Investigation On Junior High School Physics Class Based Upon Embodied Cognition Theory

With the implementation of the new curriculum reform and the further understanding of the education concept of quality education,higher demands are being placed on teachers' classroom teaching.Considering that traditional education mode and strategies are not enough for the needs in teaching,both researchers and teachers are seeking for an advanced theory to help them carry out more effective teaching strategies.Embodied Cognition,the frontier science in cognitive psychology,emphasizes the dominant role of bodies in cognition.Its core thought which systematize and integrate cognition,body and situation broaden the educational researchers' scope of mind.Some researchers and teachers have tentatively applied this theory to the classroom teaching and improved their teaching strategies.However,because of the peculiarity and difference of courses,most of these exploratory researches are limited in linguistics,such as Chinese and English.There is still a blank in Physics.The writer thinks that Embodied Cognition also has a great prospect in Physics teaching through years of teaching experiences and fully understanding of this subject.Meanwhile,as a new subject in Grade Eight,Physics can test the application of Embodied Cognition in pedagogy better without many disadvantages.Based on the overview of Embodied Cognition,this essay follows the basic principles of this theory and investigates the teaching strategies of Junior High physics through teaching practice.The writer makes a questionnaire on the Physics teachers and a number of students in her school to get aware of their problems in class.To focus on these problems,the writer takes Pressure and Buoyant Force which are the difficult points in Junior High Physics for instance and compares the teaching results of two classes.One uses common teaching methods and the other uses the teaching strategies directed by Embodied Cognition.Then analyze the data and come to the conclusion.Teaching strategies based on Embodied Cognition can effectively raise students' interest in Physics,promote their initiative,develop their exploration and innovation and improve their Physics.The essay still needs improving because it's just an exploratory teaching research.