Embodied learning in teacher education: Investigating student-teachers' experiences in engaging with embodied cognition theories

This study examines how integrating perceptual, sensorimotor, and reflective processes supports the learning of enactive cognition theory, demonstrating how student-teachers develop competencies for engaging with theory through lived, embodied experiences. We employed between-methods data triangulation, combining the PRISMA method, microgenetic, and thematic analysis of video and text data, revealing students' experiences. Findings describe how concepts of enactive theory become part of student-teachers' bodily experiences and reveal that reflective awareness of these bodily connections coupled with shared dialogue is pivotal for deep learning. This study's approach is a compelling demonstration of how enactive cognition can be operationalized in educational practice. • Embodied strategies for concept learning involve perceptual, sensorial and reflective processes. • Student-teachers become aware of how perceptions shape actions when learning concepts. • Lived experiences enhance student-teachers’ competence in interactions. • Provides insights into teacher-students’ experiences with embodied learning approaches.