Embodied Cognition in Education: Possibilities and Limitations of Hybrid Representations

Abstract

The main purpose of this review is to systematize theoretical and experimental research in one of the areas of the field “Embodied Cognition”, aimed at solving applied problems in the field of education, as well as identifying the main opportunities and limitations in using the results obtained. The numerous experimental evidence and new explanatory models that have emerged within the framework of this approach open up a wide range of opportunities for new practices in education. This field offers a whole set of tools that can be used in the pedagogical process in order to increase its purposefulness and effectiveness. We will consider one of the most developed topics – the correlation of abstract concepts in mathematics or disciplines of the natural science spectrum with the specific content of perceptual representations of the student. The approach of embodied cognition allows us to identify the patterns that determine the effectiveness of using various types of visualizations (diagrams, drawings, maps, graphs, diagrams, etc.) in the process of mastering a specific field of knowledge. As a result, the prospects of using the concept of hybrid representations, combining modal perceptual and amodal components, to explain the internal mechanics of the mediation of conceptual thinking are discussed.