Neural-Embodied Basis of Abstract Cognition

In this interdisciplinary project we will integrate knowledge from the learning sciences and neurosciences to investigate (i) if the intuitive understanding of physics, mediated by motor actions, can be used to gain a better understanding of the formal principles of mechanics and (ii) which neural mechanisms underpin this process. Research in cognitive neuroscience indicates that humans interact with the world by building internal simulations of the world through everyday experience.

We also know that there are numerous physics misconceptions in resistant to direct instruction. What remains unexplored is the motor-skill connection between these neuro-embodied mechanisms and misconceptions. By designing learning environments that link cognition and motor skills, we propose to explore a new route towards acquiring in-depth understanding of physics and thus address one of the stickier problems in human learning.