Does (Non‐)Meaningful Sensori‐Motor Engagement Promote Learning With Animated Physical Systems?

Abstract

Previous research indicates that sensorimotor experience with physical systems can have a positive effect on learning. However, it is not clear whether this effect is caused by mere bodily engagement or the intrinsically meaningful information that such interaction affords in performing the learning task. We investigated (N = 74), through the use of a Wii Balance Board, whether different forms of physical engagement that was either meaningfully, non-meaningfully, or minimally related to the learning content would be beneficial (or detrimental) to learning about the workings of seesaws from instructional animations. The results were inconclusive, indicating that motoric competency on lever problem solving did not significantly differ between conditions, nor were response speed and transfer performance affected. These findings suggest that adult's implicit and explicit knowledge about physical systems is stable and not easily affected by (contradictory) sensorimotor experiences. Implications for embodied learning are discussed.How does practical experience with physical systems (e.g., gear systems and levers) affect learning about its mechanisms? For example, does our experience with riding a

Measuring Cognitive Load in Embodied Learning Settings

“…Significant results of this item ( Paas, 1992 ) indicating less cognitive load for static forms of instruction compared to animations were found in one trial of a related study (Experiment 1 in Wong et al, 2015 ). In contrast, other embodiment studies did not reveal significant effects using variants of this item (e.g., Ruiter et al, 2015 ; Pouw et al, 2016a ). The mental effort item developed by Paas (1992) has been used in various studies to compute the instructional efficiency ( Paas and van Merriënboer, 1993 ) of learning interventions (e.g., Castro-Alonso et al, 2014 ).…”

“…Still, even studies that include only very basic forms of bodily involvement and action beyond standard user interfaces are currently presented as being linked to embodiment research (e.g., Agostinho et al, 2015 ; Dubé and McEwen, 2015 ). Though, a large number of studies focusing on embodied learning deal with more sophisticated learning scenarios involving technology such as tangible user interfaces (e.g., Pouw et al, 2016a ; Skulmowski et al, 2016 ) and mixed reality environments (e.g., Johnson-Glenberg et al, 2014 , 2016 ). Therefore, the term embodied learning scenarios currently needs to be interpreted broadly (see Johnson-Glenberg et al, 2014 , for a taxonomy).…”

“…When applied to educational settings involving the measurement of cognitive load during learning, these theoretical models are operationalized in a multitude of ways. Interventions based on embodiment have been introduced to a large number of subjects and educational contexts, including physics (e.g., Johnson-Glenberg et al, 2014 , 2016 ; Pouw et al, 2016a ), language learning ( Post et al, 2013 ), mathematics (e.g., Ruiter et al, 2015 ), and reading comprehension (e.g., Glenberg et al, 2004 ).…”

Effects of Pointing Gestures on Memory for (In)Congruent Stimuli in Children and Young Adults

“…This finding is in accordance with previous research showing superior memory for schema-congruent versus incongruent events (e.g., Brod et al, 2017;Brod et al, 2015). The negative effect of gesturing on memory also contradicts previous studies showing that gesturing can improve children's learning in a more educational setting, such as, for example, learning a foreign language (Macedonia & Klimesch, 2014;Macedonia & Knösche, 2011;Toumpaniari et al, 2015), new concepts (e.g., Ping & Goldin-Meadow, 2008;Pouw et al, 2016;Valenzeno et al, 2003), or geography (Mavilidi et al, 2016), and the finding of Feyereisen (2009) that enacting enhances memory for (in)congruent information. It has to be noted that the abovementioned studies all used representational gestures (i.e., gestures that represent visual aspects of concrete features of the learning material).…”

“…From an educational perspective, this knowledge about distinctive developmental trajectories of brain structures and accompanying functions is highly relevant as is the study on gesturing as a learning tool. Earlier evidence has already shown that gesturing can improve children's learning of foreign language (Macedonia & Klimesch, ; Macedonia & Knösche, ; Toumpaniari, Loyens, Mavilidi, & Paas, ), new concepts (e.g., Ping & Goldin‐Meadow, ; Pouw, Eielts, Van Gog, Zwaan, & Paas, ; Valenzeno, Alibali, & Klatzky, ) and geography (Mavilidi, Okely, Chandler, & Paas, ). These positive effects of gesturing are interesting and might have important practical implications because gestures are easy to implement in the classroom and are free of cost.…”