Physical models and embodied cognition
Ulrich E. Stegmann,
Synthese,
Sept 21, 2018
A lot of work in education theory depends on the idea of forming conceptual understanding through the creation of mental models; these models give meaning to the words, ideas and skills being learning. This idea is central to constructivism, and even connectivism relies on it to a certain extent. Recent work in philosophy has considered the question of whether the physical construction of models is important. This is what might be called 'embodied cognition'. There's no doubt that creating a physical model helps cognition; that's why we write down ideas or play with bricks rather than doing it all abstractly in our heads. But does the cognition extend to these models - if we we use blocks, or pencil markings, or a computer, is this a case not only of embodied cognition but also of distributed cognition? Ulrich E. Stegmann argues in this paper that it is not. I'm inclined to agree, but it's not straightforward. Image: Chemero, Radical Embodied Cognitive Science.
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