Implications of Embodied Cognition & Enactivism for Instructional Design

AECT - Doug HoltonOct 30, 2010 1

AECT 2010AECT 2010

Implications of Embodied Cognition & Enactivism for Instructional Design

http://www.slideshare.net/edtechdev

Doug [email protected] Technology

& Learning Scienceshttp://itls.usu.edu/


Theory & Design TechniquesTheory & Design Techniques

1. Behaviorism

2. Cognitive Psy

3. Situated Cog

4. Social Psy

FeedbackTeaching Machines

Problem-Based Learning

Worked Examples

Collaborative Learning

CAI


Implications of Embodied Cog?Implications of Embodied Cog?

5. Embodied Cognition ???

Psychological Theory Instructional Design Techniques

Activity Theory

Phenomenology

See also:

Acting with Technology-Bonnie Nardi

ETRD, Technics & Praxis – Don Ihde


Embodied Cog as SupplementEmbodied Cog as Supplement

Not pushing embodied cognition & enactivism as a replacement for other theories or frameworks.

That has caused problems before: cognitive psy threw the 'baby out with the bathwater' (Byrne, 1994) in rejecting/minimizing the roles of the environment & the body, which later led to them being re-integrated via situated & embodied cognition.

Embodied cognition as a source for more tools for instructional designers' toolboxes.


What are Embodied Cognition What are Embodied Cognition & Enactivism& Enactivism

The idea that our cognitive processes aregrounded in sensory behavior and motor

actions.

The mind and body and world are inseparable (Qing Li, 2010).


Embodied Cognition ExamplesEmbodied Cognition Examples Hill looks steeper wearing a backpack Holding a warm drink, people rate others as

more warm and friendly than w/cold drink Faster to respond 'yes' when pushing lever,

faster to respond 'no' when pulling it Right handed people view things more

positively on the right side and vice versa More likely to recall positive experiences

when moving marbles up into box than when moving them down


Haptic AdvantageHaptic Advantage Faster and more accurate mental

transformations when performing an action congruent with the imagined transformation, and vice versa

Pulley & gear systems – pulling a rope blindfolded or imagining pulling a rope helps people mentally animate the behavior

We are better at judging the volume of shapes from haptic than from visual info

Haptics assist Piagetian conservation tasks


Other Embodiment ExamplesOther Embodiment Examples Hundreds more published examples >20 yrs You can probably come up with your own –

pacing when working on a paper, gesturing when giving a presentation, etc.

Eventually you get to a point where it is hard to think of examples that are not embodied or do not involve embodiment in some manner

philosophy, colors, math abstractions (Lakoff, Johnson, Noe, Nunez...)


Summary of Embodied CogSummary of Embodied Cog

For a summary see:Embodiment and

Cognitive ScienceRaymond Gibbs,

2006

and see:http://embodiedcog.

wikispaces.com/


Shorter intro to Embodied CogShorter intro to Embodied Cog

http://bit.ly/Q4U5B


Applying to Instructional DesignApplying to Instructional Design What's missing are comprehensive applications

of embodied cognition to instruction/education Despite the variety of research on embodied

cognition, virtually all the examples I mentioned have little or no application to instruction. We're not going to:

give different exam response sheets for left and right handed students

serve students warm drinks give teachers warm apple pies instead of

cold apples


Applications to EducationApplications to Education Children 'act out' a story w/figurines leads to

better reading comprehension (Arthur Glenberg) Improved math learning when teachers attend to

the gestures they and their students use (Susan Goldin-Meadow)

Better understand molecular structures when allowed to haptically manipulate 3D models (Gail Jones)

Minogue & Jones (2006). Haptics in Education Wolff-Michael Roth – Gestures Hasn't been a more general review or book


My Own WorkMy Own Work Animated circuit simulation

students “wiggle” a joystick/slider control to change the voltage in a circuit.

use embodied analogies to explain behav Programming language design

incorporate embodied action terms such as “do” and “say” -no abstract/symbol

use concrete examples and resources Online learning – Andy Anderson heart ex.

Use screencasts with gestures & videos & speak directly to the learner


Gen. Principles of ApplicationGen. Principles of Application

What are some general principles, tips, & guidelines for applying embodied cognition to instruction.

And what is enactivism?

One helpful way to understand both is to think of the analogy to constructivism.


Constructivism-->EnactivismConstructivism-->Enactivism

Enactivism might be considered one flavor of constructivism, in addition to social constructivism, radical constructivism...

(see Constructivist Foundations website)

Knowledge isn't a structure you build or an object that can be passed around or purely linguistic:

“it is not knowledge-as-object but knowledge-as-action”

(Begg, 2000)

Knowledge isn't “stuff” in your head


Adv. of ConstructivismAdv. of Constructivism

There are criticisms of constructivism (next slide), but pragmatically, what are strengths?

More student-centered/learner-centered Active participation is critical Presenting information does not mean a

student learned or understood it Students aren't blank slates or machines to

be programmed Students aren't a homogenous group


Q's about ConstructivismQ's about Constructivism How is knowledge constructed? What is the nature of this knowledge and its

relationship to the world? (epistemology) How do we know what students

understand? (assessment) hard Q for Ernst Von Glasersfeld

Why and when is guidance necessary? Why do students have the “misconceptions”

or alternative conceptions that they do?


EnactivismEnactivism May help us better answer some of these

Q's May provide a better grounding for some

concepts and techniques from constructivism and learning sciences

Humanizes students even more: empathy Pay attention to the whole learning

environment including gestures and the body (may supplement activity theory)

Provide some constraints on learning


Wolff-Michael RothWolff-Michael Roth“Learning environments that do not support students’ use

of body and gesture can limit what and how they learn” (Roth & Lawless, 2001).

“What is called teaching, therefore, involves not only the words and sentences a teacher utters and writes on the board during a lesson, but also all the hands/arms gestures, body movements, and facial expressions a teacher performs in the classroom” (Pozzer-Ardenghi & Roth, 2006, p.96)

“Teaching and learning practices that attend directly to sense making could assist in the learning process” (Barnacle, 2009, p. 31)


Potential Implications of Potential Implications of Embodied CognitionEmbodied Cognition

Now let's discuss some historical non-embodied research findings that perhaps embodied cognition & enactivism could potentially better explain.

Animations vs. Diagrams Microcomputer-based Labs (MBL) Misconceptions / Conceptual Change Contrasting Cases


Animations/Diagrams/SimsAnimations/Diagrams/Sims

Diagrams let us take our time, mentally re-animate processes. Animations/videos may be too fast or too slow.

The more realistic/complex the simulation, the more difficult for the learner to use.

More effective alternative: User-controllable diagrams or animated, controllable simulations (Lowe, 2004; Chan & Black, 2006)


Example: Graph InterpretationExample: Graph Interpretation


MBL: Microcomp-Based LabsMBL: Microcomp-Based Labs

Better understand success of MBL approach: connecting sensors with computers

Ex: Drag a car back and forth along a track, and the computer graphs its position/speed/acceleration in real-time

Within 20 minutes, students better understand how to interpret graphs of motion. Video not as successful, non-real-time also hurts perf


Controllable Circuit SimulationControllable Circuit Simulation Move voltage “up” or “down” using a slider

or joystick or steering wheel “Enact” a voltage source: battery (constant

voltage), AC (alternating current) “Wiggle” the voltage and see the effects on

electrical current flow (as represented by a moving chain of dots → speed=current)

Better understand the behavior and difference between capacitors and inductors, high/low pass filters...


Applying to Conceptual ChangeApplying to Conceptual Change

“Naive notions like those derived from bodily metaphors may underpin misconceptions, such as the quasi-Aristotelian notions that Alternative Frameworks researchers in science education have documented extensively” (Ernst, 2006)


Conceptual ChangeConceptual Change

See Cambridge Handbook of Concept.Change Michelene Chi – conceiving of processes as

objects or substances (like diffusion/current) Andy diSessa – phenomenological

primitives force as mover force as action

Are embodied actions central to core p-prims Are actions coordinated, even theory-like Is there an 'embodied physics'


Contrasting CasesContrasting Cases

• Another highly successful instructional technique

• In the next slides, ask yourself – what do you notice in the left box?


What do you see in left box?What do you see in left box?


What did you notice?What did you notice?

A Circle

Now try it again

What do you notice in the left box?



A Smaller Circle

You noticed the size nowAnd perhaps the white color too

Try It Again



A Circle in the Middle

Now the position of the circleIs more salient


Contrasting CasesContrasting Cases

Why does this strategy work? How does it work?

Perhaps when we see 2 contrasting cases, we transform/manipulate one into the other.

For example move or grow the circle.

Similarity as [embodied] transformation (Hahn et al., 2003)


ConclusionConclusion

Embodied cognition research and enactivism may serve as a new foundation for research on the design of learning environments and instruction.

“Learning environments that do not support students’ use of body and gesture can limit what and how they learn” (Roth & Lawless, 2001).

One should not ignore the the embodied nature of teaching and learning, even in online learning contexts (McWilliam & Taylor, 1998; Bayne, 2004; Dall'Alba & Barnacle, 2005)


Lessons LearnedLessons Learned Embodying concepts helps for abstract, non-

visualizable, non-physical concepts, as well. There doesn't have to be a one-to-one

spatially isomorphic congruence between the action and the thing being conceived. Temporal and causal congruence appear to be most important (see research on causal perception).

It is not the actions per se we attend to & learn, but the constraints on our actions (similar to Vygotsky's internalization concept)


Embodied & Situated Embodied & Situated ApproachesApproaches

Embodied and Situated approaches to learning and instruction appear to complement each other well

Situated learning (games, PBL) help students answer the why question – why am I learning/doing this

Embodied approaches help students answer how do I do this, how should I understand this concept...


Enactivism GotchasEnactivism Gotchas Embodied cog/enactivism is not behaviorism There are many diverse notions of

embodiment, however, at many levels Embodiment does not simply mean 'make it

hands-on' or 'use avatars' or 'anthropomorphize things' (embodied interactivity plus constraints on activity)

Sometimes limited/constrained interactivity is more effective than full/unconstrained activity (Hegarty)


Future PublicationsFuture Publications

Books in Progress: Edited Book – Embodied Cognition &

Education (~12 chapter authors) Non-edited Book – Supporting the

Embodied LearnerArticles/Chapters in Progress: Handbook of AECT chapter with Qing Li -

“Embodied cognition and enactivism” Journal article - “The body in design” Journal article - “The message is the body”


Thank You

Doug [email protected]

Copies of slides will be at:http://www.slideshare.net/edtechdev

Implications of Embodied Cognition & Enactivism for Instructional Design

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