My favorite part of this chapter is Matthews’ example of embodied learning in his childhood science classroom, where his teacher let the students wear lab coats and told them that by putting on the coats, they not only looked like scientists, they became scientists. It’s a powerful example of how a learner’s physical world changed his mindset, and therefore influenced the way he thought about science.
K-12 schools have endorsed embodied learning for years. Recently my youngest sister (who is in 2nd grade) learned the story of Pocahontas. She read a book about her, wrote a one act play depicting a scene of her life, then acted it out with a friend. She is now the resident expert on Pocahontas’ life, and not just the way Disney portrayed it. Magnet schools like hers focus on the arts (music, theater, pottery, dance, etc.) to help children make connections in history lessons, math, and foreign languages (cabeza, hombros, piernas, piez!) through embodied learning, and as a product of an elementary school which placed such emphasis on teaching through doing, it is my opinion that this is the best way for children to learn.
But what about the adult learners? Isn’t it true that at some point in our educational careers our teachers stopped teaching us songs or hand motions to study for tests? We grew up and became mature and apparently lost interest in such silly ways of committing to memory math formulas (see video below) and characters from Shakespeare’s most famous works.
I understand the deeply personal and emotional values of adult learning, and how some people may turn simple tasks into embodied learning experiences while others can barely wrap their minds around the concept of mind-body connection. The example in our text of the person who learns to write the Japanese symbol for river, and articulates how the process of making three strokes on paper inspires him to become the river and remember how to create the symbol from that point forward. The problem is that throughout our formal educational journeys, we are often discouraged from making connections like these, because they seem less “academic.” Smart people only need their brains to learn, because our brains are what make us smart…right?
"Gettin' Triggy Wit It"
As Emma noted, the assigned chapters this week dealt with the topic of embodied learning. This type of learning is often linked to experiential learning in the sense that we learn through an experience. Merriam, Cafferella, and Baumgartner went on to say that "learning in the experience is immediate, physical, and emotional.
ReplyDeleteWith that knowledge, I found it interesting (as a Searcher) to learn that the University of Central Florida created an "Office of Experiential Learning". Their website goes on to state that the office purpose is to instruct and promote applied learning courses, facilitate the development of quality experiential learning courses through collaboration with and training for faculty campus-wide, and partner with employer and community partners locally, nationally and internationally to help assist in the educational process.
http://www.explearning.ucf.edu/
Therefore, the University of Central Florida has not only embraced this learning theory but they have incorporated it into every facet of the curriculum.
Gettin' Triggy wit it indeed! Thanks for sharing this video and your comments, Emma. I think you make a solid point. Watching the video I was amazed how quick the concept of SOHCAHTOA came back to me (I was also embarrassed to realize how twangy I sound when I say Sohcahtoa). It's pretty remarkable to contemplate how many important concepts I've learned through embodied learning, and it becomes more evident to me how effective it is seeing it through my children each day.
ReplyDeleteYou are certainly correct that the mind/body connection to learning seems to many a juvenile approach, or is in someway seen as less academic. I guess the question is how to change that perception. It seems to me though that learning in its purest sense should be fun.
I found a great site for teachers looking for ways to bring embodied learning into their classrooms. The site GameDesk.com and their blog site EduCade.org which highlights how one Los Angeles school used video gaming to teach Math skills. The students utilized Math skills like fractures, ratios and proportions to create their own video games. Not only did their test scores in Math increase, but the students also produced their own unique video games.
ReplyDeleteBoth sites are geared more for high school learning environments, but I wonder if these techniques could be utilized for our adult development education students. Think about it, these are the students who say things like “I hate Math” or “why do I need to learn Math anyway” or “no one uses Math after school”. What if we could create a real-world application for Math skills? Would these students end up building video games and forget about “learning” Math?
http://www.gamedesk.org/
“This week Fast Company ranked GameDesk #6 in its article about The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In Education. Our mission is to rethink education and make serious learning fun. Playing, making, and the integration of 21st century technology tools are built into every idea and process we use. Thank you Fast Company for the tip of the hat and helping us lead big change in education!” Retrieved from www.gamedesk.org.
http://www.educade.org/ -Active blog site for GameDesk.