FNUG Research Seminar May 12, 2026

FNUG joint lunch. Bring your own food

Presentation by Prajakt Pande, Associate Professor, Aarhus University

A 4E Cognition Account of Learning with Representations and Models in STEM

Abstract
Entities, phenomena, and concepts in STEM domains are distributed across multiple spatio-temporal scales and are thus often beyond direct human perception and interaction (e.g. electromagnetism, ecological cycles, or evolution). External representations, models, and other so-called "symbolic elements" or "stand-ins" (e.g., diagrams and equations) mediate our engagement with these entities, phenomena, and concepts. Understanding how our minds relate to such representations and models is therefore critical to STEM education. It also helps us explore how emerging technologies and their novel affordances might transform STEM discovery and learning into more tangible, manipulable, interactive, and engaging experiences.

Against this background, my talk operates at the intersections of embodiment, the implicit and explicit dimensions of STEM learning, and the design of learning technologies. Drawing on examples from my own theoretical and empirical research, I show how embodied, extended, embedded, and enactive cognition (or simply 4E cognition) approaches can help us reconceptualise

• sense-making, learning, and expertise development in STEM
• the design of learning technologies, including immersive VR and Gen-AI environments.

Break

Poster Session, facilitated by Associate Professor Dorte Moeskær Larsen.

Students are invited to create individual posters presenting their projects. Researchers will create posters presenting their most recent or ongoing work.

Break

Exhibition of posters. Presentations and knowledge sharing

Wrap up and thank you for today