A field of research that is quickly becoming more prominent is the one related to embodied cognition, which states there is an important association between physical activity and cognition. However, research on the application of embodied cognition to education is still at its infancy. More research needs to be done to understand how motion can contribute to student learning, and even further, research is needed on how learning technologies might support physical activity while learning. This research sits at the intersection of embodied cognition, learning technologies, mobile devices, and mathematics education. It implements a novel learning technology platform created at WPI, called the Wearable Learning Cloud Platform (WLCP). Thanks to a child friendly app thats connect to the central web based system, the experience of elementary school children playing physically active games might be improved. This research also analyzes the importance of motor action in students’ math learning: By using three different conditions of a game called the Tangrams Race requiring different levels of physical activity (i.e. embodiment), we compared differences between fine and gross motor actions in regards to learning. Results indicated that physically active mobile games can and do improve math learning. Results also show marginal significant effect in favor of the physically active mobile games (p<0.1, Partial Eta Sq.=0.1) over traditional tutoring systems on a computer.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:wpi.edu/oai:digitalcommons.wpi.edu:etd-theses-2283 |
| Date | 26 April 2019 |
| Creators | Agbaji, Unekwuojo Esther |
| Contributors | Ivon Arroyo, Advisor, Joseph Beck, Reader |
| Publisher | Digital WPI |
| Source Sets | Worcester Polytechnic Institute |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Masters Theses (All Theses, All Years) |
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