There is a known association between LEGO® construction ability and mathematics achievement, yet the mechanisms which drive this association are largely unknown. This study investigated the spatial mechanisms underlying this association, and whether this differs for concrete versus digital construction. Between January 2020 and July 2021, children aged 7–9 years (N = 358, 189 female, ethnicity not recorded) completed spatial and mathematics tasks, and either a concrete or digital Lego construction task. Mediation analyses examining direct and indirect pathways (through spatial skills) between Lego construction ability and mathematics explained 8.4% to 26.6% of variance in mathematics scores. Exploratory moderated mediation analyses revealed that only the indirect path through mental rotation differed between Lego conditions. Findings are discussed in relation to theories of spatial‐numerical associations and the potential of Lego training for mathematics improvement.

There is a known relationship between LEGO® construction ability and mathematics performance, yet the mechanisms which drive this relationship are largely unknown. This study investigated the spatial mechanisms underlying this association, and whether this differs for concrete vs. digital construction. Children aged 7-9 years (N=358) completed spatial and mathematics tasks, and either a concrete or digital Lego construction task. Mediation analyses examining direct and indirect pathways (through spatial skills) between Lego construction ability and mathematics explained 8.2% to 26.5% of variance in mathematics scores. Exploratory moderated mediation analyses revealed that only the indirect path through mental rotation differed between Lego conditions. Findings are discussed in relation to: theories of spatial-numerical associations; and consideration of Lego training, for mathematics improvement.

Lego construction ability is associated with a variety of spatial skills and mathematical outcomes. However, it is unknown whether these relations are causal. We aimed to establish the causal impact of Lego construction training on: Lego construction ability; a broad range of spatial skills; and on mathematical outcomes in 7–9‐year‐olds. We also aimed to identify how this causal impact differs for digital versus physical Lego construction training. One‐hundred and ninety‐eight children took part in a six‐week training programme, delivered twice weekly as a school lunch time club. They completed either physical Lego training (N = 59), digital Lego training (N = 64), or an active control condition (crafts; N = 75). All children completed baseline and follow‐up measures of spatial skills (disembedding, visuo‐spatial working memory, spatial scaling, mental rotation, and performance on a spatial‐numerical task, the number line task), mathematical outcomes (geometry, arithmetic, and overall mathematical skills) and Lego construction ability. Exploratory analyses revealed evidence for near transfer (Lego construction ability) and some evidence for far transfer (arithmetic) of Lego training, but overall transfer was limited. Despite this, we identified key areas for further development (explicit focus on spatial strategies, training for teachers, and embedding the programme within a mathematical context). The findings of this study can be used to inform future development of Lego construction training programmes to support mathematics learning.

Research shows that children’s block construction skills are positively associated with their concurrent and later mathematics performance (e.g., Nath & Szucs, 2014; Verdine et al., 2014). Furthermore, there is evidence that block construction training is particularly beneficial for improving early mathematics skills in children from low-Socio Economic Status (SES) groups who are known to have lower maths performance than their peers (Bower et al. 2020a; Dickerson & Popli, 2016). This study investigates the association between block construction and mathematics in children who are approaching the age of formal education in the UK (4 years). It also investigates whether the relation between block construction and mathematics differs between children from more compared to less affluent families. Participants included 116 children (M = 3 years 11 months, SD = 3 months). All participants completed numeracy, block construction, and receptive vocabulary tasks. Socio-economic status and demographic information (child age, gender, ethnicity) were also obtained from parents. Regression analysis showed block construction accuracy explained 5.3% of the variation in numeracy after controlling for covariates. When separated by SES group, for children from less affluent families, block construction explained 14.9% of the variation in numeracy after covariates. For children from more affluent families, block construction explained no additional variation in numeracy. These findings highlight one possible intervention target for promoting maths-readiness in children of this age. More specifically, interventions involving block construction skills may help to reduce attainment gaps in UK children’s mathematics achievement.

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