Creative Futures Innovation Toolkit

Too often, reflective practice in higher education is treated as a checkbox exercise, particularly in apprenticeships where learners juggle complex workplace experiences and academic expectations. Traditional written reflections can struggle to capture the nuance of learning that unfolds on the job.

At Manchester Met, we’ve been exploring how LEGO® Serious Play® (LSP) can reframe reflection as a creative, embodied, and meaningful process. Using LSP, our learners externalise their thinking, build metaphors of real experiences, and narrate stories that make visible their development against professional competencies.

Over two scaffolded sessions, students:

• Used models to bring Kolb’s and Gibbs’ reflective cycles to life,
• Rebuilt and annotated reflections to deepen analysis, and
• Connected experiences to the apprenticeship KSBs.

The results? Richer reflections, greater confidence, and evidence of deeper critical thinking. One learner described it best: “This is the first time I’ve really understood how to reflect—without just writing what happened.”

We’re now extending the work across other programmes, including sustainability and ethics education, and developing a Reflection in 3D toolkit to support wider adoption.

If you’re interested in helping learners move beyond ‘tick-box’ reflection, get in touch. Let’s build something better—literally.