Paloma P.G. et al. (eds.) Embodied cognition. Theories and applications in education science

N.Y.: Nova Publishers, 2017. — 231 p. — ISBN: 978-1-53610-573-5 (eBook)This work was carried out with the intention of showingthe peculiarities of the scientific paradigm of Embodied Cognition(EC) (Gallese, 2005), by highlighting its application in the practices (Sousa, 2010) especially in the world of education. The new perspective proves to be significant, mainly for the importance of learning about brain development in evolutionary age, understanding children and adolescents' behavior and preventing possible problems at an early age; moreover, it proves to be significant for highlighting the particular impact of social environmentand cultural climate on learning, as well as on brain's ability to generate new neurons until the late age, along with its changeability (concept of plasticity understood as modeling of the morphology and the function of neural networks mainly induced by experience). These key aspects have led to a multi-perspective view of human mind functioning: we speak of psychobiology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychophysiology and others, grouped under the label of neurosciences. There are many contributions of neurosciences in pedagogy and didactics, but they all start from the assumption of considering body as an integral part of learning, since “...not only must the mind move from a nonphysical cogitum to the realm of biological tissue, but it must also be related to a whole organism possessed of integrated body proper and brain and fully interactive with a physical and social environment” (Damasio, 1995). It is in this scenario that the body, understood as a scientific mediator of the learning process at neurobiological (Rizzolatti, 2005) and neuro-phenomenological (Gallese, 2006) level, has created a fertile field of study which focuses on scientific evidence (Margiotta, 2013) that EC, through its embodied actions (Gomez Paloma, 2013),can offer to the world of didactics (Borghi, Caruana 2013), and on how to develop methodologies that effectively meet students' educational, and also special, needs (Ianes, 2013).
The goal is to define and validate an "EC-Based model" (Gomez Paloma & Damiani 2015) in an attempt to enhance individualities in learning processes (Cottini, 2014) and implement didactic methodologies adapted to students' needs.Chapter 1 An Embodied and Grounded View on Concepts and Its Possible Implications for Education
Chapter 2 Embodied Cognition and Special Education
Chapter 3 Embodied Cognition and Cognitive Modifiability.A New Deal for Education in the XXI Century
Chapter 4 Embodied Cognitionand Capability Approach in Education
Chapter 5 Embodied Cognitionand Second LanguageTeaching/Learning
Chapter 6 Embodied Cognitionas an Inclusive Approach for Special Educational Needs
Chapter 7 Embodied Cognition in Physical Activity and Sport Science
Chapter 8 Embodied Cognition and Teacher’s Training
Conclusions