Acting it Out: How Embodied Learning Unlocks Deeper Thinking

Introduction

This blog post will share the science-backed evidence about the benefits of embodied learning; while recommending some ways you can intentionally include it in your teaching practice.

The Cognitive Science Explosion

Cognitive science has become a buzzword in education, with advocates such as Daniel Willingham and E.D. Hirsch Jr leading the charge into the dangers of overloading the working memory (Willingham, 2021; Hirsch, 1998) and prioritising knowledge retrieval. This focus on ‘remembering’ has led some critics to compare ‘knowledge-rich’ schools to ‘memory laboratories’ (Fisher, 2021). But what exactly are these cognitive science strategies and what do they actually have in common with drama?

The Education Endowment Fund’s 2021 systematic review into the evidence of cognitive science approaches looked at several popular cognitive theories. These theories included spaced learning, dual coding and retrieval practice. However, there was one theory in particular which stood out to me; embodied learning. This theory seemed almost out of place in amongst the forgetting curves and memory storehouses. Who knows, maybe the cognitive community is finally catching up to theatre education? (Duffy, 2012; 121).

Embodying Embodiment

Before exploring research and sharing practice, I wish to define what exactly embodied learning/pedagogy is, alongside what is considered as a higher-order thinking skill. Nguyen and Larson’s definition of embodied pedagogy both concise and encompassing, outlining that it is ‘learning that joins body and mind in a physical and mental act of knowledge construction.’ (2015; n.p.). According to the EEF, evidence on embodied strategies has considerable promise in supporting learning (43). Embodied learning traces its roots back to theorists such as John Dewey, who challenged mind body dualism (Bird and Sinclair, 2019) and Paulo Freire who rejected notions of a didactic teaching in favour of unified praxis (ctd. In Nguyen and Larson, 2015).

You may be thinking, “well of course, everything in drama counts as embodied learning”, however this is far from the case. In my opinion, embodied learning intentionally uses the body as a medium in which to discover, construct and retain knowledge. Therefore, simply getting your students to stand up and act something out is not enough. The next section of the blog post will share three different examples of embodied learning, conducted in the pursuit of research.

The Literature

It should be noted that the scholarship I reference, while being of peer-reviewed quality, does lack empirical data, is anecdotal or has small sample sizes. The studies also lack the presence of a control group. This has led me to precede with criticality when claiming that embodied learning is more effective than other types of pedagogy; we simply lack the data to make those comparisons.

The Key to Classical Texts

An example of combining cognition with kinaesthetic action is a piece of action-research from 2021, in which embodied strategies were used to teach complex classical texts. A class of 7^th grade students from a deprived area of California, participated in a drama activity called ‘Hook, Probe, Deflect’ (Jasper et. al, 2021; 40). The students had to perform a duologue from Julius Caesar in pairs but had to insert the corresponding action each time their character wanted to show connection, accusation or separation.

After completing the activity, the students participated in a discussion and a written reflection task. The teacher was able to observe an improvement in the students’ understanding and analysis of the text/subtext, as a result of making abstract emotions more concrete, through gestures (43).

Emotion, Memory and Boal

Research conducted by Peter Duffy, discovered that the embodiment of emotion and a variation of Augusto Boal’s Image Theatre are effective tools for the development of thinking skills (2012; 130). After introducing 7–8-year-old pupils to the I wish I was a Butterfly story, Duffy prompted students to perform a facial expression based on how the protagonist was feeling. This embodiment of the emotion caused Duffy to deduce that the students were personifying ‘heterogeneity of emotion’ (129) which is the idea that emotions are a combination of contextual factors. Interestingly, researchers have proved that emotions can significantly impact memory, with a 2017 review discovering that emotions are remembered more vividly in the brain through activation of the amygdala and engagement of the hippocampus (Tyng et al., 2017).

Boal’s Image Theatre was used to draw physical parallels between the source text and another story, thus prompting pupils to draw upon their evaluative skills. According to Duffy, 19 out of 23 students were able to draw comparisons between the story components after physicalising frozen images, compared to verbal discussion.

Empathy Deepening Creative Thought

The final piece of research I wish to reference is a 2019 paper which referred to the role of empathy in embodied learning. According to Jane Bird and Christine Sinclair, ‘one of the pathways from the embodied to the cognitive understanding is through the development of empathy or accessing multiple perspectives’ (31). In a workshop facilitated by Bird, participants were encouraged to express the imagined viewpoint of a character using the body as a site of exploration first. As a result of embodiment, the facilitator was able to ask participants increased higher-order thinking skill questions.

This study engaged adult participants, in place of children, so the results may be unreliable regarding the cognitive ability. Interestingly, researchers have found that exercising empathy can improve KS3 pupils emotional and cognitive creativity. According to Helen Demetriou and Bill Nicholl, emotionally engaging with a problem, via empathy, can make the creative process more authentic and meaningful (2022), thus deepening creative thought.

Points for Practice

After perusing the above studies, you may be intrigued as to how you can become more intentional with embodied learning in your own drama classroom. Thus, I have complied a list of three additional activities which could be explored with KS3 + students below…

• Status Surprise

How to: Sit in a chair circle and invite one student to exit the room. Decide as a class, out of 10, which status level that person is going to have (1= low, 10= high). Explain to the students that the person is going to re-enter and stand in the centre of the circle. The rest of the class is going to treat that person according to their status through reactions, dialogue, body language and facial expressions. You can give your students prompts like ‘Let’s give this person a 10 and pretend like they are a famous footballer’ or ‘Let’s give this person a 1 and pretend like they have just been cancelled on social media.’ You can choose multiple volunteers and ask follow-up questions about how exactly it felt to be high/low/middle status.

Rationale: This activity encourages students, particularly those chosen as volunteers, to embody authentic reactions and emotions relating to status. I have always found that this activity prompts rich discussion, while allowing the teacher to remind students of certain embodied feelings in future performances.

• Shakespearian Punctuation

How to: Similarly to ‘Hook, Probe, Deflect’, this activity uses embodiment to strengthen pupils’ understanding and delivery of classical text. Start by getting everyone’s heartrate up via a jogging/running warmup (think ‘stop/go’ etc.). Once everyone is slightly out of breath, ask your students to put their hands on their hearts and describe, using sound, the rhythm of their heartbeat. You should receive responses such as ‘da-DUM, da-DUM, da-DUM.’

Use this to draw parallels between the heartbeat and iambic pentameter. Invite the students to clap it or tap it out on their knees, in unison. Combine this with a line of Shakespeare text e.g. ‘Shall I/ compare/ thee TO/ a SUM/ mer’s DAY.’

Next pick up some scripts and demonstrate how to want students to walk the space, reading their monologues aloud. However, every time they come across a full stop, they must snap their fingers, a comma they must change direction or a semi-colon they must jump.

Rationale: This activity uses physical actions and embodied experiences to build confidence around the correct delivery of Shakespearian texts. The link between the human heartbeat and iambic pentameter will be one which your pupils will seldom forget.

• Body Scan and Mapping

Caution: This type of activity is not always suitable for students who may not feel safe within their own bodies and should be facilitated with care and compassion.

How to: Begin by leading a guided warmup, sitting students either on the floor or lying down, with eyes closed. Slowly guide them to complete a step-by-step body scan, from head to toe. You can signal the body part and ask them to notice the sensations/tension/temperature of that body part. You can also encourage them to soften or relax an area, if they do feel any unwanted tension.

Next, once the scan is complete, encourage students to stand up in a space, still with eyes closed. Now the mapping begins! Ask students to remember a strong emotion like rage, love, envy or fear. Next ask them to place a hand on a body part in which they feel that emotion the most. Finally, ask them to physicalise that body part, representing how exactly the sensation was experienced.

Rationale: This activity links emotion with the body, fostering a sense of physical awareness. You can expand on this activity by transferring this learning to a piece of character work.

References

Bird, J. and Sinclair, C. (2019) ‘Principles of embodied pedagogy: The role of the drama educator in transforming student understanding through a collaborative and embodied aesthetic practice’, Applied Theatre Research, 7(1), pp. 21-36.

Demetriou, H. and Nicholl, B. (2022) ‘Empathy is the mother of invention: Emotion and cognition for creativity in the classroom’, Improving Schools, 25(1), pp. 4–21. doi:10.1177/1365480221989500.

Duffy, P. (2012) ‘Problem finders in problem spaces: A review of cognitive research for drama in education’, Youth Theatre Journal, 26(2), pp. 120-132. DOI: 10.1080/08929092.2012.723562.

Fisher, N. (2021) Changing Our Minds: How Children Can Take Control of Their Own Learning. London: Robinson.​

Hirsch Jr, E.D. (1998). Why general knowledge should be a goal of education in a democracy. Common Knowledge, 11(1/2), p.1.

Jasper, J.J., Dvorak, L.L., Athanases, S.Z. & Sanchez, S.L. (2021) ‘Embodiment, emotion, and reflection’, The English Journal, 110(3), pp. 40-47.

Nguyen, D.J. & Larson, J.B. (2015) ‘Don’t forget about the body: Exploring the curricular possibilities of embodied pedagogy’, Innovative Higher Education, DOI: 10.1007/s10755-015-9319-6

Willingham, D.T. (2021). Why don’t students like school?: A cognitive scientist answers questions about how the mind works and what it means for the classroom. John Wiley & Sons.