This article offers a critical reinterpretation of artificial intelligence (AI) in educa-tion through the lens of embodied cognition and somatic learning. Moving beyond the tra-ditional computational approach focused on content delivery and algorithmic efficiency, it explores the transformative potential of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) as somatic partners in instructional design and teacher training. Through an interdisciplinary theoretical review and a methodological analysis of multimodal interactions, the paper highlights how these agents can activate situated, affective, and corporeally grounded reflection processes, contributing to transformative teacher professionalism. Special attention is given to the role of ECAs in curriculum design oriented toward sustainability and in supporting educational contexts on the margins. The article advocates for the need to envision a somatic ecology of educational AI, grounded in ethical co-design, bodily awareness, and dialogic presence. Although still emerging, this perspective calls for further theoretical formalization and ex-tensive empirical validation, yet promises to redefine how we understand AI in education: not as a "technical object,", but as a "pedagogical subject".
Towards a Somatic Pedagogy of Artificial Intelligence: interdisciplinary reflections between Embodied Cognition and Educational Design
Monica Di Domenico;Pio Alfredo Di Tore;
2025
Abstract
This article offers a critical reinterpretation of artificial intelligence (AI) in educa-tion through the lens of embodied cognition and somatic learning. Moving beyond the tra-ditional computational approach focused on content delivery and algorithmic efficiency, it explores the transformative potential of embodied conversational agents (ECAs) as somatic partners in instructional design and teacher training. Through an interdisciplinary theoretical review and a methodological analysis of multimodal interactions, the paper highlights how these agents can activate situated, affective, and corporeally grounded reflection processes, contributing to transformative teacher professionalism. Special attention is given to the role of ECAs in curriculum design oriented toward sustainability and in supporting educational contexts on the margins. The article advocates for the need to envision a somatic ecology of educational AI, grounded in ethical co-design, bodily awareness, and dialogic presence. Although still emerging, this perspective calls for further theoretical formalization and ex-tensive empirical validation, yet promises to redefine how we understand AI in education: not as a "technical object,", but as a "pedagogical subject".I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
