Contemporary neuroscience perspectives on cognition allow for
detailed understanding of the co-activity of unconscious, automatic
'bottom-up' processes and conscious 'topdown' processes. In this
theoretical article I argue that by using direct experiences or
metaphors, teachers can manipulate the neural foundation bottom-up
or topdown so as to influence learning, giving teachers the
conceptual tools they need to understand how specific measures -
instructional and experiential teaching, as well as linguistic
explanations - may work. The article thus describes how embodied
cognitive approaches may be effective for teaching and learning and
thus contribute to a new exchange between theoreticians and
educational practitioners.
Key words: Neural correlate; concept;
metaphor; direct experience; attention; top-down; bottom-up;
Executive Function; derived embodiment.