Incorporating Embodied Tools and Principles to Science Learning Environments: An Integrative Inquiry- and Drama-Based Model

• In Event: Science Education in Computer-Supported Collaborative Settings

Abstract

The view of learning as a purely inner mental activity that is separated from the body and the external surroundings, has shaped mainstream educational expectations and curriculum. Recent philosophical and cognitive theories—united under the umbrella term “embodied theories”—propose new dimensions for learning, opening new, often unexplored directions for curriculum developments. In this proposal, after highlighting aspects of embodied cognition theory that demand for a drastic reconceptualization of designing learning environments, we exemplify an integrative drama- and inquiry-based model (IDI model) that incorporates embodied tools and elements for teaching science.

Authors

• Maria Kolovou, University of Miami

• Nam Ju Kim, University of Miami