Recently several attempts were undertaken to unite the field of metaphor studies, trying to reconcile the conceptual/cognition and linguistic/discourse approaches to metaphor (Hampe, 2017b). The dynamic view of metaphor espoused by amongst others Gibbs (2017a) as a way to unify the field of metaphor studies is said to converge on findings and theoretical predictions found in cognition and discourse approaches. The author argues this focus on dynamical models to explain the multi-scale socio-cognitive aspects of metaphor as an emergent phenomenon is not robust enough. Complexity and dynamical systems are merely a modelling technique to deploy theory for empirical testing of hypotheses; a dynamic view of metaphor needs a coherent background theory to base its dynamic modelling of metaphor in action on (Chemero, 2009). I argue that it can be successfully based on the ecological-enactive framework available within the modern paradigm of 4E cognitive science. This framework makes possible explanation of both 'lower' cognition and 'higher' cognition emerging in the interaction of an organism with its environment. In addition, I sketch how recent theoretical insights from ecological-enactivism (Baggs and Chemero, 2018) concerning Gibson's notion of environment apply to the attempted unification of the field of metaphor studies. I close by suggesting how an understanding of metaphor as an ecological affordance of the socio-cultural environment can provide a rich basis for empirical hypotheses within a dynamical science of metaphor.
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In organisations, learning is generally seen as a dynamic, collective and often conscious process that occurs by reflecting on real work experiences. In this article, we discuss these assumptions about learning in the context of work by presenting a case study in the care for older people. The case illustrates that learning in and through work is predominantly an embodied and responsive phenomenon that usually occurs implicitly while acting. We argue that a learning perspective grounded in the worldview of enactivism encapsulates this pragmatic and embodied character of learning and at the same time provides a reality and language helpful in encouraging a critical attitude towards assumptions about learning in organisations. Understanding learning from an enactive point of view carries consequences for studying and organising learning within organisations. These are outlined within this article to challenge managers’ meanings of learning in health care and comparable settings and to encourage further dialogue on this issue.
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This six-year study, consisting of four sub-investigations (one conceptual, three empirical), describes how subjectifying education with positioning of the body and embodiment of students in the educational practice requires teacher artistry, and forms by which teachers can stimulate learners' desire to become an embodied person in the world. The purpose of this research is to reconsider subjectification as the main target domain of education from the perspective of embodied cognition. The main research question is: How can Dutch teachers develop their artistry to create an inclusive educational practice that encourages their learners (in Dutch (v)mbo and higher education) to become embodied persons situated in the world? Since schools and classrooms are mini societies, there are many opportunities in these settings for learners' encounters with the world and their micro sociocultural worlds. Qualities like feeling what is happening inside oneself, expression of emotions, reflection and reflexivity, being able to be where the other is, having meaningful relationships with teachers and other learners, and engaging with the world are important for learners' wellbeing (De Haan, 2021; Zembylas, 2007; Zheng, 2022). The sort of curriculum that would pedagogically foster the development of these qualities in education is more likely to have the learner's body (or better, their embodied mind, Varela et al., 1992) at a central position in teaching and learning, thus enhancing opportunities for emotional and bodily expression (Zembylas, 2007). An overarching conclusion follows to answer the main research question. Teaching is not implementing a method or proven intervention 'that works' in the classroom, nor is it following a recipe (Biesta, in publication). It is both craft (technē) and art (including practical knowledge, phronesis) (Eisner, 2002). Through constant attention to embodied perception in the curriculum and evoking aesthetic experiences (Stenhouse, 1988), through 'making', working with 'experientiality' (Caracciolo, 2019) and 'doing the arts', giving shape to the environment (Alibali & Nathan, 2018), vitality, emotions, uncertainties and unpredictable activities and outcomes (Eisner, 1985), teachers develop their artistry. It is important for teachers to come together, add knowledge to each other and make education together. They have a responsibility to create inclusive spaces in the classroom for plurality and possible transformation. There are at least three current barriers in Dutch education that make it difficult for teachers to create inclusive spaces in the classroom: the Dutch 'measurement culture', the gap between academic "for the head" and vocational "for the hand" education, and Cartesian dualism as the paradigm underlying education. These three barriers do not disappear when teachers 'make' and 'do arts' with their learners' Artistic principles, however, in addition to recognizing the embodiment of learners, spark the joy of improvisation and experimentation and inspire teachers to further develop their teacher artistry. Schools then become spaces where teachers approach their learners as embodied persons who are in the world, rather than as individuals with separate brains, and bodies that are not being addressed. This is an important step toward embodied subjectification in education.
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To reach for abstraction is a major but challenging goal in mathematics education: teachers struggle with finding ways how to foster abstraction in their classes. To shed light on this issue for the case of geometry education, we align theoretical perspectives on embodied learning and abstraction with practical perspectives from in-service teachers. We focus on the teaching and learning of realistic geometry, not only because this domain is apt for sensori-motor action investigations, but also because abstraction in realistic geometry is under-researched in relation to other domains of mathematics, and teachers’ knowledge of geometry and confidence in teaching it lag behind. The following research question will be addressed: how can a theoretical embodied perspective on abstraction in geometry education in the higher grades of primary school inform current teacher practices? To answer this question, we carried out a literature study and an interview study with in-service teachers (n = 6). As a result of the literature study, we consider embodied abstraction in geometry as a process of reflecting on, describing, explaining, and structuring of sensory-motor actions in the experienced world through developing and using mathematical artifacts. The results from the interview study show that teachers are potentially prepared for using aspects of embodied learning (e.g., manipulatives), but are not aware of the different aspects of enactment that may invite students’ abstraction. We conclude that theories on embodiment and abstraction do not suffice to foster students’ abstraction process in geometry. Instead, teachers’ knowledge of embodied abstraction in geometry and how to foster this grows with experience in enactment, and with the discovery that cognition emerges to serve action.
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Dit boekje is uitgegeven in het kader van de inaugurele rede van Richard Griffioen, lector Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI). De inhoud van het lectoraat is zeer divers en richt zich op de impact van AAI (in de zorg) op het welzijn van mens en dier en het beïnvloeden van de mindset in de maatschappij. Het One Health concept, waarin het welzijn van de mens én het dier hand in hand gaan, speelt hierbij een belangrijke rol. Het lectoraat richt zich ook op nieuwe technologieën zoals virtual reality en robotica toepassingen. Het doel is om programma’s te ontwikkelen die zich richten op de hond, boerderijdieren en paarden.
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