#459: From Body to Brain: Using Coordination Class Theory and Neuroimaging to Understand Embodied Learning

Interest has grown in understanding how embodied learning experiences support students’ learning of complex science concepts. Grounded in coordination class theory, this study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate the neural resources students recruit when translating between representations of a science concept after learning in an embodied environment that integrates haptic and gesture-controlled technologies. Results showed that, during the representational translation task, students engaged more frontal regions when translating from diagrams to graphs than from graphs to diagrams, reflecting the greater cognitive demand of extracting information from representations with complex visual features. However, after embodied learning experiences, students relied more on sensorimotor than frontal regions when translating across representations, regardless of task type. Moreover, high-performing students exhibited greater activation in sensorimotor areas than lower-performing peers, suggesting that effective learners may draw more extensively on embodied resources. Together, these findings suggest that embodied learning enables students to coordinate reasoning with sensorimotor systems when extracting information and generating inferences about physical quantities.