Basic Blocks with a 21st Century Twist

A recent New York Times article, With Blocks, Educators Go Back to Basics, explores the latest education trend in leading New York City public, private, and charter schools: the return of the block corner.  In the past few years, parents and educators have been calling for more unstructured play in early childhood education, moving away from the rigorous academic programs that have dominated early education in the past few decades.   The article attributes the “back in style” blocks to this recent resurgence in the critical role of play for healthy child development.

As this article from Sixty Second Parent suggests, there is no secret to why traditional wooden blocks can help young learners.  Blocks can help develop pattern recognition and spatial reasoning.  The tactile and visual stimulation from blocks reinforces the relationships between lines and shapes.  Blocks in different sizes let children practice comparison skills. 

In elementary grades, blocks are being used as foundational tools for math, science, social studies, and more.  However, these schools are putting a 21st century twist on this block play.  Some schools are using iPads and Flip Cameras to video block constructions and edit footage to create documentaries.  At other schools, children are learning critical web navigation skills as they search for images or videos to inspire their block constructions. 

Will the “blocks + technology” equation help us promote early interest in STEM learning?  How far can this formula take children in their acquisition of 21st century skills?  Or, do we need to simply use these blocks to bring play and discovery back into the classroom?