Body, Cognition, and Neuropedagogy: an epistemological exploration of Biopedagogy, Neuroactivation and Motor Didactics

Autori

  • Sara Pellegrini Link Campus University -Dipartimento di Scienze Umane
  • Piero Crispiani Università degli Studi di Macerata
  • Maria Grzegorzewska University (APS) in Warsaw
  • Eleonora Palmieri University (APS) in Warsaw, Poland
  • Riccardo Sebastiani Link Campus University https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1090-0734

Parole chiave:

Neuroactivation; Biopedagogy; Embodiment; Motodidactics; Neuropedagogy

Abstract

Recent advances in neuroscience, embodied cognition, and educational research have questioned traditional dualistic conceptions of learning, emphasizing the inseparable relationship between body, mind, and environment. This paper explores the epistemological connections among Biopedagogy, Neuroactivation, Neuropedagogy, and Motor Didactics, proposing an integrated framework for understanding human development and learning processes. The study adopts a theoretical and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the contributions of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, Embodied Cognition, executive function research, cerebellar neuroscience, and contemporary pedagogical theories. The analysis highlights Neuroactivation as a dynamic process through which cognitive, motor, perceptual, emotional, and relational functions progressively emerge and reorganize through experience and educational interaction. Within this perspective, Motor Didactics represents the methodological expression of Neuroactivation, while Biopedagogy provides the interpretative lens for understanding adaptive development. The proposed framework offers a holistic perspective on learning, supporting current debates on inclusive education, precision pedagogy, and quality of life, and contributes to redefining educational intervention as an embodied and adaptive process.

Recent advances in neuroscience, embodied cognition, and educational research have questioned traditional dualistic conceptions of learning, emphasizing the inseparable relationship between body, mind, and environment. This paper explores the epistemological connections among Biopedagogy, Neuroactivation, Neuropedagogy, and Motor Didactics, proposing an integrated framework for understanding human development and learning processes. The study adopts a theoretical and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on the contributions of Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology, Embodied Cognition, executive function research, cerebellar neuroscience, and contemporary pedagogical theories. The analysis highlights Neuroactivation as a dynamic process through which cognitive, motor, perceptual, emotional, and relational functions progressively emerge and reorganize through experience and educational interaction. Within this perspective, Motor Didactics represents the methodological expression of Neuroactivation, while Biopedagogy provides the interpretative lens for understanding adaptive development. The proposed framework offers a holistic perspective on learning, supporting current debates on inclusive education, precision pedagogy, and quality of life, and contributes to redefining educational intervention as an embodied and adaptive process.

Biografie autore

Sara Pellegrini, Link Campus University -Dipartimento di Scienze Umane

Sara Pellegrini è ricercatrice del settore M-PED/03 – Pedagogia della disabilità, Pedagogia Montessoriana e Applied Games. Ha svolto un dottorato di ricerca in "Technology of Education" presso l'Università degli Studi di Macerata. I suoi campi di ricerca principali riguardano la relazione tra la società, l’equità e la democrazia per l’inclusione , il curricolo e la disabilità, la valutazione per l’apprendimento e la progettazione didattica in relazione alle eterogeneità, la tecnologia plurale per l’inclusione e la pedagogia montessoriana.

Piero Crispiani, Università degli Studi di Macerata

Piero Crispiani is Full Professor of General Didactics and Special Education at the University of Macerata. His academic and professional career has focused on pedagogy, special education, clinical pedagogy, disability, dyslexia, teacher education and educational inclusion. He has held several institutional roles, including Vice-Director of the School of Specialization for Secondary Teaching, President of degree programmes in education and human sciences, Director of university master’s programmes, and Department Delegate for Disability. He is also Scientific Director of the Italian Centre for Dyslexia and has directed training programmes for teachers, educators, pedagogists, therapists and psychologists. His research activity includes national and international projects on disability, quality of life, school integration, educational professions and learning processes. He has served as President of the Italian Federation of Pedagogists and has been involved in several scientific, editorial and professional bodies in the field of education and special pedagogy.

Riferimenti bibliografici

Ajuriaguerra, J. de. (1974). Manuale di psichiatria infantile. Masson.

Barsalou, L. W. (2008). Grounded cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 617–645. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093639

Crispiani, P. (2001). Pedagogia clinica. La pedagogia sul campo, tra scienza e professione. Edizioni Junior.

Crispiani, P. (2020). La frontiera della biopedagogia. L'integrazione scolastica e sociale, 19(4), 8–20.

Crispiani, P. (2019). Ippocrate pedagogico. Diagnosi, trattamento e cura nella pedagogia clinica. Edizioni Junior.

Piero, C., & Mancini, R. (2021). Il paradigma neuro e le tensioni epistemologiche della pedagogia e della didatti-ca. Q-TIMES WEBMAGAZINE, 13, 52-60.

Crispiani, P., & Palmieri, E. (2017). Champion pressing: Pratiche intensive speciali di Cognitive Motor Training. Istituto Itard.

Damiano, E. (2013). La mediazione didattica. Per una teoria dell’insegnamento. FrancoAngeli.

Edelman, G. M. (1992). Bright air, brilliant fire: On the matter of the mind. Basic Books.

Frauenfelder, E. (2011). Pedagogia e biologia. Una prospettiva complessa dello sviluppo umano. Liguori Editore.

Frauenfelder, E. (2018). Neuroscienze e pedagogia. Pensa Multimedia.

Frauenfelder, E., & Santoianni, F. (2002). Le scienze bioeducative. Prospettive di ricerca. Liguori.

Gallagher, S. (2017). Enactivist interventions: Rethinking the mind. Oxford University Press.

Gómez Paloma, F., & Damiani, P. (2021). Embodied education and inclusive learning. FrancoAngeli.

Howard-Jones, P. A. (2014). Neuroscience and education: Myths and messages. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 15(12), 817–824. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn3817

Ianes, D., & Cramerotti, S. (2021). Profilo di funzionamento su base ICF-CY e Piano Educativo Individualizzato. Erickson.

Koziol, L. F., Budding, D. E., & Chidekel, D. (2012). From movement to thought: Executive function, embodied cognition, and the cerebellum. The Cerebellum, 11(2), 505–525. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12311-011-0321-y

Massa, R. (1992). La clinica della formazione. Un’esperienza di ricerca. FrancoAngeli.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1945). Phénoménologie de la perception. Gallimard.

Morin, E. (2020). Cambiamo strada. Le 15 lezioni del coronavirus. Raffaello Cortina Editore.

Oliverio, A. (2015). Il cervello che impara. Neuroscienze e educazione. Giunti.

Pearce, Z. R., & Miller, S. E. (2025). Embodied cognition perspectives within early executive function development. Frontiers in Cognition, 4, 1361748. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcogn.2025.1361748

Pellegrini, S. (2024). Biopedagogy and artificial intelligence: New inclusive scenarios for precision pedagogy. QTimes – Journal of Education, Technology and Social Studies, 16(3), 773–785. https://doi.org/10.14668/QTimes_16358

Pellegrini, S., Cuccaro, A., Gentilozzi, C., & Sebastiani, R. (2026). Biopedagogy, artificial intelligence, and enacti-vism: Findings from a mixed-methods study on 540 education professionals. In A. Dipace, C. Limongelli, M. Marras, & S. M. Pagliara (Eds.), Artificial Intelligence with and for Learning Sciences: Past, Present, and Future Horizons (pp. 54–59). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-17604-2_6

Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.

Shapiro, L. (2011). Embodied cognition. Routledge.

Thompson, E. (2007). Mind in life: Biology, phenomenology, and the sciences of mind. Harvard University Press.

Varela, F. J., Thompson, E., & Rosch, E. (1991). The embodied mind: Cognitive science and human experience. MIT Press.

##submission.downloads##

Pubblicato

2026-10-05

Come citare

Pellegrini, S., Crispiani, P., Grzegorzewska, M. ., Palmieri, E., & Sebastiani, R. (2026). Body, Cognition, and Neuropedagogy: an epistemological exploration of Biopedagogy, Neuroactivation and Motor Didactics. Journal of Inclusive Methodology and Technology in Learning and Teaching, 6(2). Recuperato da https://inclusiveteaching.it/index.php/inclusiveteaching/article/view/643

Fascicolo

V. 6 N. 2 (2026): Stati Generali dell’Embodied Education. Università, Scuola, Territorio.

Sezione

Articoli

Licenza

Copyright (c) 2026 Sara Pellegrini, Piero Crispiani, Maria Grzegorzewska, Eleonora Palmieri, Riccardo Sebastiani

Creative Commons License

Questo lavoro è fornito con la licenza Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 4.0 Internazionale.