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Cited by 194Corporeality, Perception, and EducationNeuroscience, Education and Cognitive FunctionEmbodied and Extended Cognition

Embodied Learning: Why at School the Mind Needs the Body

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Macedonia, Manuela·2019·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02098PMC PMC6779792
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Abstract

Despite all methodological efforts made in the last three decades, Western instruction grounds on traditional principles. Most educational programs follow theories that are mentalistic, i.e., they separate the mind from the body. At school, learners sit, watch, listen, and write. The aim of this paper is to present embodied learning as an alternative to mentalistic education. Similarly, this paper wants to describe embodied learning from a neuroscientific perspective. After a brief historical overview, I will review studies highlighting the behavioral effectiveness of embodied instruction in second language learning, mathematics and spatial thinking. On this base, I will discuss some of the brain mechanisms driving embodied learning and describe its advantages, clearly pleading in favor of instructional practice that reunites body and mind.

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Authors
Macedonia, M.
Affiliations
Johannes Kepler University of Linz (AT)
Corresponding author
Macedonia, Manuela
ORCID
Macedonia, Manuela
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2019-10-01
Volume
10
Pages
2098-2098
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02098
PMC
PMC6779792
OpenAlex
W2970606234
Cited by
194
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 36 · 2025: 34 · 2024: 36 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 5
FWCI
10.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • University Library Linz repository (Johannes Kepler Universitat Linz) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › General Arts and Humanities › Corporeality, Perception, and Education
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience, Education and Cognitive Function
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Embodied and Extended Cognition
Keywords
embodied learning, mind-body problem, second language acquisition, mathematics learning, spatial thinking, neuroscience of learning, instructional practices, history of education

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