Instructing embodied knowledge: multimodal approaches to interactive practices for knowledge constitution

Abstract

Abstract In the introduction to the special issue on ‘Instructing embodied knowledge’, we present a general orientation into this growing field of research, providing the relevant background for the individual contributions. The starting point for the endeavor is the basic observation that practical knowledge or ‘knowing-how’ is typically of a procedural, implicit and embodied nature rather than explicit-conceptual. Given this specific nature, we highlight the fact that for transmitting this type of knowledge, instructors make use of specific multimodal practices that are adjusted to these characteristics. The notion of instructional practice furthermore emphasizes that instructing embodied knowledge is a highly collaborative process between learners and their instructors. In order to provide a broad take on the phenomenon, we review both social-interactional as well as cognitive approaches to embodied knowledge and discuss how the procedural and intercorporeal nature of this knowledge may challenge different views. Independent of the specific approach that is chosen, any account of the construction/instruction of embodied knowledge should emphasize that it is essentially (i) a social activity, (ii) involving the deployment of different semiotic resources, and (iii) using different techniques and devices, such as descriptions, directives and demonstrations. Based on a review of the literature and on the papers in the special issue, we identify a set of key questions that may help to shape the agenda for future studies in the field. The questions relate to the temporal-sequential organization of instructions, the continuum between demonstrations and performances, and the relationship between perceptual access, sensation and the acquisition of embodied knowledge.