Revital Medenitzki, Ilana Dubovi E71 Proceedings of the 21st Chais Conference for the Study of Innovation and Learning Technologies: Learning in the Digital Era I. Blau, A. Caspi, Y. Eshet-Alkalai, N. Geri, Y. Kalman, D. Olenik-Shemesh, Y. Sidi, & N. Brandel (Eds.), Ra'anana, Israel: The Open University of Israel Embodiment in Action: Multimodal Analyses of the Dynamics Between Movement and Cognition (Short paper) Revital Medenitzki Tel Aviv University avezbakiev@mail.tau.ac.il Ilana Dubovi Tel Aviv University ilanadubovi@tauex.tau.ac.il הגוף בפעולה: ניתוח רב - ממדי של הדינמיקה בין תנועה לקוגניציה )מאמר קצר( אילנה דובובי אוניברסיטת תל אביב ilanadubovi@tauex.tau.ac.il רויטל מדניצקי אוניברסיטת תל אביב avezbakiev@mail.tau.ac.il Abstract This study explores the relationship between bodily movements and cognitive processes during immersive procedural learning. Grounded in embodied cognition theory, it examines how students learn within a VR-based simulation. Through multimodal data collection that includes motion tracking (MediaPipe), eye tracking (blink rate), and electrodermal activity (EDA peaks), the study captured real-time indicators of both physical and cognitive engagement. The results indicated that larger embodied reorientations, such as 90° torso turns were positively correlated with blink rate, suggesting moments of reduced cognitive effort. In contrast, hand movements, head turns, and torso rotations were negatively correlated with EDA peaks, suggesting lower mental load. These findings provide evidence of body-cognition coupling, implying that learners use bodily actions to offload demanding aspects of the task and support cognitive processing. The study broadens embodied learning research into professional procedural contexts, highlighting how VR environments can be designed to synchronized bodily engagement with learning goals. Keywords: Embodiment, Electrodermal activity, Virtual reality simulation, Blink rate. Introduction Embodied cognition views thinking as grounded in the interaction between brain, body, and environment. Rather than treating movement as peripheral, this perspective argues that gestures, postures, and sensorimotor activity shape learning processes by anchoring reasoning in action (Barsalou, 2008; Shapiro & Stolz, 2019; Wilson, 2002). Research demonstrates that embodiment can support
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Mjk0MjAwOQ==