Learning with the Body: An Embodiment-Based Learning Strategy Enhances Performance of Comprehending Fundamental Optics

Theories of embodied cognition argue that mental modal simulations in the brain, body, environment and situated actions are composed of central representations in cognition. Based on embodied cognition, body movements of performing natural science experiments can provide learners with external perceptions for better knowledge construction. At present, the way of using a keyboard/mouse to conduct simulation exercises just reproduces physical experimental procedures on a computer. However, it lacks for utilizing environmental factors and bodily states as external information to help brain constructing knowledge during the experiment simulation processes. For example, learners interact with the multimedia content of fundamental optics simulation exercises by using conventional controller-based methods such as moving a mouse or pressing a hot key. Using a controller as a routine interaction device while learners associate their external bodily perceptions with internal knowledge schema does not benefit cognitive processing. To cope with this problem, an embodiment-based learning strategy is designed to provide simulated practices by learners' gestures so that they can interact with the digital content directly. Through the learning system, fundamental optics knowledge can be constructed using holistic schematization of mental modal simulations in the brain, body, environment and situated actions. A total of 51 fifth-year students were divided into ‘embodiment-based learning group’ and ‘keyboard–mouse learning group’ for a quasi-experiment to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. This study designed an embodiment-based learning strategy to help learners perform optics simulation exercises and improve their learning performance. The result shows that the embodiment-based learning group outperformed the keyboard–mouse learning group on learning performance. Besides, learners usually need to invest additional mental effort before they overcome the run-in period to getting used to a new technology. No significant difference in cognitive load between the two groups was found, which implies the embodiment-based learning strategy is an effective learning design.