
In response to these challenges, a teaching innovation – “Brick by Brick: Gamifying Urban Futures” has been developed, integrating LEGO® as an experiential and gamified teaching tool to enhance student engagement and deepen conceptual understanding. By transforming a familiar childhood toy into an education resource – an interactive urban planning design studio, approximately 100 students participated in simulated planning scenarios, collaboratively modelling spatial layouts and visualizing sustainable design strategies. The design studio was embedded within an existing sustainable development and urban planning subject and structured as a scaffolded sequence of lectures, group discussions, design studio and debriefs to explicitly link physical models to planning theories and sustainability frameworks.
This approach applies principles of gamification and experiential learning to foster creativity, problem-solving, and cross-disciplinary collaboration, while aligning with global trends in design thinking and participatory learning. Evaluation of the intervention indicates that the LEGO-based design studio was perceived as significantly more engaging than traditional lectures and reduced assessment-related anxiety. Students reported improved understanding and application of urban planning concepts, noting that building with LEGO made it easier to grasp how planning principles are operationalized in practice and to apply classroom concepts to solve design problems. They also highlighted LEGO as an effective learning tool that supported deeper reflection, meaning-making, and clearer communication of their learning, while simultaneously strengthening teamwork and interpersonal communication skills. These outcomes suggest that the intervention not only improved cognitive understanding, but also enhanced affective and social dimensions of learning that are critical for future planning professionals. Overall, the findings demonstrate that LEGO-enabled gamification can serve as a powerful medium for translating complex, abstract planning concepts into tangible, practice-oriented learning experiences in urban planning education.

Keywords: Gamification, Experiential learning, Teaching Innovation, LEGO®