Educating the Right Stuff: Lessons in Enactivist Learning

Autor/in	Gallagher, Shaun
Titel	Educating the Right Stuff: Lessons in Enactivist Learning
Quelle	In: Educational Theory, 68 (2018) 6, S.625-641 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0013-2004
DOI	10.1111/edth.12337
Schlagwörter	Learning Processes; Brain; Human Body; Interaction; Nonverbal Communication; Computer Simulation; Stimulation; Science Education + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Learning process; Lernprozess; Gehirn; Menschlicher Körper; Interaktion; Non-verbal communication; Nonverbale Kommunikation; Computergrafik; Computersimulation; Naturwissenschaftliche Bildung
Abstract	On an enactivist conception of cognition, the unit of explanation is not just the brain, not just the body, and not just the environment, but the body--brain--environment understood as a dynamically coupled structure or gestalt. On this view, referencing Viktor von Weizsäcker's metaphor of the gestalt circle (Gestaltkreis), the brain is not in the center of a circle issuing radial commands to elements on the circumference; rather, it is one element on that circumference, along with body and environment. Taking this idea into the educational context implies that one can intervene at any point on the circle to get results. One can, for example, enhance brain function by artificial means; alternatively, one can enhance intellectual performance through the learning of skilled or expressive movements (as demonstrated by the use of gesture in math education); likewise, one can improve conceptual understanding by manipulating the material and/or social environment (for example, through the use of virtual reality). On the enactivist view, interventions at any of these "parts" of the cognitive system lead to modulations in the dynamic structure itself and the overall performance of the system. In this article, Shaun Gallagher argues on pragmatic grounds that given various adverse side effects from artificial stimulation of the brain, enhancements directed at the body and the environment are less risky and, for educational purposes are, at the very least, equally effective. To support this conclusion, he cites evidence from a study that uses whole-body action in a mixed reality simulation for science education. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01