THE BODY AS A LEARNING TOOL: AN EMBODIED PERSPECTIVE ON MEANINGFUL LEARNING

• DOI: 10.37572/EdArt_3009262606

• Palavras-chave: Embodied cognition, meaningful learning, sensorimotor processes, mathematics, language.

• Keywords: Embodied cognition, meaningful learning, sensorimotor processes, mathematics, language.

• Abstract:

  Current educational approaches increasingly seek to promote meaningful learning, leading to the development of different methodologies aimed at achieving this goal. However, results from different types of assessment —international, national, and local— show that we are still far from reaching it. Teachers’ qualitative observations also point to students’ difficulties in appropriating knowledge and using it across different contexts. In this chapter, we propose the use of the body as a learning tool that can contribute to the construction of meaningful learning. We draw on embodied cognition theory, which understands the body as a knowing agent and cognition as a set of capacities that emerge from the interaction among the brain, the different biological systems of the human body, and the environment. We them provided a brief explanation of how some principles of embodied cognition resonate with Piaget’s theories of child development as well as with studies of psychomotor development in children, particularly the contributions of Ajuariaguerra. Finally, we discuss the relevance and potential applications of this perspective across different disciplines, including mathematics, language, science, history, and geography.