Summary.
Embodied cognition explores the notion of learning with our entire body. The mind is not separated from the body as Descartes determined in the 17th century’s dualism, but is rather influenced by the physical world. Cognitive science backs this claim empirically and is used in this work to look into improvements in algebra learning games by the use of Tangible Embodied Interaction (TEI).
From paper to 3D prototyping. The progression and design of the tangible character.
The importance of studying algebra association with game mechanics where no algebra tools are shown, stems from the results of previous researches that show the correlation between engagement and mathematical performance of students using games to learn in school. Studies show that while math games are more engaging, the students using them as learning tools perform worse than their peers who use more standard mathematical tools. Therefore, our aim was to design algebra association game mechanics and study how effective they are.
This work is part of the Tangible Embodied Algebra Game (TEAG) project at the University of Bremen. http://teag18.de/
