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Engaging learners in activities is an important instructional method. However, the learning-by-doing approach also poses some risks. By analyzing the differences between various types of learning activities, issues of activity-based learning are revealed and discussed. Activity-based learning can consist of relatively simple patterns of motor activity or may involve additional task-related knowledge, resulting in complex activities. Excessive movement or failure to properly integrate motor activity into a task can lead to problems for motor activity–based learning. Elaborate activities, such as letting learners generate drawings, can quickly evolve to secondary tasks in their own right. Demanding learning tasks can create their own cognitive load, resulting in less working memory capacity being available for engaging with the actual content. If activity-based interventions are to be used, as many redundant aspects as possible need to be avoided while providing additional guidance to learners. In addition, it is necessary to consider how task demands transform once tasks are shifted from the physical to the digital world in order to properly acknowledge potential increases in cognitive load. Taken together, this review connects educational and cognitive perspectives on activity-based learning to arrive at models and recommendations that are of high relevance for the digital transformation of education and learning.

This study examined the affordances of an embodied humanoid robot to engage children in play and learning from the perspective of embodied cognition in two studies as part of multiyear design research. In Study One, we observed how the robot’s embodiment, accompanied by its sensors and movements, elicited embodied reactions of eleven children (aged 3 to 6) while they played and learned with the robot one-on-one at home and in school. Two distinct patterns emerged: rich multimodal interaction and fluid learning space. Additionally, the children demonstrated extended attention in the interactions and invited peers into voluntary collaboration. In Study Two, we implemented an interaction triad with ten pairs of children, in which each pair collaborated to help a robot, and observed their collaborative communication while they solved problems involving early academic topics. Three embodied phenomena were noted: (i) embodiment of early mathematics and science knowledge and reasoning, (ii) appropriation of physical space, and (iii) embodied collaboration. Importantly, it was clear in both studies that embodiment occurred not only in thinking but also in social and emotional experiences. We discuss the implications of the findings in relation to the potential of humanoid robots for enabling embodied learning experiences.

Social-affective neuroscience is revealing that human brain development is inherently social—our very nature is organized by nurture. To explore the implications for human development and education, tue present a series of interdisciplinary studies documenting individual and cultural variability in the neurobiological correlates of emotional feelings. From these studies, we derive educational research hypotheses and a theoretical framework that facilitates integrating sociocultural and neurobiological levels of analysis. Our overarching aim is to begin to conceptualize a role for neurobiological evidence in educational studies of sociality, emotion, culture, and identity. Overcoming the historical distance between educational and neuroscientific research on socialaffective development would enable a more complete science of human experience and enhance appreciation of cultural learning, benefiting both fields.

The study aimed to investigate the effect of embodied learning on children’s literacy skills and whether the activities were particularly beneficial for children at risk for reading difficulties. We conducted a randomized controlled trial during 4 weeks for grade 1 children (n = 52, age = 7.1). Children were randomly assigned to receive regular classroom teaching (CON) or to receive teaching focusing on letter-sound couplings with the use of the body (i.e., movement-phonemes) (MOVE). Children were evaluated on letter knowledge, word reading, and spelling performance before the intervention (T1) and after the intervention (T2). A significantly improvement for MOVE compared to CON from T1 to T2 was observed in children’s ability to name letter-sounds (p < 0.001), conditional sounds (p <0.001), and for spelling performance (p = 0.002). Within CON and MOVE, children were divided into low (LP) and high performers (HP) based on word reading performance at baseline. A significantly higher improvement for LP in MOVE was observed compared to LP in CON from T1 to T2 in letter-sounds (p < 0.0001), conditional letter-sounds (p <0.0001), and for spelling performance (p = 0.037). No differences were observed between LP-MOVE and HP-MOVE. Our results demonstrate that a short intervention based on movement-phonemes increase children’s letter knowledge and spelling performance. The results also demonstrate that LP and HP have similar improvements and therefore, this type of activities are not particularly beneficial for children at risk for reading difficulties. We suggest that this teaching method could be beneficial for all school children at this age.

Embodied Learning (EL) technologies are now used in educational research as an emerging technology that has the potential to influence the function of the brain to drive learning, especially by integrating the physical body into the learning process. This research examines EL in different learning contexts and circumstances to see how it can improve the overall performance of students in real classroom settings. The study consists of four sequential phases that use data collection and analysis to explore the impact of EL on actual classroom practice. A total of 211 elementary students (n = 211) and 21 primary teachers (n = 21) participated in the study. Applying a multiphase mixed-methods approach, the study focuses on investigating how EL impacts student performance in real learning environments within different elementary classrooms, including Special Education (SE) and General Education (GE) contexts. Results reveal significant gains in students’ cognitive performance, motor skills, and academic performance in language. Results also show improvements in students’ emotional state, resulting in increased students’ motivation to participate in the learning process. Overall, this four-year investigation provides a comprehensive understanding of how EL approaches can be integrated into real classrooms, allowing researchers and teachers to enrich their existing practices, taking into account the benefits of including the movement in their teaching and research.

Embodiment has recently become of interest for educational environments in general and science education in particular. The present study conducted in several classrooms across Europe set out to explore what effects this approach can have on the self-reports on science interest, engagement in activities, social appreciation and knowledge gains. Change in self-report regarding these areas were evaluated in a pre-post design. The learning sequence was found to positively impact students’ perceptions of scientific knowledge gained and increased the self-reported interest during the lessons across all participating countries. The results show that embodied learning has the potential to positively impact science lessons.

The enactment of embodied learning in the authentic classroom introduces new challenges. The educational system has yet to develop a clear vision or learning design models that would guide the implementation of embodied learning using digital technologies and manipulatives. This study presents an example of a learning design for technology-enhanced embodied learning in an authentic classroom. Three forms of physical embodiment (direct, surrogate and augmented) are enacted using a model consisting of a single educator and rotating across learning stations. The case study takes place in a multidisciplinary lesson around historical information. In this lesson, Year 4 primary school students (i) take virtual tours among the ruins of Archaic kingdoms using mobile VR headsets, (ii) use programmable floor robots to learn about the various occupations people had back then and (iii) create storyboards based on historical information using web-based digital tools. The study evaluates the technology-enhanced embodied learning experience from the perspective of the learners. Data from 34 students demonstrate learning gains, as well as positive perceptions of the learning experience in terms of their relationship with their teammates, their sense of personal development, and the overall classroom orchestration. We conclude with lessons learnt, limitations and suggestions for future work. With this study, we aim to spark a dialogue on how technology-enhanced embodied learning can be successfully enacted in real-world classrooms, highlighting the need for more studies in the intersection of technology, design and pedagogy.

The SIEMeS (Società Italiana di Educazione Motoria e Sportiva) is a pedagogical scientific society born in 2015. The purpose of the Society is to promote, coordinate and encourage scientific research in the field of physical and sport education, with special regard to the development and teaching of theories, techniques and methodologies for physical and sport education. The most important field of research developed by the SIEMeS concerns the neurodidactics of motor activities, which represents a well-defined and promising area within physical training and sport sciences; nowadays, neurodidactics allows us to use scientific evidences regarding the functioning of the brain in order to optimize the traditional teaching-learning process. The main areas of research developed by the scientific Society concern: embodied and situational learning, motor activities and enjoyment, the role of information technologies in teaching, new perspectives for the development of open skills oriented towards self-efficacy and self-esteem, and the use of practice variability in teaching. Keywords. Sport education - Neurodidactics - Embodied learning - Enjoyment - Variability in teaching practice

In various technology-enhanced learning (TEL) environments, knowledge co-creation progresses through multimodal interactions that integrate verbal and nonverbal modalities, such as speech and gestures. This study investigated two distinct analytical approaches for analyzing multimodal interactions—triangulating and interleaving—by applying them to collaborative learning processes during an online embodied mathematics intervention. The findings demonstrate that the interleaving approach captures the temporal dynamics and nuanced interplay between multimodal events, providing deeper insights into how shared meaning-making evolves over time. In contrast, the triangulating approach effectively identifies cumulative interaction patterns but does not account for their temporal structure. Specifically, the interleaving approach, employing epistemic network analysis, revealed statistically significant differences in discourse patterns between learners with larger and smaller variances in upper body movements during the co-design activity. These findings underscore the complementary value of the interleaving approach in analyzing multimodal interactions and offer practical implications for advancing understanding of collaborative learning processes in TEL environments.

This research investigates and discusses an embodied craft learning situation in an educational context that aims to support students within architecture by applying human–material dialogues when using robotics. Initially, the students were introduced to traditional craftsmanship based on materials and tools in ceramics. Based on the gained experiential knowledge, the same tools and materials were applied and explored on a UR 5 robot. A sensor provided the students with the opportunity to interact with the mate­rial through the robot while it was operating. The learning situation showed the potential to teach the students about robotics based on human–material dialogues and embodiment through making. The sensor enabled the students to use their experiential knowledge to improvise and work intuitively and spontaneously while they were exploring patterning based on the tools attached to the robot and the responsive material.