Conducting research in real classrooms in the context of embodied learning approach: Considerations for researchers

Thematic Workshop

Embodied Education has been defined as the basic concept which includes Embodied Teaching and Embodied Learning (Lindgren & Johnson-Glenberg, 2013). Embodied design and learning provide an alternative form of teaching and learning, enriching the conventional educational practice (Abrahamson 2013). As explained by Nguyen and Larson (2015) in embodied learning contexts, students are not only minds but also sensorimotor bodies and social beings. That is, Embodied Learning, as a teaching method, provides ways of engaging the physical body in multimodal learning experiences aiming to improve the learners’ cognitive abilities (Wilson 2002). In last decades Embodied Learning has influenced the Educational Technology field, especially the HCI and the design of technological environments and objects for learning purposes. The core concepts and ideas of Embodied Learning can also serve to guide research practice in the direction of educational technology.

In this workshop, significant methodological aspects of conducting Embodied Learning research in authentic classroom environments are provided. Research in a real classroom has many practical difficulties, but it offers the possibility of examining the phenomenon in real time and in a real environment, taking into account all the complexities and obstacles that arise. Taking into account the lessons learned from previous empirical work in the field, the workshop focuses on the following topics: a) The age and number of children in the classroom, b) the viability of the technology, c) student assessments, d) methods of data collection, and e) the classroom setting.