The role of embodied cognition for transforming learning

Abstract

Cognitive psychology has undergone a paradigm shift in the ways we understand how knowledge is acquired and represented within the brain, yet the implications for how this impacts students’ learning of material across disciplines has yet to be fully applied. In this article, we present an integrative review of embodied cognition, and demonstrate how it differs from previously held theories of knowledge that still influence the ways in which many subjects are taught in the classroom. In doing so, we review the literature of embodied learning in the areas of reading instruction, writing, physics, and math. In addition, we discuss how these studies can lead to the development of new learning strategies that utilized the principles of embodied cognition.