Embracing Embodied Learning in Higher Education, a resource developed by University of Iowa undergraduate students Shimin Park (GWSS) and Kira Mathews (SJUS), introduces embodied learning and encourages instructors to “normalize inviting movement and emotion into the classroom to honor where each person is at when they come to the space.”
“I hope that instructors understand how impactful embodied learning can be for their students and themselves,” said Kira Mathews, who was a third-year student in social justice with an emphasis in gender, women’s, and sexuality studies during spring 2022. “Embodied learning is not a list of requirements but a mindset that acknowledges and values the connection between mind and body. This mindset means that embodied learning can look different in every classroom and can be shaped to fit every field to benefit the overall being of every individual that plays a role in the education process.”
Park and Mathews connected with the OTLT Center for Teaching through their Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies practicum in which they met weekly with Anna Flaming, director of the OTLT Center for Teaching and with Anastasia Williams, assistant director in the OTLT Center for Teaching, during the spring 2022 semester.
“If any student encounters a chance to participate in the practicum with the center in the future, I'd like to strongly encourage them to do it,” said Park, who was a fourth-year student in gender, women’s and sexuality studies during the spring 2022 semester.
When asked about the development of the resource and its future, Park and Mathews shared their hopes for transforming the teaching and learning experience for students and instructors.
“I hope instructors will celebrate and practice ‘teaching that enables transgressions,’ as bell hooks famously said,” explained Park. “If this resource could be a small step toward transforming classrooms of the university to be a site that liberates students physically and emotionally, I couldn't ask for more.”
“I want instructors to know that this was created for them just as much as it was created for students,” said Mathews. “Embodied learning is not meant to be another source of stress but a pedagogy that acknowledges the connection between mind and body and values the experience of each person.”
This resource is part of a series developed by Department of Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies students as part of a practicum with the OTLT Center for Teaching. To read the first resource, written by Madison Mann, Kaylee Koss, and Madison Wischmann, check out Using an Inclusive Syllabus to Build Connections with Your Students.