La emoción como motor del aprendizaje: estrategias didácticas que desafían la mente y conectan con la experiencia

The present systematic review analyzes the role of emotion as a driving force in learning and its connection with teaching strategies that promote meaningful and experiential education. The study followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and included 78 scientific articles indexed in Scopus, SciELO, and ERIC databases between 2015 and 2024, using descriptors such as emotional learning, didactic strategies, neuroeducation, and higher education. The qualitative synthesis, based on a thematic analysis approach, identified three main axes: (a) emotion as a neuroeducational foundation of cognition, (b) didactic strategies that enhance emotional connection and engagement, and (c) teacher training challenges regarding emotional education. Results demonstrate that emotion acts as a biological and cognitive engine that facilitates attention, memory consolidation, and motivation, confirming the principles of contemporary neuroeducation (Mora, 2017; Immordino-Yang, 2016; Tokuhama-Espinosa, 2022). Active and experiential methodologies—such as project-based learning, gamification, storytelling, and service learning—prove to be effective in fostering emotional engagement and deep learning. However, the lack of emotional training among teachers limits the full implementation of such practices in Ecuadorian higher education. This review concludes that learning is an inherently emotional act and that integrating emotion into pedagogical design transforms teaching into a humanized, reflective, and meaningful process. The study contributes to the emerging field of Neuroeducation and Emotional Pedagogy, providing theoretical and methodological insights for building emotionally intelligent and innovative educational systems aligned with Education 5.0.