LEGO Serious Play and Metaplan Enhance Knowledge and Creativity in Nursing Students

BACKGROUND: LEGO Serious Play (LSP) and Metaplan are innovative, student-centered teaching strategies that promote creativity, critical thinking, and meaningful learning. Their combined use offers an experiential approach to addressing complex topics in mental health education. METHOD: A pre-post experimental design was implemented with 131 nursing students. Participants engaged in interactive workshops where they built LEGO models to represent mental health disorders and used Metaplan to discuss symptoms, treatments, and care strategies. Academic performance, motivation, and critical thinking were assessed before and after the intervention. RESULTS: The intervention significantly improved students' academic performance, motivation, engagement, and critical thinking. Participants demonstrated a deeper understanding of mental health concepts, reduced abstraction, and enhanced knowledge of retention. CONCLUSION: Integrating LSP and Metaplan techniques effectively strengthens learning outcomes and competency development in mental health nursing education. Their inclusion in nursing curricula is recommended to foster creativity, reflection, and applied understanding.