Learning Under Algorithmic Conditions

University of Minnesota Press eBooks · 2026-04-23

Emergent Patterns of Dyadic Interaction around an Embodied Simulation

Proceedings. · 2025-06-10

Gesture-augmented learning environments offer unique opportunities to facilitate learning by enabling tangible physical actions.While the literature on these learning environments is well documented, there remains a need to explore its facilitations for dyads (pairs of students) working together.This study investigates the role of dyadic interactions in learning a scientific concept through an embodied computer simulation.This simulation prompts the pairs of students to manipulate scientific representations using two representational gestures and discuss their observations.We present two such unique interactions of dyads in this paper and in-depth analysis of these two cases reveals how monitoring a partner's gestural interactions with the simulation serves as a pivotal trigger for conceptual shifts.The findings highlight how gestures and dyadic interactions foster collaborative sensemaking, providing insights into how embodiment mediates learning processes.

Haptic Experiences Shift Students' Representational Gestures and Knowledge Resources

Journal of Research in Science Teaching · 2025-12-21

ABSTRACT The present investigation adopts an embodied cognition perspective to characterize students' learning interactions between gesture and haptic experience. Haptic technologies have emerged as a promising approach to science learning because they can simulate physical forces that students would otherwise not experience. Student‐generated gestures complement haptic technology by offering insight into students' embodied understandings of physical forces. In this study, we examined the role of tangible haptic molecular models by analyzing students' spontaneous gestures and speech after their learning experiences with these models. We designed three learning conditions—Individual Haptic Model, Aggregate Haptic Models, and Equation‐Based Instruction—to prepare undergraduate students for learning from an agent‐based computer simulation of dynamic equilibrium. Guided by Knowledge in Pieces (KiP) theory, we employed a think‐aloud protocol to investigate how haptic and computational environments cue students' knowledge resources and spontaneous gestures. Our analysis of students' speech and gesture revealed that the haptic experiences—particularly individual‐level haptic—augmented the computational environment by fostering shifts in students' reasoning (1) from the phenomenological primitive equilibrium to balance and (2) from representing aggregate patterns to individual interactions. We discuss the implications of using gesture as a window into students' developing reasoning, as well as the role of haptic technology in designing embodied learning environments.

The Power of Movement: Exploring Gestures as Tools for Engineering Students Conceptualizing Statistics

2025-08-21

Good Vibrations: Feeling and Interpreting Haptic Feedback

Proceedings. · 2025-06-10 · 1 citations

We contribute to the field of embodied technology by designing a Multiple External Representation (MER) learning environment that integrates gesture-guided haptic feedback with an interactive computer visualization.A think-aloud protocol was conducted to determine how students use the MER environment to reason about a complex system in biochemistry.We assessed how students interpret MERs and found that haptic feedback supported students' learning by (1) complementing the visualization, or (2) introducing conceptual confusion.In a few cases, however, the haptic feedback left students' interpretations unchanged.Our case analysis highlights how the introduction of haptic feedback transformed students' interpretations of the visualization, prompting them to recognize previously overlooked influences.

Affordances of Physical Objects in Computing Instruction from an Embodied Cognition Perspective

ACM Transactions on Computing Education · 2025-10-07

Background : The embodied cognition perspective is a collection of theories that all explicate a fundamental relationship between the perceptions, actions, and movement of the body and how humans think and reason. The application of the embodied cognition perspective to instructional interventions—often referred to as embodied learning design—has the potential to aid computing education researchers and practitioners who want to meaningfully integrate more sensory and “hands on” activities in their instruction. Purpose : The objective of this article is to describe a process for, and to model, how computing designers and instructors can interrogate the embodied affordances of pedagogical activities in computing. Analytic Approach : We describe 12 embodied affordances present across six pedagogical activities. Our goal is to model the analysis of pedagogical activities for their embodied affordances. For coherence, we selected six pedagogical activities related to arrays in Java. Implications : Embodied learning offers theoretical ideas and a process for interrogating the characteristics of visual and physical resources in computing education. As with any design process, iteration and assessment are necessary to ensure that an embodied learning intervention is effective, but previous research suggests that learning is increased when students’ perceptual and physical interactions align with learning goals.

Enhancing Inclusivity: Exploring AI Applications for Diverse Learners

Postdigital science and education · 2024-01-01 · 17 citations

Reflections on Flexible and Constrained Agency as Affordances for Embodied Learning Design

Proceedings. · 2024-06-10

As one pathway toward generating more transparent and systematic descriptions of embodied learning design decisions, we integrate two design frameworks -the Learning in Embodied Activity Framework (LEAF) and another highlighting Viewpoint, Embodiment, and Roles -and foreground this synthesis in reflections on our own past design efforts.Through this reflection, we provide a generative account of how embodied designs constrain agency to give students more or less latitude in their movements as pathways to learning.

Methodological challenges and insights for researching embodied learning in museums

Multimodality & Society · 2024-07-24 · 3 citations

Embodied learning is a nascent term drawing on theories emphasising the role of the body, and body-based interaction in knowledge creation. Whilst embodied learning research has articulated pedagogical and design implications which resonate with museum practice and emphasis on hands-on approaches, translation between embodied learning research and everyday practice is limited. A key challenge is conducting research that is both methodologically rigorous whilst providing tractable implications for complex practice contexts. Whilst this tension is endemic in educational research, the field of embodied learning presents unique challenges. Here, we draw on experiences from a four-year, multisite, academic-practitioner research project investigating embodied learning with young children (3-6 years) in science centres/museums to synthesise, illustrate, and critically reflect on four key challenges: theoretical framing (how embodied learning is conceptualised), nature of the experience (what makes it embodied), evaluating embodied learning, and logistical challenges (capturing multiple modes of interaction, social context, communication). These challenges are illustrated through case studies, contributing a methodological lens for both academics and practitioners investigating the role and implications of embodied learning in museums.

Beyond the Screen: Gestural Perspective-Taking with a Biochemistry Simulation

2024-05-11

Significant research has been conducted on how students’ gestures aid in learning scientific concepts, yet there remains a gap in understanding the impact of gesture-based interactions between students and simulations on their interpretation of visualized scientific phenomena. Addressing this, our paper presents a usability test conducted on a dynamic equilibrium visualization simulation developed for introductory college courses. Through a user study involving 40 participants, we conducted a qualitative evaluation to determine how students interpret gesture-controlled simulations. The findings confirm that students generally interpret visualized scientific concepts effectively and that interacting through gestures enhances their interpretation of the simulations. Additionally, this paper discusses the limitations of the current study and suggests directions for future research.