Introducing impulse to 6th-grade students kinesthetically: The impact on their reasoning

Pioneers of educational theory have called for a greater emphasis on kinesthetic learning, a claim also supported by interdisciplinary embodied cognition research. This article focuses on the effectiveness of a body-based intervention designed to familiarize participants with the physics concept of impulse. We investigated whether the use of one’s own body as an element of activity can help 6th graders successfully adopt adequate reasoning when answering relevant questions. The assessment procedure took the form of an interview and our conclusions demonstrated that students adopt a multimodal framework (speech, gestures, body movement) to solve problems designed to include human-centered experiences, the haptic manipulation of objects, and everyday illustrated situations. The performance of a respectable number of students shifted from a lack of insight into a scientifically accepted conceptualization. Introducing purposeful planned movement when teaching physics concepts in the early years is a valuable tool for any educator wishing to add value to his students’ learning.