"Embodied, Embedded, Extended, Enacted" : The 4E Cognitive Framework

The 4E framework is a simple way to conceptualize modern advances in our understanding of cognition, as well as their consequences for education. In this model, human thinking is essentially embodied, embedded, extended and enacted.

The teaching methods used in a given socio-historical context depend, in part, on the prevalent theory of human cognition at the time. Based on our understanding of how people think, we deduct how they learn, and how they should be taught.

Thus, traditional teaching methods focused on lecture-style content delivery found some of their origins in the “intellectualist” view of cognition as an internal process through which the mind (and later the brain) grasps, stores, and retrieves information.

Modern teaching methods are quite different, using a variety of highly differentiated, technology-rich and collaborative learning activities to help students construct their own knowledge and connect it to real-life local and global challenges. However, what is the new view of cognition that justifies this evolution and explains its greater effectiveness? 

The challenge, here, is that while the traditional view of cognition was quite straightforward, our modern understanding is much more rich and thus much more complex. How can we integrate the many recent advances in cognitive neuroscience into an elegant theory?

An interesting model has been emerging since the 2010s: the 4E framework, according to which human cognition is essentially embodied, embedded, extended, and enacted.

• Embodied: Cognition is not limited to computation--the abstract manipulation of symbols. It involves a large variety of brain functions as well as processes distributed across the whole body.

 

• Embedded: Cognition is not a purely internal and individual process. It arises from social interactions within a cultural context.

 

• Extended: Cognition is not self-contained but mediated by the use of tools and manipulation of objects.

 

• Enacted: Cognition is not passive or based on mere imitation and reproduction. It requires creative engagement, including through meaningful actions bridging the gap between mental and real life.

This framework does not only support modern approaches to teaching and learning. It is also a blueprint that can help us make education ever more relevant, effective, and enjoyable for our students.


Reference: Newen, De Bruin and Gallagher, The Oxford Handbook of 4E Cognition, Oxford Library of Psychology, 2018