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"Build a Tactile Toolbox" is an embodied learning strategy recommended here for nurse educators and applicable to many other disciplines, discussed in this idea bank post along with "Create a Change in Scenery" and "Try Skit Development."

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This article will highlight three ways to incorporate embodied education into your classroom or clinical.

What is embodied education?

Embodied education, drawing inspiration from the insights presented in Dr. Hrach's book, is a pedagogical approach that centers on the idea that learning is not just a mental process but a holistic experience that involves the entire body. This educational philosophy recognizes the interconnectedness of the mind and body, emphasizing that cognition and physicality are intertwined. In the context of nursing education, it encourages nursing students to not only acquire theoretical knowledge about the body but also develop a deep awareness of their own bodies.

One of the most embodied educational experiences within nursing education is a simulation. A simulation offers a clinical environment where students can physically engage with patient care, have hands-on practice, and immerse in a real-world clinical scenario. This type of learning involves a tight connection between mind and body. However, a complete simulation experience is time-consuming to prepare, can involve multiple educators, and requires special equipment. Below are three simple ways to incorporate embodied education into your teaching without a full simulation experience.

Create a Change in Scenery 🌳

Would it be possible, even briefly, to get your students out of your classroom? Consider sending pairs of students for a hallway lap while they discuss a question or concept. Use a debate with the four corners of the room - complete instructions for this activity are available HERE. Arrange a walking field trip to an anatomy lab, pharmacy research lab, physical therapy gym, or other campus area they would not typically visit. Some schools are experimenting with innovative classroom spaces created explicitly for active learning. Is it possible to reserve this room for one class period, even if it is not in your department? Even minor disruptions to the physical setup of your classroom (think standing in a different location or walking around the room) can be beneficial in increasing engagement.

Build a Tactile Toolbox 🧰

I learned about using tactile toolboxes at a seminar about student engagement. The general idea is to have a box of tactile materials, such as modeling clary, squishy animals, fidget toys, markers, or legos, that is easily accessible to students during a class period.

At first, I was skeptical. I thought it would be a distraction, students would not take notes, or no one would even use it. But instead, I saw quiet fidgeting while actively listening, much like doodling. I also saw student connections as they would talk about the box and share materials.

This technique is a simple, low-risk way to tap into embodied learning. Adding a simple tactile toolbox to your classroom setup can keep students engaged, especially during a listening section of class.

Try Skit Development 🎭

It can be challenging to lecture on topics like therapeutic communication, leadership, or teamwork. Creating a short skit is an excellent way to tackle a topic that has to do with human interaction. Think about the American Heart Association's approach to teamwork when teaching BLS - they use video, actors, and role play because it is a great way to demonstrate human interaction that is difficult to convey through text.

When asking students to develop short skits, a few important notes:

Emphasize that it is not a graded activity. Any connection to student grades can hinder their creativity.

Give groups contrasting scenarios. For example, if you teach pain assessment, ask one group to demonstrate gathering assessment data on an infant or child and another to collect information from an elderly adult who does not understand the pain scale.

Encourage a playful attitude with this activity. Now, play and nursing education do not always go together. But for this type of learning activity, I think we can encourage a playful attitude, which also includes creativity, curiosity, and experimentation. Like anything in life, it is about balance, and this type of activity can counterbalance the more serious, heavy content we cover.

Finally, remember that not every day has to be an embodied educational experience. Just aim for a mixture of lectures and activities. Start small by adding one change and build or modify each semester.

In conclusion, embodied learning is a powerful teaching tool that can enrich your classroom by connecting the mind and body. By exploring and experimenting with the techniques in this blog post-such as a change in scenery, tactile toolboxes, or skit development, you can begin to build engagement. Moving our bodies while we learn enhances our understanding and retention of knowledge. Remember, as we learn, we are not just brains on a stick.

Looking for ready-to-go active learning tools?

Check out the active learning case studies as a card deck. New decks coming soon!

This article will highlight three ways to incorporate embodied education into your classroom or clinical.

What is embodied education?

Embodied education, drawing inspiration from the insights presented in Dr. Hrach's book, is a pedagogical approach that centers on the idea that learning is not just a mental process but a holistic experience that involves the entire body. This educational philosophy recognizes the interconnectedness of the mind and body, emphasizing that cognition and physicality are intertwined. In the context of nursing education, it encourages nursing students to not only acquire theoretical knowledge about the body but also develop a deep awareness of their own bodies.

One of the most embodied educational experiences within nursing education is a simulation. A simulation offers a clinical environment where students can physically engage with patient care, have hands-on practice, and immerse in a real-world clinical scenario. This type of learning involves a tight connection between mind and body. However, a complete simulation experience is time-consuming to prepare, can involve multiple educators, and requires special equipment. Below are three simple ways to incorporate embodied education into your teaching without a full simulation experience.

Create a Change in Scenery 🌳

Would it be possible, even briefly, to get your students out of your classroom? Consider sending pairs of students for a hallway lap while they discuss a question or concept. Use a debate with the four corners of the room - complete instructions for this activity are available HERE. Arrange a walking field trip to an anatomy lab, pharmacy research lab, physical therapy gym, or other campus area they would not typically visit. Some schools are experimenting with innovative classroom spaces created explicitly for active learning. Is it possible to reserve this room for one class period, even if it is not in your department? Even minor disruptions to the physical setup of your classroom (think standing in a different location or walking around the room) can be beneficial in increasing engagement.

Build a Tactile Toolbox 🧰

I learned about using tactile toolboxes at a seminar about student engagement. The general idea is to have a box of tactile materials, such as modeling clary, squishy animals, fidget toys, markers, or legos, that is easily accessible to students during a class period.

At first, I was skeptical. I thought it would be a distraction, students would not take notes, or no one would even use it. But instead, I saw quiet fidgeting while actively listening, much like doodling. I also saw student connections as they would talk about the box and share materials.

This technique is a simple, low-risk way to tap into embodied learning. Adding a simple tactile toolbox to your classroom setup can keep students engaged, especially during a listening section of class.

Try Skit Development 🎭

It can be challenging to lecture on topics like therapeutic communication, leadership, or teamwork. Creating a short skit is an excellent way to tackle a topic that has to do with human interaction. Think about the American Heart Association's approach to teamwork when teaching BLS - they use video, actors, and role play because it is a great way to demonstrate human interaction that is difficult to convey through text.

When asking students to develop short skits, a few important notes:

Emphasize that it is not a graded activity. Any connection to student grades can hinder their creativity.

Give groups contrasting scenarios. For example, if you teach pain assessment, ask one group to demonstrate gathering assessment data on an infant or child and another to collect information from an elderly adult who does not understand the pain scale.

Encourage a playful attitude with this activity. Now, play and nursing education do not always go together. But for this type of learning activity, I think we can encourage a playful attitude, which also includes creativity, curiosity, and experimentation. Like anything in life, it is about balance, and this type of activity can counterbalance the more serious, heavy content we cover.

Finally, remember that not every day has to be an embodied educational experience. Just aim for a mixture of lectures and activities. Start small by adding one change and build or modify each semester.

In conclusion, embodied learning is a powerful teaching tool that can enrich your classroom by connecting the mind and body. By exploring and experimenting with the techniques in this blog post-such as a change in scenery, tactile toolboxes, or skit development, you can begin to build engagement. Moving our bodies while we learn enhances our understanding and retention of knowledge. Remember, as we learn, we are not just brains on a stick.

Looking for ready-to-go active learning tools?

Check out the active learning case studies as a card deck. New decks coming soon!

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Energize your Classroom: Three Simple Active Learning Techniques for Nursing Instructors - BreakoutRN

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How embodied education can be used as an active learning tool 👁️

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From "The Body Electric" on NPR: host Manoush Zomorodi delves into how we met and fell hard for the personal computer—and why we continue to have this committed, yet tortuous relationship. We hear from historian Laine Nooney on how the computer revolution forever changed the way we use our bodies at work, at school and at home.

Manoush also visits the Exercise Testing Laboratory at Columbia University Medical Center where researchers collect data on how her body responds to a day of sitting compared to a day of constant movement breaks.

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Body Electric Part 2: When Human Met Desk

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Spaces in Motion: Designing Healthy School Environments

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Spaces in Motion: Designing Healthy School Environments

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Watch Dr. Dieter Breithecker, Health and Kinetics Scientist, explain the science behind healthy spaces and how to create school environments that have positive effects on healthy physical and mental development. Relevant for learners of all ages.

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Spaces in Motion: Designing Healthy School Environments

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Biomechanist Katy Bowman teaches movement globally and speaks about sedentarism and movement ecology to academic and scientific audiences.

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From learning outcomes to mental health: benefits of heading outside

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From learning outcomes to mental health: benefits of heading outside

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"Encouraging students to undertake achievable practice-based learning outdoors has been invaluable for embedding knowledge and balancing out the sometimes exhaustive effects of online learning." Being outdoors can dozens of . Here Aimée Little talks about taking online classes outside

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This activity helps to make the experience of working collaboratively toward a common goal more tangible. The task requires that no one person overpower the others.

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This exercise is intended to be fun and highly collaborative. To complete the required task, participants must work together and be mindful of each other's needs.

How

This activity can be done in an open space or on a table top depending on how large your group is and how they prefer to work. You will need several strings, two empty containers heavy enough to resist small knocks or bumps (heavy mugs, bowls, boxes, etc.), and one object that can fit inside each of your containers and that will not roll too easily (hacky sack, toy, notebook, pen, etc.).

Tip: try to include participants with a broad range of needs and preferences. The more diverse your group is, the more challenging and more meaningful the activity becomes.

Tip: to calculate how many strings you need, divide the number of participants in your group by two. If you have an uneven number, you can tie one half a string to the middle of another string and lay it out so it is perpendicular to that string.

Tip: you need to match the size and weight of the object you are moving with the density of the web. The more strings you have, the denser your web will be, and the heavier the object it can hold.

Preparation

1. Place the empty containers at least 1 ft from each other. The further away the containers are from each other, the more challenging this activity becomes.

2. Lay out all of the strings so that they intersect at the middle, with the intersection point lying over top of one of your containers (see Figures below).

3. Place the object on the intersection point of the strings, in the first container.

4. Each participant holds one end of a string.

Tip: the strings do not necessarily need to be held by hand. For example, a participant may use their mouth, or the end of a string can be attached to a wheelchair.

Challenge

Work together as a team to transfer the object from one container to the other one without dropping it, by collaboratively lifting and moving the web of strings.

Tip: if there are members in the group that require audio description, make sure to describe the direction of movement, the state of the object, the distance to the other container, and anything else that might help them to participate fully.

Tip: feel free to explore creative ways of working together with your group to complete this challenge.

Why

This activity helps to make the experience of working collaboratively toward a common goal more tangible. The task requires that no one person overpower the others. Participants learn how to move in unison to keep the object from falling or rolling off the web, focusing on moving to the destination while working closely with each other.

Figure 1: Preparatory layout for the web of strings activity. Each participant controls one end of a string, either by holding it in their hand, attaching it to their wheelchair, or in whatever way works best for them. The object is collaboratively transferred from the first container to the second using only the web of strings.

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Figure 2: Preparatory layout for the web of strings activity.

Figure 3: Close up view of the web of strings in action.

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This exercise is intended to be fun and highly collaborative. To complete the required task, participants must work together and be mindful of each other's needs. This activity can be done in an open space or on a table top depending on how large your group is and how they prefer to work.

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Introduction to Embodied Learning with Dr. Susan Hrach

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Introduction to Embodied Learning with Dr. Susan Hrach

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Carleton University Teaching and Learning Services Digital Short. Video Producer: Greg Allison, Digital Media Specialist

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Cognitive science shows that learning involves more than the engagement of the human brain or head. Susan Hrach therefore examines whole-body thinking to help instructors improve students' knowledge and skills through physical movement, sensory perception, and attention to the spatial environment.

This page shares Susan Hrach's work on embodied learning (EL) and provides practical information and resources to help you put these ideas into action.

In the following video, Hrach introduces embodied learning:

Meet Susan Hrach, PhD, ACC: Susan served as Fulbright Canada Distinguished Chair in the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario 2022-2023. She is the author of Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning.

Since 2012, Susan's been Director of the Faculty Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. She has been recognized by the University System of Georgia with a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award, and is a member of the International Coaching Federation.

Click on the following headings for information and practical strategies. All hyperlinks will open in a separate tab/window.

What is Embodied Learning?

Embodied learning (EL) changes the instructional focus from strictly abstract, mental processes to using the body as an affordance for learning.

The body plays a significant role in how people think and learn. Bodily sensations and prior experience both shape perception, known as embodied cognition. The brain receives signals from the organs and other parts of the body that it interprets through the lens of prior experience to produce perception (Barrett, 2020). Cognitive function depends on bodily well-being, and bodily well-being results from a supportive environment for growth (Hrach, Minding Bodies, 2021).

Embodied learning is a shift from disembodied learning, a conceptual transference of knowledge from an expert into the brains of students, also called the banking model of education. EL involves physical movement and considers place/space and relationships with others as affordances for thinking.
The major pedagogical principles of embodied learning are:

Humans evolved to think while moving, mostly outdoors.

We use all our senses to notice, imitate and practice what we want to learn.

The built environment shapes our thinking processes.

Why is Embodied Learning Important?

Hrach emphasizes how students' bodies and their environments affect their perceptions and cognitive processes. Bodily engagement via gesture and action offers a powerful instrument through which students better understand concepts and develop skills. The effectiveness of embodied learning underscores its importance in educational settings.
Why is it important to put conscious attention on embodied learning techniques within higher education?

EL strategies help learners to effectively perceive new information and phenomena.

Learning in a physically interactive environment promotes socialization, belonging, and a diversity of perspectives to gain understanding.

Bringing novelty and variety through activities in the classroom space opens students' brains to be more receptive.

An embodied learning environment heightens students' alertness, which is ideal for absorbing new ideas.

EL creates engaging learning experiences that promote a deeper understanding of concepts and make learning more enjoyable and memorable for students.

How Can I Implement Embodied Learning?

Poor or inconsistent intellectual functioning may be a result of taxed bandwidth, often caused by emotional stress and lack of sleep, movement, fresh air, and nutritious food. These can be addressed by helping students restore cognitive bandwidth.

Susan Hrach has identified four strategies for providing the best conditions for cognitive performance. Below you'll find information and practical resources about each strategy, and for further reading and resources about embodied learning.

Know and recognize the impact of physical space on students' perception or learning

Allocate time in the first week for students to optimize their learning spaces, particularly those taking online courses.

Request classroom spaces and materials that support active learning strategies, and make use of natural light, flexible furniture, and open spaces to integrate physical movement and learning tasks.

Ask students to share 'third places' (coffee shops, libraries, parks) that they find productive for cognitive focus and restoration. This can be done verbally, in a discussion board, or on a shared Google Map.

Learn about land-based learning (explore this report and bibliography for further resources). Consider incorporating a Collaborative Indigenous Learning Bundle into your course, such as "Our Original Instructions": Engaging with Lands and Waters".

Consider using alternate spaces such as Carleton's Future Learning Lab, Art Gallery, Book Arts Lab, Creation Suites, Nesbitt Building greenhouses, the Experiential Learning Hub, or the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre.

Send learners outside whenever possible

Provide students with audio podcasts or recordings to listen to while they walk, bike, or visit nearby green spaces on Carleton's campus (such as near the river, canal, or quad).

Assign an outdoor 'move and think' activity that will help students generate ideas as they move around and breathe fresh air.

Engage students in field trip assignments (as homework or together during class time) for immersive experiences relevant to your course material. These experiences can be shared verbally, in writing, or multimedia formats, for example in cuPortfolio.

Build movement into classroom time

Engage students in a few minutes of collective physical activity, such as deep breathing, stretching, or gesturing in a live virtual class.

Invite students to sit in a variety of places in the classroom; circulating among classmates promotes a sense of belonging.

Use interactive techniques, for example to allow students to map information around the classroom on boards or sticky flip-chart paper, or break students into small groups to navigate information spatially.

Ask students to snap photos to save and reflect on shared artifacts (whiteboards, flip-charts) of their thinking.

Incorporate structured role-play, and debate to engage learners and provide a memorable and immersive experience.

Use multi-sensory activities to build relationships among students

Provide online students with opportunities to know each other's voices and faces. Ask students to share audio and video recordings of themselves on discussion forums.

Provide social connection opportunities by promoting co-experiences such as watching a film or exploring unfamiliar objects together. Share sensory observations to build a collective understanding.

Integrate Augmented or Virtual Reality experiences (such as those available at Carleton University's Experiential Learning Hub) for virtual sensory course content.

How Can I Learn More About Embodied Learning?

Selected Resources and References for Instructors and Administrators

Susan Hrach's website, Minding Bodies blog, and Padlet are updated regularly and provide valuable resources. This infographic provides some key ideas from her book.

Carleton's Book Arts Lab is available to instructors and students. Its purpose is to enhance the teaching and learning experience of students from all disciplines by introducing them to the book arts and sciences in a practical, 'hand-on' manner.

Use the Learning Spaces webpage from Teaching and Learning Services to search for rooms, book an orientation, book equipment, and learn more about HyFlex Learning Spaces, the Future Learning Lab, and the Creation Suites.

Visit our Relationship-Rich Education resource page for more tips on building relationships with and among students.

Use Learning Management System (i.e. Brightspace) tools to foster communication and collaboration with and among students.

Visit Carleton's Experiential Learning Hub to learn more about Immersive Learning, XR Projects and Use Cases, Services and Programming, Creation Suites, and Experience Studios.

Explore Experiential Learning resources at Carleton University, including the Experiential Learning Fund.

Written Works:

Barrett, Lisa Feldman (2017). How Emotions are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain. Mariner Books.

Hrach, Susan (2021). Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning. Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Series, West Virginia University Press.

Hrach, Susan (2021). "Minding the Body in Remote Learning Environments," National Education Association, Higher Education, 39(4). Available at https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/minding-body-remote-learning-environments

Kuhn, Sarah (2022). Thinking with Things: Transforming Learning Through Tangible Instruction. Routledge.

Macrine, Sheila L., and Jennifer M.B. Fugate, eds. (2022). Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning. The MIT Press. doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/13593.001.0001

Pennington, Colin, Rebecca Putman, and Beck Munsey (2022), "An examination of flexible seating in the higher education classroom from a physical and kinesthetic perspective" Journal of Learning Spaces 11.2 (20 December). Available at https://libjournal.uncg.edu/jls/article/view/2257

Skulmowski, Alexander, and Günter Daniel Rey (2018), "Embodied Learning: Introducing a Taxonomy Based on Bodily Engagement and Task Integration." Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications 3.1 (March 7): 6. doi.org/10.1186/s41235-018-0092-9

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Whether you need a thought-partner on pedagogical approaches, or help with technical aspects of educational technology, TLS is here to support you. Use our Course Consult form to connect with our Teaching Excellence and Innovation staff.

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Cognitive science shows that learning involves more than the engagement of the human brain or head. Susan Hrach therefore examines whole-body thinking to

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Embodied learning in higher ed: a book-length exploration

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Embodied learning in higher ed: a book-length exploration

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Also available direct from the publisher: https://wvupressonline.com/minding-bodies

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What happens to teaching when you consider the whole body (and not just "brains on sticks")?

Starting from new research on the body-aptly summarized as "sitting is the new smoking"- Minding Bodies aims to help instructors improve their students' knowledge and skills through physical movement, attention to the spatial environment, and sensitivity to humans as more than "brains on sticks." It shifts the focus of adult learning from an exclusively mental effort toward an embodied, sensory-rich experience, offering new strategies to maximize the effectiveness of time spent learning together on campus as well as remotely.

Minding Bodies draws from a wide range of body/mind research in cognitive psychology, kinesiology, and phenomenology to bring a holistic perspective to teaching and learning. The embodied learning approaches described by Susan Hrach are inclusive, low-tech, low-cost strategies that deepen the development of disciplinary knowledge and skills. Campus change-makers will also find recommendations for supporting a transformational mission through an attention to students' embodied learning experiences.

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Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education)

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Amazon.com: Minding Bodies: How Physical Space, Sensation, and Movement Affect Learning (Teaching and Learning in Higher Education): 9781949199994: Hrach, Susan: Books

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A series of tools for understanding design opportunities, including the roots of the science behind each pattern, then metrics, strategies and considerations for how to use each pattern.

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Abstract

Biophilic design can reduce stress, enhance creativity and clarity of thought, improve our well-being and expedite healing; as the world population continues to urbanize, these qualities are ever more important. Theorists, research scientists, and design practitioners have been working for decades to define aspects of nature that most impact our satisfaction with the built environment. "14 Patterns of Biophilic Design" articulates the relationships between nature, human biology and the design of the built environment so that we may experience the human benefits of biophilia in our design applications.

Biophilia in Context looks at the evolution of biophilic design in architecture and planning and presents a framework for relating the human biological science and nature. Design Considerations explores a sampling of factors (e.g., scale, climate, user demographics) that may influence biophilic design decisions to bring greater clarity to why some interventions are replicable and why others may not be. The Patterns lays out a series of tools for understanding design opportunities, including the roots of the science behind each pattern, then metrics, strategies and considerations for how to use each pattern. This paper moves from research on biophilic responses to design application as a way to effectively enhance health and well-being for individuals and society.

Notes

Acknowledgements

This paper was supported by Terrapin Bright Green, LLC. We thank Alice Hartley for editorial assistance, Allison Bernett and Cas Smith for production assistance, the Review Committee and Contributors for their technical guidance and expertise, Georgy Olivieri for her relentless energy and dedication to spreading the word, Stefano Serafini and the International Society of Biourbanism for providing guidance and encouragement.

Co-Authors

William Browning, Hon. AIA, Terrapin Bright Green * Catherine Ryan, Terrapin Bright Green * Joseph Clancy, Pegasus Planning Group Ltd

Review Committee

Sally Augustin, PhD Design With Science; Research Design Connections * Judith Heerwagen, PhD J.H. Heerwagen & Associates; University of Washington, Department of Architecture * Lance Hosey, FAIA RTKL

Contributors

Scott Andrews, Terrapin Bright Green * Gail Brager, PhD University of California at Berkeley, Center for the Built Environment * Zafir Buraei, PhD Pace University, Department of Biology and Health Sciences * Nancy Clanton, PE, FIES, IALD, Clanton & Associates, Inc. * Chris Garvin, AIA, Terrapin Bright Green * Namita Kallianpurkar, Terrapin Bright Green * Alan Laird Lewis, OD, The New England College of Optometry * Tanya Mejia, RTKL * Heather Nelson, RTKL * Susan Painter, PhD, FCPA AC, Martin * Nikos Salingaros, PhD, University of Texas at San Antonio, Department of Mathematics * Chris Starkey, Terrapin Bright Green * Heidi Theunissen, COOKFOX Architects * Edward Vessel, PhD, New York University, Center for Brain Imaging * Jonce Walker, CSBA, Terrapin Bright Green

1. Introduction

link to this section

"In every walk with nature one receives far more than one seeks."
- John Muir, 19 July 1877

Biophilic design can reduce stress, improve cognitive function and creativity, improve our well-being and expedite healing; as the world population continues to urbanize, these qualities are ever more important. Given how quickly an experience of nature can elicit a restorative response, and the fact that U.S. businesses squander billions of dollars each year on lost productivity due to stress-related illnesses, design that reconnects us with nature - biophilic design - is essential for providing people opportunities to live and work in healthy places and spaces with less stress and greater overall health and well-being.

Biophilia is the humankind's innate biological connection with nature. It helps explain why crackling fires and crashing waves captivate us; why a garden view can enhance our creativity; why shadows and heights instill fascination and fear; and why animal companionship and strolling through a park have restorative, healing effects. Biophilia may also help explain why some urban parks and buildings are preferred over others. For decades, research scientists and design practitioners have been working to define aspects of nature that most impact our satisfaction with the built environment. But how do we move from research to application in a manner that effectively enhances health and well-being, and how should efficacy be judged?

Building upon "The Economics of Biophilia" , the intent of this paper is to articulate the relationships between nature, science, and the built environment so that we may experience the human benefits of biophilia in our design applications. The paper presents a framework for biophilic design that is reflective of the nature-health relationships most important in the built environment - those that are known to enhance our lives through a connection with nature.

New research supports measureable, positive impacts of biophilic design on health, strengthening the empirical evidence for the human-nature connection and raising its priority level within both design research and design practice; however, little guidance for implementation exists. This paper is intended to help close the gap between current research and implementation. The intended audiences of this publication are interior designers, architects, landscape architects, urban designers, planners, health professionals, employers and developers, as well as anyone wanting to better understand the patterns of biophilia.

14 Patterns of Biophilic Design

Nature in the Space Patterns

1. Visual Connection with Nature

2. Non-Visual Connection with Nature

3. Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli

4. Thermal & Airflow Variability

5. Presence of Water

6. Dynamic & Diffuse Light

7. Connection with Natural Systems

Natural Analogues Patterns

8. Biomorphic Forms & Patterns

9. Material Connection with Nature

10. Complexity & Order

Nature of the Space Patterns

11. Prospect

12. Refuge

13. Mystery

14. Risk/Peril

This paper puts biophilic design in context with architectural history, health sciences and current architectural practices, and briefly touches on key implementation considerations, then presents biophilic design patterns. The patterns have been developed through extensive interdisciplinary research and are supported by empirical evidence and the work of Christopher Alexander, Judith Heerwagen, Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, Stephen Kellert, Roger Ulrich, and many others. Over 500 publications on biophilic responses have been mined to uncover patterns useful to designers of the built environment. These 14 patterns have a wide range of applications for both interior and exterior environments, and are meant to be flexible and adaptive, allowing for project-appropriate implementation:

Finally, this paper discusses these patterns in a general sense for the purpose of addressing universal issues of human health and well-being (e.g., stress, visual acuity, hormone balance, creativity) within the built environment, rather than program-based or sector-specific space types (e.g., health care facility waiting rooms, elementary school classrooms, or storefront pedestrian promenades). As such, the focus is on patterns in nature known, suggested or theorized to mitigate common stressors or enhance desirable qualities that can be applied across various sectors and scales.

We hope this paper presents the foundation necessary for thinking more critically about the human connection with nature and how biophilic design patterns can be used as a tool for improving health and well-being in the built environment.

2. Biophilia in Context

link to this section

" 'This is what I prayed for,' wrote the Roman poet Horace. 'A piece of land - not so very big, with a garden and, near the house, a spring that never fails, and a bit of wood to round it off.'

Those words were set down more than 2000 years ago, around 30 B.C. It is easy to understand the emotion prompting them; we still recognize what Horace meant by a rural garden, a place to take refuge, as he did, from the irritations of city life."

- Then And Now: Reflections On The Millennium;
The Allure of Place in a Mobile World
December 15, 1999 New York Times Editorial

2.1 Rediscovering the Intuitively Obvious
link to this section
Nature themes can be found in the earliest human structures: Stylized animals characteristic of the Neolithic Göbekli Tepe; the Egyptian sphinx, or the acanthus leaves adorning Greek temples and their Vitruvian origin story; from the primitive hut to the delicate, leafy filigrees of Rococo design. Representations of animals and plants have long been used for decorative and symbolic ornamentation. Beyond representation, cultures around the world have long brought nature into homes and public spaces. Classic examples include the garden courtyards of the Alhambra in Spain, porcelain fish bowls in ancient China, the aviary in Teotihuacan (ancient Mexico City), bonsai in Japanese homes, papyrus ponds in the homes of Egyptian nobles, the cottage garden in medieval Germany, or the elusive hanging gardens of Babylon.

The consistency of natural themes in historic structures and places suggests that biophilic design is not a new phenomenon; rather, as a field of applied science, it is the codification of history, human intuition and neural sciences showing that connections with nature are vital to maintaining a healthful and vibrant existence as an urban species.

Inspiration from nature was in full view in the Art Nouveau designs of the late 19th Century. Architect Victor Horta's exuberant plant tendrils lacing through buildings in Belgium, the lush flowers that are Louis Comfort Tiffany lamps, and the explicitly biomorphic forms of Antonio Gaudí's buildings all remain strong examples. In Chicago, Louis Sullivan created elaborate ornamentation with leaves and cornices that represent tree branches. His protégé, Frank Lloyd Wright, is part of the group that launched The Prairie School.

Wright abstracted prairie flowers and plants for his art glass windows and ornamentation. Like many in the Craftsman movement, Wright used the grain of wood and texture of brick and stone as a decorative element. Wright also opened up interiors to flow through houses in ways that had not been done before, creating prospect views balanced with intimate refuges. His later designs sometimes include exhilarating spaces, like the balcony cantilevering out over the waterfall at Fallingwater.

European Modernists stripped much ornamentation from their buildings, but, like Wright, used wood grain and the veining of stone as decorative elements and were equally concerned with exploring the relationship of interior to exterior. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion (built 1929) pushed that concept in the play of volumes and glass. Later, his Farnsworth House (built 1951) defined interior and exterior much more literally, by segregating the elements from the visual connection to nature.

Le Corbusier's Cité Radiant (unbuilt 1924) may have resulted in disastrous urban designs, but by putting towers in a park surrounded by grass and trees, he was trying to provide city dwellers with a connection to nature. As the International Style took root, it spread glass buildings everywhere; unfortunately, the buildings, and particularly the interiors of commercial buildings, increasingly disconnected people from nature.

With the emergence of the green building movement in the early 1990s, linkages were made between improved environmental quality and worker productivity . While the financial gains due to productivity improvements were considered significant, productivity was identified as a placeholder for health and well-being, which have even broader impact. The healing power of a connection with nature was established by Roger Ulrich's landmark study comparing recovery rates of patients with and without a view to nature . An experiment at a new Herman Miller manufacturing facility, designed by William McDonough + Partners in the 1990s, was one of the first to specifically frame the mechanism for gains in productivity to connecting building occupants to nature - phylogenetic or, more familiarly, biophilic design .

The last decade has seen a steady growth in work around and the intersections of neuroscience and architecture, both in research and in practice; even green building standards have begun to incorporate biophilia, predominantly for its contribution to indoor environmental quality and connection to place. Popular texts, such as Last Child in the Woods , Healing Spaces , The Shape of Green , Your Brain on Nature , and " The Economics of Biophilia " , are bringing the conversation mainstream, helping the public grapple with modern society's dependency on technology and persistent disconnect with nature. Most recently, biophilic design is being championed as a complementary strategy for addressing workplace stress, student performance, patient recovery, community cohesiveness and other familiar challenges to health and overall well-being.

2.2 Defining Nature
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Views of what constitutes natural, nature, wild, or beautiful greatly vary. While we have no intention of formalizing an explicit definition, some articulation of what we mean by 'nature' will help give context to practitioners of biophilic design. Simply put, there are two extreme connotations of nature. One is that nature is only that which can be classified as a living organism unaffected by anthropogenic impacts on the environment - a narrow perspective of nature (reminiscent of conventional hands-off environmental preservation) that ultimately no longer exists because nearly everything on Earth has been and will continue to be impacted at least indirectly by humans. Additionally, this idea of nature essentially excludes everything from the sun and moon, your pet fish Nemo, home gardens and urban parks, to humans and the billions of living organisms that make up the biome of the human gut.

Alternatively, it could be argued that everything, including all that humans design and make, is natural and a part of nature because they are each extensions of our phenotype. This perspective inevitably includes everything from paperback books and plastic chairs, to chlorinated swimming pools and asphalt roadways.

As a middle ground, for the purpose of understanding the context of Biophilic Design, we are defining nature as living organisms and non-living components of an ecosystem - inclusive of everything from the sun and moon and seasonal arroyos, to managed forests and urban raingardens, to Nemo's fishbowl habitat.

For added clarity, we are making the distinction that, in the context of health and well-being in the built environment, most nature in modern society is designed, whether deliberately (for function or aesthetic), haphazardly (for navigability or access to resources) or passively (through neglect or hands-off preservation); thus, we refer back to humankind's proclivity for savanna landscapes. Humans create savanna analogues all the time. As designed ecosystems, some, such as the high canopy forests with floral undergrowth maintained by the annual burning practices of the Ojibwe people of North America, are biodiverse, vibrant and ecologically healthy. Others, such as suburban lawns and golf courses, are chemical dependent monocultures; while beautiful, they are not biodiverse, ecologically healthy or resilient.

The key issue is that some designed environments are well-adapted (supporting long term life) and some are not. So while golf courses and suburban lawns may be a savanna analogue, in many cases they require intense inputs of water and fertilizer and thus are unfortunately unsustainable design practices.

2.3 Nature-Design Relationships
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Biophilic design can be organized into three categories - Nature in the Space, Natural Analogues, and Nature of the Space - providing a framework for understanding and enabling thoughtful incorporation of a rich diversity of strategies into the built environment.

Nature in the Space

Nature in the Space addresses the direct, physical and ephemeral presence of nature in a space or place. This includes plant life, water and animals, as well as breezes, sounds, scents and other natural elements. Common examples include potted plants, flowerbeds, bird feeders, butterfly gardens, water features, fountains, aquariums, courtyard gardens and green walls or vegetated roofs. The strongest Nature in the Space experiences are achieved through the creation of meaningful, direct connections with these natural elements, particularly through diversity, movement and multi-sensory interactions.

Nature in the Space encompasses seven biophilic design patterns:

1. Visual Connection with Nature. A view to elements of nature, living systems and natural processes.

2. Non-Visual Connection with Nature. Auditory, haptic, olfactory, or gustatory stimuli that engender a deliberate and positive reference to nature, living systems or natural processes.

3. Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli. Stochastic and ephemeral connections with nature that may be analyzed statistically but may not be predicted precisely.

4. Thermal & Airflow Variability. Subtle changes in air temperature, relative humidity, airflow across the skin, and surface temperatures that mimic natural environments.

5. Presence of Water. A condition that enhances the experience of a place through seeing, hearing or touching water.

6. Dynamic & Diffuse Light. Leverages varying intensities of light and shadow that change over time to create conditions that occur in nature.

7. Connection with Natural Systems. Awareness of natural processes, especially seasonal and temporal changes characteristic of a healthy ecosystem.

Natural Analogues

Natural Analogues addresses organic, non-living and indirect evocations of nature. Objects, materials, colors, shapes, sequences and patterns found in nature, manifest as artwork, ornamentation, furniture, décor, and textiles in the built environment. Mimicry of shells and leaves, furniture with organic shapes, and natural materials that have been processed or extensively altered (e.g., wood planks, granite tabletops), each provide an indirect connection with nature: while they are real, they are only analogous of the items in their 'natural' state. The strongest Natural Analogue experiences are achieved by providing information richness in an organized and sometimes evolving manner.

Natural Analogues encompasses three patterns of biophilic design:

1. Biomorphic Forms & Patterns. Symbolic references to contoured, patterned, textured or numerical arrangements that persist in nature.

2. Material Connection with Nature. Materials and elements from nature that, through minimal processing, reflect the local ecology or geology and create a distinct sense of place.

3. Complexity & Order. Rich sensory information that adheres to a spatial hierarchy similar to those encountered in nature.

Nature of the Space

Nature of the Space addresses spatial configurations in nature. This includes our innate and learned desire to be able to see beyond our immediate surroundings, our fascination with the slightly dangerous or unknown; obscured views and revelatory moments; and sometimes even phobia-inducing properties when they include a trusted element of safety. The strongest Nature of the Space experiences are achieved through the creation of deliberate and engaging spatial configurations commingled with patterns of Nature in the Space and Natural Analogues.

Nature of the Space encompasses four biophilic design patterns:

1. Prospect. An unimpeded view over a distance, for surveillance and planning.

2. Refuge. A place for withdrawal from environmental conditions or the main flow of activity, in which the individual is protected from behind and overhead.

3. Mystery. The promise of more information, achieved through partially obscured views or other sensory devices that entice the individual to travel deeper into the environment.

4. Risk/Peril. An identifiable threat coupled with a reliable safeguard.

Periodically throughout this paper, these patterns will be referred to in shorthand by their number 1 to 14 for quick reference. For instance, Presence of Water will appear as [ P5] and Prospect will appear as [ P11].

2.4 Nature-Health Relationships

Stress & Well-being

For an overview on "well-being" - definitions, metrics, research - see The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

For a background on meanings of stress, see "Mazes and Labyrinths" in Healing Spaces .

For a more extensive non-technical discussion on the science of nature's influence on health, happiness and vitality, see Your Brain on Nature .

For a more technical introduction to the hormones and neurotransmitters that govern our mind-body systems, see Principles of Neural Science .

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Much of the evidence for biophilia can be linked to research in one or more of three overarching mind-body systems - cognitive, psychological and physiological - that have been explored and verified to varying degrees, in laboratory or field studies, to help explain how people's health and well-being are impacted by their environment. To familiarize the reader with these nature-health relationships, these mind-body systems are discussed here in the briefest sense, and are supported with a table of familiar hormones and neurotransmitters, environmental stressors, and biophilic design strategies.

Cognitive Functionality and Performance

Strong or routine connections with nature can provide opportunities for mental restoration, during which time our higher cognitive functions can sometimes take a break. As a result, our capacity for performing focused tasks is greater than someone with fatigued cognitive resources.

Psychological Health and Well-being

Psychological responses encompass our adaptability, alertness, attention, concentration, and emotion and mood. This includes responses to nature that impact restoration and stress management. For instance, empirical studies have reported that experiences of natural environments provide greater emotional restoration, with lower instances of tension, anxiety, anger, fatigue, confusion and total mood disturbance than urban environments with limited characteristics of nature (e.g., ; ; ; ).

Psychological responses can be learned or hereditary, with past experiences, cultural constructs and social norms playing a significant role in the psychological response mechanism.

Physiological Health and Well-being

The table illustrates the functions of each of the 14 Patterns in supporting stress reduction, cognitive performance, emotion and mood enhancement and the human body.

Table 1. Biophilic Design Patterns & Biological Responses

The table illustrates the functions of each of the 14 Patterns in supporting stress reduction, cognitive performance, emotion and mood enhancement and the human body. Patterns that are supported by more rigorous empirical data are marked with up to three asterisks (***), indicating that the quantity and quality of available peer-reviewed evidence is robust and the potential for impact is great, and no asterisk indicates that there is minimal research to support the biological relationship between health and design, but the anecdotal information is compelling and adequate for hypothesizing its potential impact and importance as a unique pattern.

14 Patterns

*

Stress Reduction

Cognitive Performance

Emotion, Mood & Preference

Nature in the Space

Visual Connection with Nature

*
*
*

Non-Visual Connection with Nature

*
*

Positively impacted cognitive performance

Perceived improvements in mental health and tranquility

Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli

*
*

Positively impacted heart rate, systolic blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activity

Thermal & Airflow Variability

*
*

Improved perception of temporal and spatial pleasure (alliesthesia)

Presence of Water

*
*

Improved concentration and memory restoration Enhanced perception and psychological responsiveness

Observed preferences and positive emotional responses

Dynamic & Diffuse Light

*
*

Positively impacted circadian system functioningIncreased visual comfort

Connection with Natural Systems

Natural Analogues

Biomorphic Forms & Patterns

*

Observed view preference

Material Connection with Nature

Decreased diastolic blood pressure Improved creative performance

Complexity & Order

*
*

Nature of the Space

Prospect

*
*
*

Refuge

*
*
*

Mystery

*
*

Risk/Peril

*

3. Design Considerations

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"There is rarely a solution that is universal. Rather, the 'correct' solution, in our view, is one that is locally appropriate and responsive to the situation at hand."
- Rachel Kaplan, Stephen Kaplan & Robert L. Ryan, 1998 With People in Mind

3.1 What is Good Biophilic Design?

Biophilic design is the designing for people as a biological organism, respecting the mind-body systems as indicators of health and well-being in the context of what is locally appropriate and responsive. Good biophilic design draws from influential perspectives - health conditions, socio-cultural norms and expectations, past experiences, frequency and duration of the user experience, the many speeds at which it may be encountered, and user perception and processing of the experience - to create spaces that are inspirational, restorative, and healthy, as well as integrative with the functionality of the place and the (urban) ecosystem to which it is applied. Above all, biophilic design must nurture a love of place.

3.2 Planning for Implementation

Increasingly dense urban environments, coupled with rising land values, elevate the importance of biophilic design across a spatial continuum from new and existing buildings, to parks and streetscapes and to campus, urban and regional planning. Each context supports a platform for myriad opportunities for integrative biophilic design, and mainstreaming healthy building practices for people and society. Discussed here in brief are some key perspectives that may help focus the planning and design processes.

Identifying desired responses and outcomes

It is vital for a designer to understand a project's design intent - what are the health or performance priorities of the intended users? To identify design strategies and interventions that restore or enhance well-being, project teams should understand the health baseline or performance needs of the target population. One approach is to ask: what is the most biophilic space we can conceivably design? Another is to ask: how can biophilic design improve performance metrics already used by the client (e.g., company executives, school board, city officials), such as absenteeism, perceived comfort, health care claims, asthma, ticket sales, or test scores.

As many biological responses to design occur together (e.g., reducing physiological indicators of stress and improving overall mood), and there are countless combinations of design patterns and interventions, understanding health related priorities will help focus the design process. Health outcomes associated with biophilic spaces are of interest to building and portfolio managers and human resources administrators, because they inform long term design and measurement best practices, and to planners, policy makers and others because they inform public health policy and urban planning.

Design strategies and interventions

Biophilic design patterns are flexible and replicable strategies for enhancing the user experience that can be implemented under a range of circumstances. Just as lighting design for a classroom will be different than for a spa or home library, biophilic design interventions are based on the needs of a specific population in a particular space, and are likely to be developed from a series of evidence-based biophilic design patterns, ideally with a degree of monitoring and evaluation for efficacy.

For example, a project team may embrace the Visual Connection with Nature pattern to enhance the workplace experience for a series of interior fit-outs for a portfolio of offices. The strategy would be to improve views and bring plants into the space; the interventions may include installing a green wall, orienting desks to maximize views to outdoors, and initiating an employee stipend for desk plants. The detail, location, and the extent to which each of these interventions is implemented will differ for each of the offices in the portfolio.

A project team charged with reducing stress among emergency room nurses at the local hospital may intervene by replacing the abstract art with landscape paintings on the walls of the staffroom and installing a small garden and seating area in the adjacent interior courtyard. While this project also uses the Visual Connection with Nature pattern, the selected interventions specifically target stress reduction for emergency room nurses based on a shared space they utilize routinely.

Diversity of design strategies

Patterns in combination tend to increase the likelihood of health benefits of a space. Incorporating a diverse range of design strategies can accommodate the needs of various user groups from differing cultures and demographics and create an environment that is psycho-physiologically and cognitively restorative. For instance, vegetated spaces can improve an individual's self-esteem and mood, while the presence of water can have a relaxing effect. Adding multiple biophilic strategies for the sake of diversity may backfire unless they are integrative and supporting a unified design intent.

Quality vs. quantity of intervention

When planning for implementation, common questions recur, such as how much is enough and what makes a good design great. A high quality intervention may be defined by the richness of content, user accessibility and, as mentioned above, diversity of strategies. A single high quality intervention can be more effective and have greater restorative potential than several low quality interventions. Climate, cost and other variables may influence or limit feasibility of certain interventions, but should not be considered an obstacle to achieving a high quality application. For example, multiple instances of Prospect with a shallow to moderate depth of field and limited information in the viewshed may not be as effective (at prompting the desired response) as a single powerful instance of Prospect with a moderate to high depth of field and an information-rich viewshed.

Duration of exposure and frequency of access

Identifying the most appropriate duration of exposure to a pattern, or combination of patterns, can be difficult. The ideal exposure time is likely dependent upon the user and desired effect, but as a general guideline, empirical evidence shows that positive emotions, mental restoration and other benefits can occur in as little as 5 to 20 minutes of immersion in nature (; ; ).

When a long duration of exposure is not possible or desired, positioning biophilic design interventions along paths that channel high levels of foot traffic will help improve frequency of access. Consider too that micro-restorative experiences - brief sensory interactions with nature that promote a sense of well-being - while often designed in response to space-restriction, are more readily implementable, replicable and often more accessible than larger interventions; frequent exposure to these small interventions may contribute to a compounded restoration response.

3.3 Locally Appropriate Design

No two places are the same; this presents both challenges and opportunities for creativity in the application of biophilic design patterns. Discussed here are some key considerations that may help frame, prioritize, or influence decision making in the design process.

Climate, ecology and the vernacular

Historically, humans have built shelters from locally available materials that reflected the regional ecology; form and function were in response to the topography and climate. Known as vernacular architecture, these buildings and constructed landscapes connect to where they inhabit. Use of local timber, climate responsive design and xeriscaping - using native, drought tolerant plants to create landscape designs that resemble the climate of the surrounding landscape - can each be effective strategies in designing for a resilient, biophilic experience.

Whether rural or urban, not all natural or tempered environments are 'green' in color, nor should they be. Desert species and terrain can be equally important in reinforcing a biophilic connection to place. Some habitats may engender a stronger positive response than others, but a biodiverse savanna-like scene will most likely be preferred over an area abundant yet trackless sand desert, the open ocean, or a dark forest.

Character and density: Rural, suburban and urban environments

In rural environments, human-nature interactions are abundant, and this regular exposure to nature has restorative qualities that we perhaps take for granted. Suburban settings are typically rife with intuitively applied biophilic design; the suburban yard with shade trees, grass, low shrubs, and beds of flowers is essentially an analogue of the African savanna. Porches and balconies offer more than just quaintness and real estate value; many suburban homes and urban rowhouses are raised 18 inches or more, creating a Prospect-Refuge condition with views from windows, stoops and porches. The potential human health benefits are undervalued in high-density settings where residential towers with balconies are both limited and only available to high-paying tenants.

Park(ing) Day make-shift outdoor seating with temporary landscaping in the streets.

Scale and feasibility

Biophilic design patterns should be scaled to the surrounding environment and to the predicted user population for the space. Patterns can be applied at the scale of a micro-space, a room, a building, a neighborhood or campus, and even an entire district or city. Each of these spaces will present different design challenges depending on the programming, user types and dynamics, climate, culture, and various physical parameters, as well as existing or needed infrastructure.

Size and availability of space are two of the most common factors influencing feasibility of biophilic design patterns. For instance, the Prospect pattern [ P11] typically requires significant space. Other patterns, such as Connection with Natural Systems [ P7], may be more feasible where there is access to an outdoor space, which is a common challenge in dense urban environments. Yet small scale, micro-restorative Visual [ P1] and Non-Visual Connections with Nature [ P2] and Presence of Water [ P5] can also be very effective. For instance, the psychological benefits of nature actually have been shown to increase with exposure to higher levels of biodiversity , yet these benefits do not necessarily increase with greater natural vegetative area. From this we can derive that small, micro-restorative experiences that are also biodiverse are likely to be particularly effective at engendering a restorative biophilic experience.

The speed at which one moves through an environment, whether rural or urban, impacts the level of observable detail and the perceived scale of buildings and spaces. The General Motors "Tech Center" in Warren, Michigan, designed by architect Eero Saarinen in 1949, is designed to be experienced at 30 mph, so for the pedestrian, the scale seems oversized and the spacing of buildings is oddly far apart. This is why stores on along strip malls have large, simple façades and signage, whereas stores within pedestrian zones tends to have smaller and perhaps more intricate signage. Similarly, the landscaping along freeway and highway greenbelts is typically done in large swaths for instant interpretability. In contrast, a pedestrian focused environment will have more fine-grained details in the landscape design to allow for pause, exploration, and a more intimate experience.

Some patterns, such as [ P13] Mystery and [ P14] Risk/Peril, might not be as feasible or cost-effective in an interior fit-out project because of the amount of space required to effectively implement the pattern. On the other hand, interior fit-outs are an excellent opportunity to introduce Natural Analogue patterns which can be applied to surfaces like walls, floors, and ceilings as well as furniture and window treatments. In addition, not all aspects of biophilia are space dependent. Some patterns (e.g., P2, P4, P6, P7) are more visceral or temporal, requiring little to no floor area, and other patterns (e.g., P8-P10) may simply guide design choices that were already a part of the design process.

Major renovations, new construction and master planning provide more opportunities for incorporating biophilic design patterns that are coupled with systems integration at the building, campus or community scale.

Culture and demographics

Biophobia & Ecophobia

Biophobia is a fear of or aversion to nature or living things ((Ulrich, 1993). Similarly, ecophobia refers to an unreasonable but deeply conditioned disgust for or reaction against natural forms or places.

While biophobia is arguably genetic, to a degree, both phobias are learnt response mechanisms through direct experience, culture and education which, according to Salingaros and Masden (2008), includes architectural education.

The most common biophobic responses are to spiders, snakes, predators, blood, and heights - elements that either directly threaten or signal danger through humanity's evolutionary path. When tempered with an element of safety (e.g., railing or glass window), however, the experience can be transformed into one of curiosity, exhilaration and even a type of mind-body systems recalibration.

Current evolutionary hypotheses and theories state that contemporary landscape preferences are influenced by human evolution, reflecting the innate landscape qualities that enhanced survival for humanity through time. These schools of thought include the biophilia hypothesis ( and ), the savanna hypothesis , the habitat theory and prospect-refuge theory , and the preference matrix . While empirical research has shown that there is a degree of universality to landscape preferences among humans, preferences have been modified by cultural influences, experiences and socio-economic factors . Variations in landscape preferences have thus emerged among immigrants, ethnic groups, subcultures, genders, and age groups.

Cultural constructs, social inertia and ecological literacy suffuse differing perspectives on what constitutes natural, nature, wild, or beautiful (; ). Environmental Generational Amnesia and the Ecological Aesthetic Theory help explain how some perspectives may have evolved, and these differences come to bear across countries and regions, as well as among neighborhoods within the same city.

Environmental Generational Amnesia

One of the cultural challenges to upholding that human-nature bond, as well as environmental stewardship, is a phenomenon known as Environmental Generational Amnesia, the shifting baseline for what is considered a normal environmental condition as it continues to degrade. As environmental degradation continues, the baseline continues to shift with each ensuing generation, each perceiving this degraded condition as the norm or non-degraded condition.

Youth benefit the most from nature contact in terms of increasing self-esteem. The gains for self-esteem from nature contact are suggested to decline with age; elderly and youth benefit the least in terms of mood enhancement from nature contact , yet both groups are equal in perceived restorativeness of natural over urban environments . With age also comes a differing preference in landscape in regards to perceived safety. While an urban woodland may be an enticing place for adventure for a child or teenager, the same condition could be perceived by adults and elderly populations as risky , which could possibly be overcome by incorporating a Prospect-Refuge condition.

3.4 Design Integration

Interdisciplinary planning and design

Developing an interdisciplinary strategy early on in a project will help ensure cost-effective opportunities are not lost before they are fully considered. Biophilia is but one piece of the puzzle to creating a vibrant, sustainable, and restorative environment. The integration of a multi-disciplinary strategy in the early stages of development - through a stakeholder charrette process or similar - will put team members on equal footing and allow for the identification of potential strengths, challenges and opportunities. In the long run, this approach will improve project satisfaction and save money.

Biophilia as an environmental quality

Environmental quality is an umbrella term that refers to the sum of the properties and characteristics of a specific environment and how it affects human beings and other organisms within its zone of influence.

Biophilia, like air quality, thermal comfort and acoustics, is an essential component of environmental quality that expands the conversation from daylight, materials toxicity, and air, water and soil quality, to include human biological health and well-being.

When integral to the environmental quality discussion, biophilia may also help dissolve the perceived division between human needs and building performance. And we would be remiss not to acknowledge that back-of-house and night shift workers are often the most deprived of biophilic experiences, while they are also the very people responsible for monitoring and maintaining building performance standards. From an architectural perspective, biophilic design patterns have the potential to refocus the designer's attention on the links between people, health, high-performance design and aesthetics.

Multi-platform solutions

Controlling for effectiveness

The Ecological Aesthetic Theory

Given that landscapes and people's needs are in a constant state of flux, it is challenging to ensure the desired health response is always experienced. It is impossible to predict all future human-nature interactions or to ensure that the desired response recurs over a period of time for every user based on a particular strategy or intervention. Indeed, we can assume that efficacy of many biophilic patterns are likely to rise and decline with diurnal and seasonal cycles. For instance, the health benefits of a view to nature may be diminished during winter months or completely negated for night shift workers when the view is shrouded in darkness. However, secondary or seasonal strategies can help maintain balance, such as with indoor interventions, delivering the desired response throughout the year.

Behavior change is not often in the purview of the architect, so designing for controllability versus automation or permanency may inform the intervention design process. Maintenance of implemented strategies is also a consideration - will there be someone responsible for cleaning the fish tank and watering the plants? Having trainings and discussions with facility operators and a reference guide indicating appropriate maintenance requirements and parameters will help uphold the intended biophilic experience set forth in the design strategy.

Tracking and measuring efficacy

Reflecting pool at the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts by Tadao Ando, St. Louis.

Monitoring efficacy of implemented biophilic design patterns for the express purpose of improving health and well-being is a new branch of inquiry. Variability in the built environment, as discussed here, creates a challenging framework for verification; quantitative metrics are often desired but not always appropriate, and the highly invasive nature of some measurement techniques and tools (i.e., fMRI, EEG) adds a layer of complexity and cost. Many of the current techniques used require strict control of variables and cost which tends to limit the size of the test group. There are, however, several new technologies, like wristband monitors, and very light weight headband EEG that may open up new rapid methods of testing; but until those technologies go mainstream, rapid testing can also be done in more rudimentary fashion and with a smaller budget.

As no two interventions will be exactly the same, all results will differ to one degree or another. Culture, climate, age, gender, landscape character, immigrant status, mental health, and genetic predispositions, for example, create a challenging labyrinth of data for comparison. Nevertheless, tracking and monitoring of human biological responses and outcomes triggered by a biophilic pattern is vital in the progress and further development of biophilic design as a best practice.

The science of biophilia is a rapidly evolving field. There is an increasing interest in biophilia research in psychology, neuroscience and endocrinology and our understanding of these patterns will be refined and strengthened as new evidence is gathered. It is entirely possible that additional patterns will emerge over time.

4. The Patterns

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"...Biophilia is not a single instinct but a complex of learning rules that can be teased apart and analyzed individually. The feelings molded by the learning rules fall along several emotional spectra: from attraction to aversion, from awe to indifference, from peacefulness to fear-driven anxiety."
- Edward O. Wilson, 1993
Biophilia and the Conservation Ethic, The Biophilia Hypothesis

Pattern as Precedent

In the two decades since Wilson published The Biophilia Hypothesis, the body of evidence supporting biophilia has expanded considerably. The biophilic design patterns in this paper have, in the words of Wilson, been "teased apart and analyzed individually" to reveal emotional affiliations Wilson spoke of, as well as other psychophysiological and cognitive relationships with the built environment. The descriptive term 'pattern' is being used for three reasons:

to propose a clear and standardized terminology for biophilic design;

to avoid confusion with multiple terms (metric, attribute, condition, characteristic, typology, etc.) that have been used to explain biophilia and biophilic design; and

to maximize accessibility across disciplines by upholding a familiar language.

The use of spatial patterns is inspired by the precedents of A Pattern Language , Designing with People in Mind and Patterns of Home , as well as lectures and compilations on form, language and complexity (; ). Christopher Alexander brings clarity to this intent with his explanation that patterns
"........describe a problem which occurs over and over again in our environment, and then describes the core of the solution to that problem, in such a way that you can use this solution a million times over, without ever doing it the same way twice."
Alexander's work built on the tradition of pattern books used by designers and builders from the eighteenth century onward, but his work focused on the psychological benefits of patterns and included descriptions of the three dimensional spatial experience, rather than the aesthetic focus of previous pattern books. These fourteen Patterns of Biophilic Design focus on psychological, physiological and cognitive benefits.

Working with Biophilic Patterns

While informed by science, biophilic design patterns are not formulas; they are meant to inform, guide and assist in the design process and should be thought of as another tool in the designer's toolkit. The purpose of defining these patterns is to articulate connections between aspects of the built and natural environments and how people react to and benefit from them.

After each pattern is defined, it is then discussed in terms of the following:

The Experience briefly considers how the pattern might impact the way a space feels;

Roots of the Pattern highlights key scientific evidence that relates human biology to nature and the built environment;

Working with the Pattern highlights design attributes, examples, and considerations; and

Relation to Other Patterns briefly notes opportunities for integrative biophilic design strategies.

Tanner Springs by Atelier Dreisetl demonstrates at least one pattern from each of the three categories of biophilic design. Image © Fred Jala/Flickr.

Just as combinations of culture, demographics, health baselines, and characteristics of the built environment can impact the experience of space differently, so too can each design pattern. A suitable solution results from understanding local conditions and one space's relationship to another, and responding appropriately with a combination of design interventions to suit the unique needs of a space and its intended user group and programs.

Finally, each pattern has been assessed for overall potential impact and the strength of the research on which a pattern is built. Unless otherwise noted, all examples reported are based on data published in a peer-reviewed journal. We acknowledge that some studies are more rigorous than others and that some patterns have a greater body of research to support findings of significance. To help communicate this variability, up to three asterisks are following each pattern name, whereby three asterisks (***) indicates that the quantity and quality of available peer-reviewed evidence is robust and the potential for impact is great, and no asterisk indicates that there is minimal research to support the biological relationship between health and design, but the anecdotal information is adequate for hypothesizing its potential impact and importance as a unique pattern.

The field of biophilic design is constantly evolving, and as Salingaros (2000) explains, new disciplines such as biophilic design must "abstract its patterns as they appear... building its own foundation and logical skeleton, upon which future growth can be supported." As new evidence comes to bear, it is entirely possible that some patterns will be championed over others and that new patterns will emerge. By establishing these 14 basic patterns, we hope to encourage the widespread scientific study, language development, and design implementation of Biophilia.

14 Patterns of Biophilic Design Improving Health and Well-Being in the Built Environment

Nature in the Space

Natural Analogues

Nature of the Space

4.1 Nature in the Space
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The Experience

A space with a good Visual Connection with Nature feels whole, it grabs one's attention and can be stimulating or calming. It can convey a sense of time, weather and other living things.

Roots of the Pattern

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

Visual preference research indicates that the preferred view is looking down a slope to a scene that includes copses of shade trees, flowering plants, calm non-threatening animals, indications of human habitation, and bodies of clean water (Orians & Heerwagen, 1992). This is often difficult to achieve in the built environment, particularly in already dense urban settings, though the psychological benefits of nature are suggested to increase with higher levels of biodiversity and not with an increase in natural vegetative area (Fuller et al., 2007). Positive impact on mood and self-esteem has also been shown to occur most significantly in the first five minutes of experiencing nature, such as through exercise within a green space (Barton & Pretty, 2010). Viewing nature for ten minutes prior to experiencing a mental stressor has shown to stimulate heart rate variability and parasympathetic activity (i.e., regulation of internal organs and glands that support digestion and other activities that occur when the body is at rest) (Brown, Barton & Gladwell, 2013), while viewing a forest scene for 20 minutes after a mental stressor has shown to return cerebral blood flow and brain activity to a relaxed state (Tsunetsugu & Miyazaki, 2005).

Parallax

Viewing scenes of nature stimulates a larger portion of the visual cortex than non-nature scenes, which triggers more pleasure receptors in our brain, leading to prolonged interest and faster stress recovery. For example, heart rate recovery from low-level stress, such as from working in an office environment, has shown to occur 1.6 times faster when the space has a glass window with a nature view, rather than a high-quality simulation (i.e., plasma video) of the same nature view, or no view at all (Kahn et al., 2008). Additionally, repeated viewing of real nature, unlike non-nature, does not significantly diminish the viewer's level of interest over time (Biederman & Vessel, 2006).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Visual Connection with Nature pattern is to provide an environment that helps the individual shift focus to relax the eye muscles and temper cognitive fatigue. The effect of an intervention will improve as the quality of a view and the amount of visible biodiversity each increases.

A view to nature through a glass window provides a benefit over a digital screen (e.g., video/plasma tv) of the same view, particularly because there is no parallax shift for people as they move toward or around a video screen (Kahn et al., 2008). This may change as three-dimensional videography advances. Nevertheless, simulated or constructed nature is measurably better at engendering stress reduction than having no visual connection at all.

Design considerations for establishing a strong visual connection with nature:

Relation to other Patterns

Prioritize real nature over simulated nature; and simulated nature over no nature.

Prioritize biodiversity over acreage, area or quantity.

Prioritize or enable exercise opportunities that are in proximity to green space.

Design to support a visual connection that can be experienced for at least 5-20 minutes per day.

Design spatial layouts and furnishings to uphold desired view lines and avoid impeding the visual access when in a seated position.

Visual connections to even small instances of nature can be restorative, and particularly relevant for temporary interventions, or spaces where real estate (floor/ground area, wall space) is limited.

The benefits of viewing real nature may be attenuated by a digital medium, which may be of greatest value to spaces that, due to the nature of its function (e.g., hospital radiation units), cannot easily incorporate real nature or views to the outdoors.

An example of a designed environment with an excellent Visual Connection with Nature is the birch tree and moss garden in the New York Times Building in New York City - a carved out space in the middle of the building by which everyone passes as they enter or leave the building. Adjacent to a restaurant and the main conference rooms, the birch garden is an oasis of calm in the hustle and bustle of Times Square.

The Experience

A space with good Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli feels as if one is momentarily privy to something special, something fresh, interesting, stimulating and energizing. It is a brief but welcome distraction.

Roots of the Pattern

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

Studies of the human response to stochastic movement of objects in nature and momentary exposure to natural sounds and scents have shown to support physiological restoration. For instance, when sitting and staring at a computer screen or doing any task with a short visual focus, the eye's lens becomes rounded with the contracting of the eye muscles. When these muscles stay contracted for an extended period, i.e., more than 20 minutes at a time, fatigue can occur, manifesting as eye strain, headaches and physical discomfort. A periodic, yet brief visual or auditory distraction that causes one to look up (for >20 seconds) and to a distance (of >20 feet) allows for short mental breaks during which the muscles relax and the lenses flatten (Lewis, 2012; Vessel, 2012).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Non-Rhythmic Sensory Stimuli pattern is to encourage the use of natural sensory stimuli that unobtrusively attract attention, allowing individuals' capacity for focused tasks to be replenished from mental fatigue and physiological stressors. This can be achieved by designing for momentary exposure to the stochastic or unpredictable movement, particularly for periphery vision or the periodic experience of scents or sounds.

Relation to other Patterns

When immersed in nature, we continually experience instances of non-rhythmic stimuli: birds chirping, leaves rustling, the faint scent of eucalyptus in the air. The built environment has evolved into a deliberately predictable realm. Even some highly manicured gardens and certainly interior vegetation lack the qualities needed to support non-rhythmic sensory stimuli.

Design considerations for establishing accessible and effective non-rhythmic stimuli:

As a general guideline, non-rhythmic sensory experiences should occur approximately every 20 minutes for about 20 seconds and, for visual stimuli, from a distance of more than 20 feet away.

Many stimuli in nature are seasonal, so a strategy that is effective year-round, such as with multiple interventions that overlap with seasons, will help ensure that non-rhythmic sensory experiences can occur at any given time of the year.

In some cases, the intervention may be similar to that of [P1] Visual or [P2] Non-Visual Connection with Nature; what's important here is the ephemeral and stochastic quality of the intervention.

An intervention that leverages simulation of (rather than naturally occurring) natural stimuli will likely necessitate early collaboration with the mechanical engineer or facilities team.

A non-rhythmic stimuli strategy can be interwoven with almost any landscape or horticulture plan. For instance, selecting plant species for window boxes that will attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators may be a more practical application for some projects than maintaining a honeybee apiary or butterfly sanctuary.

Humans perceive movement in the peripheral view much quicker than straight ahead. The brain also processes the movement of living things in a different place than it does of mechanical objects (Beauchamp et al., 2003), whereby natural movement is generally perceived as positive, and mechanical movement as neutral or even negative. As a result, the repeating rhythmic motion of a pendulum will only hold one's attention briefly, the constant repetitive ticking of a clock may come to be ignored over time, and an ever-present scent may lose its mystique with long-term exposure; whereas, the stochastic movement of a butterfly will capture one's attention each time for recurring physiological benefits.

The Dockside Green community on Vancouver Island, Victoria, BC Canada, is a great example of non-rhythmic stimuli. The implementation of habitat restoration and rainwater management has led to ephemeral experiences of swaying grasses, falling water and the buzz of passing insects and animals that are visible from walkways, porches, and windows around the community.

The Experience

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

A space with a good Presence of Water condition feels compelling and captivating. Fluidity, sound, lighting, proximity and accessibility each contribute to whether a space is stimulating, calming, or both.

Roots of the Pattern

Visual preference research indicates that a preferred view contains bodies of clean (i.e., unpolluted) water (Heerwagen & Orians, 1993). Research has also shown that landscapes with water elicit a higher restorative response and generally have a greater preference among populations in comparison to landscapes without water. Supporting evidence has suggested that natural scenes without water and urban scenes with water elements follow with primarily equal benefits (Jahncke et al., 2011; Karmanov & Hamel, 2008; White et al., 2010).

Research on response to activities conducted in green spaces has shown that the presence of water prompts greater improvements in both self-esteem and mood than activities conducted in green environments without the presence of water (Barton & Pretty, 2010). Auditory access and perceived or potential tactile access to water also reportedly reduces stress (Alvarsson et al., 2010; Pheasant et al., 2010).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Presence of Water pattern is to capitalize on the multi-sensory attributes of water to enhance the experience of a place in a manner that is soothing, prompts contemplation, enhances mood, and provides restoration from cognitive fatigue.

Repeated experiences of water do not significantly diminish our level of interest over time (Biederman & Vessel, 2006), so one small water feature may be adequate. Taking advantage of the sounds created by small-scale running water, and our capacity to touch it, will amplify the desired health response with a multi-sensory experience. Vistas to large bodies of water or physical access to natural or designed water bodies can also have the health response so long as they are perceived as 'clean' or unpolluted. Images of nature that include aquatic elements are more likely to help reduce blood pressure and heart rate than similar imagery without aquatic elements.

Design considerations for optimizing the impacts of a presence of water:

Prioritize a multi-sensory water experience to achieve the most beneficial outcome.

Prioritize naturally fluctuating water movement over predictable movement or stagnancy.

High volume, high turbulence water features could create discomfort, impact humidity levels or decrease acoustic quality, so proximity may influence appropriateness.

Water features can be water and energy intensive and as such should be used sparingly, particularly in climates with little access to water. Shading the water, using high albedo surfaces, and minimizing the exposed water surface area will minimize water loss through evaporation, and possibly contribute to the biophilic experience.

Relation to other Patterns

Commonly enhanced patterns:

The Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. is a great example of Presence of Water with its physically expansive water feature doubling as an event space. The former outdoor space has been enclosed with an undulating canopy design by Foster + Partners, bearing resemblance to water or clouds. On several portions of the gently sloping floors are slits from which a sheet of water emerges, it flows across the textured stone and then disappears into a series of slots toward the center of the courtyard. Designed by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol Ltd., the thin sheet of water reflects light and weather conditions from above and invites passersby to touch. During events the system is drained and seamlessly becomes part of the floor plane.

The Experience

A space with a good Dynamic & Diffuse Light condition conveys expressions of time and movement to evoke feelings of drama and intrigue, buffered with a sense of calm.

Roots of the Pattern

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

Lighting design has long been used to set the mood for a space, and different lighting conditions elicit differing psychological responses. The impact of daylight on performance, mood and well-being has been studied for many years, in a variety of environments, and as a complex field of science and design, light has been extensively studied and written about.

Early research showed that productivity is higher in well daylighted work places, sales are higher in daylit stores, and that children performed better in daylighted classrooms with views - the research focus was on lighting strategy and task performance and less on human biology. For instance, quality daylighting has been reported to induce more positive moods and significantly less dental decay among students attending schools with quality daylight than students attending schools with average light conditions (Nicklas & Bailey, 1996).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Dynamic & Diffuse Light pattern is twofold: to provide users with lighting options that stimulate the eye and hold attention in a manner that engenders a positive psychological or physiological response, and to help maintain circadian system functioning. The goal should not be to create uniform distribution of light through a (boring) space, nor should there be extreme differences (i.e., glare discomfort).

The human eye and the processing of light and images within the brain are adaptable over a broad range of conditions, although there are limitations. For example, when the lighting difference between adjoining sources or surfaces has a brightness or luminance ratio of greater than forty-to-one, glare may occur, which diminishes visual comfort (Clanton, 2014). For work areas, luminance ratios between task and immediate surroundings should not exceed 10 to one. So while dramatic lighting differences may be great for some religious, socialization and circulation spaces, they are not a good idea on work surfaces.

Diffuse lighting on vertical and ceiling surfaces provides a calm backdrop to the visual scene. Accent lighting and other layering of light sources creates interest and depth, while task or personalized lighting provides localized flexibility in intensity and direction. These layers help create a pleasing visual environment (Clanton, 2014).

Movement of light and shadows along a surface can attract our attention. For example, the dappled light under the canopy of an aspen tree, or the reflections of rippling water on a wall. These patterns tend to be fractals, and the brain is attuned to moving fractals (see [ P10] Complexity & Order).

Just as variations in lighted surfaces are important for interpreting surfaces, conducting a variety of tasks, and safe navigation, circadian lighting is important for supporting biological health. Leveraging opportunities for illuminance fluctuation, light distribution and light color variability that stimulate the human eye without causing discomfort will improve the quality of the user experience.

Design considerations for establishing a balance between dynamic and diffused lighting conditions:

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

Dynamic lighting conditions can help transition between indoor and outdoor spaces.

Drastically dynamic lighting conditions, such as with sustained movement, changing colors, direct sunlight penetration and high contrasts, may not be appropriate for spaces where directed attention activities are performed.

Circadian lighting will be especially important in spaces the people occupy for extended periods of time.

A prime example of a Dynamic & Diffuse Light condition is at the Yale Center for British Art, designed by Louis Kahn. Despite the building's stark exterior, the diversity of interior spaces and differing orientations of windows, clerestories, skylights and a large central atrium allows for light to penetrate at variable levels of diffusion to create an enhanced visitor experience, while upholding indoor environmental conditions necessary for displaying fine art.

The Experience

Examples

Naturally Occurring:

Simulated or Constructed:

A space with a good Connection with Natural Systems evokes a relationship to a greater whole, making one aware of seasonality and the cycles of life. The experience is often relaxing, nostalgic, profound or enlightening, and frequently anticipated.

Roots of the Pattern

There is limited scientific documentation of the health impacts associated with access to natural systems; however, much like [ P5] Presence of Water, this pattern is suspected to enhance positive health responses. In Biophilic Design (Kellert et al., 2008), Kellert frames this as "Natural Patterns and Processes", whereby seeing and understanding the processes of nature can create a perceptual shift in what's being seen and experienced. This pattern has a strong temporal element, which can be expressed culturally, as in the Japanese love of the ephemerality of cherry blossoms.

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Connection with Natural Systems pattern is to heighten both awareness of natural properties and hopefully environmental stewardship of the ecosystems within which those properties prevail. The strategy for working with the pattern may be as simple as identifying key content in a view to nature (e.g., deciduous trees in the back yard or blossoming orchids on the window sill), or it may be a more complex integration of systems, such as by making evident the relationship between building occupant behavior and rainwater infrastructure (e.g., raingardens, bioswales, storm sewers) capacity, by regulating domestic activities (e.g., showering, laundry) during rain events. In either case, the temporal component is usually the key factor in pattern recognition and the triggering of a deeper awareness of a functioning ecosystem.

Design considerations and opportunities that may help create quality connections with natural systems:

Integration of rainwater capture and treatment into the landscape design that responds to rain events.

In some cases, providing visual access to existing natural systems will be the easiest and most cost effective approach. In other cases, the incorporation of responsive design tactics (e.g., use of materials that change form or expand function with exposure to solar heat gain, wind, rain/moisture, or shading), structures (e.g., steps wells), and land formations (e.g., bioswales, arroyos, dunes) will be necessary to achieve the desired level of awareness.

Design interactive opportunities, especially for children, patients, and the elderly (e.g., integrative educational curriculum; horticulture programs, community gardens; seasonal cooking/diet).

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

Outside the New York penthouse office of COOKFOX Architects, sits a 3,000 square foot extensive green roof that changes color and vibrancy from season to season. Witnessing a hawk killing a small bird shifted employee perception of their green roof as an ecosystem and not just a decorative garden. This perception was reinforced when employees noticed changes in bee colony behavior during times of extreme heat and humidity, when the honeybee apiary was invaded by robber bees, and again when the summer honey harvest looked and tasted different than the autumn harvest.

4.2 Natural Analogues
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The Experience

A space with a good Material Connection with Nature feels rich, warm and authentic, and sometimes stimulating to the touch.

Roots of the Pattern

While scientific documentation on the health impact of natural materials is limited, available research is beginning to shed light on opportunities for informed design. As such, the Material Connection with Nature pattern has evolved from a limited body of scientific research on physiological responses to variable quantities of natural materials, and the impact of natural color palette, particularly the color green, has on cognitive performance.

Examples

Decor:

Form / Function:

One such study demonstrated that a difference in wood ratio on the walls of an interior space led to different physiological responses (Tsunetsugu, Miyazaki & Sato, 2007). The researchers observed that a room with a moderate ratio of wood (i.e., 45% coverage), with a more subjective "comfortable" feeling, exhibited significant decreases in diastolic blood pressure and significant increases in pulse rate, whereas a decrease in brain activity was observed in large ratios (i.e., 90% coverage), which could be either highly restorative in a spa or doctor's office, or counterproductive if in a space where high cognitive functionality is expected.

In a series of four experiments examining the effect of the presence of the color green on the psychological functioning of participants, the results concluded that exposure to the color green before conducting a task "facilitates creativity performance, but has no influence on analytical performance" (Lichtenfeld et al., 2012). Humans are also able to distinguish more variations in the color green than of any other color (Painter, 2014). However, which variation(s) of the color green most influence creativity or other mind-body responses is not well understood.

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Material Connection with Nature pattern is to explore the characteristics and quantities of natural materials optimal for engendering positive cognitive or physiological responses. In some cases, there may be several layers of information in materials that enhance the connection, such as learned knowledge about the material, familiar textures, or nested fractals that occur within a stone or wood grain pattern.

Natural materials can be decorative or functional, and are typically processed or extensively altered (e.g., wood plank, granite countertop) from their original 'natural' state, and while they may be extracted from nature, they are only analogous of the items in their 'natural' state.

Design considerations that may help create a quality material connection:

Quantities of a (natural) material and color should be specified based on intended function of the space (e.g., to restore versus stimulate). In the same vein, a degree of variability of materials and applications is recommended over high ratios of any one material or color.

Real materials are preferred over synthetic variations because human receptors can tell the difference between real and synthetic, so minimally processed materials from real nature are preferred whenever possible.

Incorporating instances of the color green may help enhance creative environments; however, scientific studies on the impact of the color green have mostly been conducted in controlled lab environments, so dependence on color to engender creativity should be considered experimental.

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

The lobby of the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park in New York (COOKFOX Architects, 2009) is a good example of a diverse application of Material Connections with Nature. One enters the glass skyscraper by grasping a thin wooden door handle. The interior lobby walls are clad with Jerusalem Stone - the tiles with the highest fossil content were intentionally placed at the corner where they would be most encountered and even touched by passersby. Leather paneling in the elevator lobby is warm in color, providing a sense of calm for people as they wait for their ride, and soft to the touch, from which the patina has begun to show.

4.3 Nature of the Space
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The Experience

A space with a good Prospect condition feels open and freeing, yet imparts a sense of safety and control, particularly when alone or in unfamiliar environments.

Roots of the Pattern

In evolutionary psychology terms, we should prefer habitats that are similar to the African savannas on which we evolved as a species. This becomes clear in visual preference research starting with Jay Appleton's Experience of Landscape in 1975, where he asked why certain views from the same vantage point are preferred over others. Wilson and Kellert (1993) argue that our view preferences, and possibly our aesthetic preferences, have roots in referential points that benefit our survival. For example, flowers are indicators of healthy plant growth, and to signal the availability of resources in the future (Orians & Heerwagen, 1992). The savanna, with its open terrain and copses of shade trees, becomes more favorable when combined with water, an understory of flowers and forbs, calm grazing animals and evidence of human habitation. That we should be genetically predisposed to prefer this scene is posited by the Savanna Hypothesis (Orians & Heerwagen, 1986 and 1992).

Distant prospect (>100 feet, >30 meters) is preferred over shorter focal lengths (<20 feet, 6 meter) because it provides a greater sense of awareness and comfort (Herzog & Bryce, 2007), reducing one's stress responses, particularly when alone or in unfamiliar environments (Petherick, 2000). Good Prospect is extensive and information rich, with a savanna-like view.

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Prospect pattern is to provide users with a condition suitable for visually surveying and contemplating the surrounding environment for both opportunity and hazard. In landscapes, prospect is characterized as the view from an elevated position or across an expanse. While an elevated position can enhance (indoor and outdoor) prospect, it is not essential to creating a quality Prospect experience.

There are potentially endless combinations for applying characteristics of Prospect (Dosen & Ostwald, 2013). There is interior prospect, exterior prospect, as well as short depth and high depth prospect that can occur simultaneously. The complexity and variety of ways to achieve prospect is what makes it such a powerful design element. For interior spaces or dense urban spaces, prospect is the ability to see from one space to another, and is strengthened when there are clear distinctions and the opportunity to see through multiple spaces (Hildebrand, 1991).

Design considerations that may help create a quality Prospect condition:

Orienting building, fenestration, corridors and workstations will help optimize visual access to indoor or outdoor vistas, activity hubs or destinations.

Designing with or around an existing or planned savanna-like ecosystem, body of water, and evidence of human activity or habitation will help the information-richness of the prospect view.

Providing focal lengths of ≥20 feet (6 meters), preferably 100 feet (30 meters); when a space has sufficient depth, spatial properties can be leveraged to enhance the experience by removing visual barriers. Limiting partition heights to 42" will provide spatial barriers while allowing seated occupants to view across a space. Understory vegetation or hedges should use a similar guide; preferred height limitations will depend on terrain and how the space is most experienced (e.g., while sitting, standing, on a bicycle).

Locating stairwells at building perimeter with glass façade and interior glass stairwell walls can form a dual Prospect condition.

When high ceilings are present, perimeter or interior spaces elevated 12-18" will enhance the Prospect condition.

Often the view quality and the balance between Prospect and [P12] Refuge will be more important than the size or frequency of the experience.

Refer to [P1] Visual Connection with Nature to optimize the Prospect experience with a quality view.

The central courtyard of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California, designed by Louis Kahn, is a popular example of a nearly pure Prospect condition. This elevated space is bounded by the angled fins of the adjacent researcher offices, and has a rill flowing through the center out towards the view of the Pacific Ocean. There are some small trees in planters at the entry of the courtyard, but once in the space one's gaze is drawn outward through the space.

The Experience

A space with a good Refuge condition feels safe, providing a sense of retreat and withdrawal - for work, protection, rest or healing - whether alone or in small groups. A good refuge space feels separate or unique from its surrounding environment; its spatial characteristics can feel contemplative, embracing and protective, without unnecessarily disengaging.

Roots of the Pattern

The Refuge pattern has evolved from research on visual preference research and spatial habitat responses, and its relationship to [ P11] Prospect conditions. Refuge conditions are important for restoration experiences and stress reduction, which can be realized through lowered blood pressure and heart rate. Other benefits of Refuge are suggested to include reduced irritation, fatigue and perceived vulnerability, as well as improved concentration, attention and perception of safety (Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2010; Wang & Taylor, 2006; Petherick, 2000; Ulrich et al., 1993).

Jay Appleton's writing (1975, 1996) is focused on theory and is a good overall reference for both Prospect and Refuge, whereas Grant Hildebrand (1991) has written the most intelligently about Prospect and Refuge in the built environment and is a good reference for applications. In Grant Hildebrand's words, "The edge of a wood is one of the most prevalent of natural prospect-refuge conjunctions" for it provides protection from weather and predators, but allows for outward surveillance. Nonetheless, the health response to Refuge is reportedly stronger than the response to Prospect, and the compounded response is enhanced when the two spatial conditions converge (Grahn & Stigsdotter, 2010).

In small urban parks, park size is less important than the ability to be immersed in the space with the conditions of enclosure leading to restoration (e.g., Nordh, Hartig, Hägerhäll & Fry, 2009). In larger parks, the refuge spaces under trees, and in vegetation bordering an open space or meadow, are the preferred locations (e.g., Ruddell & Hammitt, 1987). Though science has yet to establish metrics for frequency or duration of access to refuge conditions, the balance between Refuge and Prospect is suggested to be more important than the size or frequency of the experience (Appleton, 1996).

Working with the Pattern

The primary objective of the Refuge pattern is to provide users with an easily accessible and protective environment - a smaller portion of a larger space - that supports restoration. The secondary objective is to limit visual access into the refuge space. The principal spatial condition is protection overhead and to one's back, preferably on three sides; strategic placement or orientation of the space can also influence quality of experience.

Common functions of Refuge conditions:

weather or climate protection

speech or visual privacy

reflection or meditation

rest or relaxation

reading

complex cognitive tasks

protection from physical danger

In most cases, the refuge is not entirely enclosed, but rather provides some contact (visual or aural) with the surrounding environment for surveillance. The greater the number of protective sides, the greater the refuge condition; however, complete refuge - protection on all sides - is not necessarily the most appropriate or effective solution, as it does not maintain a relationship to the larger space. The traditional lean-to is a great example of basic refuge, as are a cozy bench seat in a bay window of the kitchen or a fireside inglenook.

Refuge spaces take many forms, so understanding the context and defining the intended user experience will certainly influence design decisions. There are endless combinations of design elements that can create a quality refuge space that offers shade or protection from natural or man-made environmental conditions.

Design considerations:

Indoor refuge spaces are usually characterized by lowered ceiling conditions. For spaces with standard ceiling heights, this may equate to approximately 18-24 inches below the main ceiling, and is often achieved through treatments like a soffit, a drop-ceiling or acoustical paneling, or suspended fabric.

For outdoor or indoor spaces with particularly high ceilings (>14 feet), a more drastic differential may be necessary to achieve the desired outcome; freestanding or vegetative alcoves and mezzanine-like structures are often effective.

When designing for larger populations or multiple activity types, providing more than one kind of refuge space can address varying needs, which can often be met through differing spatial dimensions, lighting conditions, and degree of concealment.

Light levels in refuge spaces should differ from adjacent spaces and user lighting controls will broaden functionality as a refuge space.

Sitting with one's back against the trunk of a big shade tree is a classic refuge space, as is high backed booth seating in a restaurant, a reading nook in a library or school, a covered bus stop, or a wraparound porch. Treehouses are a timeless example of Refuge; and Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde, Colorado (constructed pre-A.D.1200s) is one of the best historic examples. While the settlement provides a feeling of containment and protection from the arid climate and potential predators or enemies, the refuge experience is enhanced with characteristics of Prospect through its elevated position and views over the canyon.

The Experience

A space with a good Mystery condition has a palpable sense of anticipation, or of being teased, offering the senses a kind of denial and reward that compels one to further investigate the space.

Roots of the Pattern

The Mystery pattern is largely based on the idea that people have two basic needs in environments: to understand and to explore (Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989) and that these 'basic needs' should occur "from one's current position" in order to engender a sense of mystery (Herzog and Bryce, 2007).

A quality mystery condition does not engender a fear response; the conditions that differentiate between surprise (i.e., fear) and pleasure center around the visual depth of field. An obscured view with a shallow depth of field has shown to lead to unpleasant surprises, whereas greater visual access, with a medium (≥20 ft) to high (≥100 ft) depth of field is preferred (Herzog and Bryce, 2007).

A good mystery condition could also be expressed through the obscuring of the boundaries and a portion of the focal subject (i.e., room, building, outdoor space, or other information source), thereby enticing the user to anticipate the full extent of the subject and explore the space further (Ikemi, 2005).

Working with the Pattern

Mystery characterizes a place where an individual feels compelled to move forward to see what is around the corner; it is the partially revealed view ahead. The objective of the Mystery pattern is to provide a functional environment that encourages exploration in a manner that supports stress reduction and cognitive restoration. While other 'Nature of the Space' patterns can be experienced in a stationary position, mystery implies movement and analysis starting from a place perceived in a fundamentally positive way.

Mystery conditions have their place among indoor and outdoor plazas, corridors, pathways, parks, and other transitory spaces. The sense of mystery can be diluted over time and with routine exposure; however, strategies that include revolving content or information, such as peek-a-boo windows into common areas where activity is constantly changing, will be most effective in spaces routinely occupied by the same group of people.

Design considerations that will help create a quality Mystery condition:

Curving edges that slowly reveal are more effective than sharp corners in drawing people through a space.

Dramatic shade and shadows can enhance the mystery experience.

Strategies that provide dark shadows or shallow depth of field could instill unappreciated surprise or fear.

The speed at which users are transiting through a space will influence both the size of the aperture and the size of the subject; faster typically means bigger.

Organically evolved mystery conditions (e.g., low maintenance gardens with winding paths) are expectedly going to change characteristics over time. These changes should be monitored as they may enhance the mystery condition, or otherwise degrade it as it evolves into a surprise condition (e.g., overgrowth of plantings leads to obscuring of depth of field).

This process of denial and reward, obscure and reveal is evident in Japanese garden design and various mazes and labyrinths throughout the world. The gardens at Katsura Imperial Villa, in Kyoto, Japan, make strong use of Mystery to draw visitors through the space and instill a sense of fascination. The strategic placement of buildings within the garden allows them to be hidden and slowly revealed at various points along the garden path, encouraging the user to explore further.

Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, New York, is an excellent example of Mystery. In classic Olmsted style, many views throughout the park are obscured through the use of topography and vegetation. Key focal points in the landscape are revealed from stationary prospect points within the park. The focal points within the park (trees, buildings, lake and meadows) give the space a degree of legibility, but obscured views entice occupants to explore the space further, in order to understand it, which cannot be achieved in a single visit.

The Experience

A space with a good Risk/Peril condition feels exhilarating, and with an implied threat, maybe even a little mischievous or perverse. One feels that it might be dangerous, but intriguing, worth exploring and possibly even irresistible.

Roots of the Pattern

Risk can be generated by a learned or biophobic response triggered by a near and present danger. This danger, however, is inert and unable to cause harm due to a trusted element of safety. The defining difference between Risk/Peril and fear is the level of perceived threat and perceived control (Rapee, 1997).

Working with the Pattern

The objective of the Risk/Peril pattern is to arouse attention and curiosity, and refresh memory and problem solving skills. There are different degrees of risk that can be incorporated into a design depending on the intended user or the space available; a cantilevered walkway over a sheer cliff is an extreme case; viewing a predator in a zoo exhibit may provide a greater sense of control; whereas, rock-hopping through a gentle water feature presents the risk of getting one's feet wet.

Design considerations that will help create a quality Risk/Peril condition:

Relation to other Patterns

Common overlaps:

Risk/Peril design interventions are usually quite deliberate and as such will not be appropriate for all user groups or places.

Design strategies that rely on spatial conditions will be easier to implement when incorporated as early as concept design and schematic phases of the design process.

The element of safety must protect the user from harm while still permitting the experience of risk.

At Frank Lloyd Wright's home, Taliesin, in Spring Green, Wisconsin, The Birdwalk is a thrilling narrow balcony that cantilevers out over the hillside. The Levitated Mass at Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an enormous boulder that spans over a pedestrian ramp, and under which visitors pass. The balancing act is seems improbable, but the bracing provides some reassurance of safety, and visitors flock en masse to be photographed below the rock.

Lower-level risk, like getting one's feet wet, may be a more appropriate strategy for some settings. A great example would the stepping stone path through the water feature designed by Herbert Dreiseitl at Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany.

5. Final Thoughts

link to this section

"A new discipline needs to abstract its patterns as they appear. It is building its own foundation and logical skeleton, upon which future growth can be supported. Knowing its basic patterns early on will speed up the language's development, and guide it in the right direction."

- Nikos A. Salingaros, 2000 "The Structure of Pattern Languages"

The science supporting biophilic design is still emerging. In many ways, it could be argued that the research is really just corroborating the rediscovery of the intuitively obvious. Unfortunately, too much of our modern design is oblivious to this profound knowledge. Deep down, we know that the connection to nature is important. When asking people to think about their favorite places for vacation, the majority will describe some place outdoors; we use the term 'recreation' and forget that recreation is about recreating, restoring ourselves. So while empirical evidence is accumulating, we ought to go about restoring the human-nature connection in the built environment.

Just to remind ourselves why biophilic design is so important, consider that in the 12,000 years since humans began farming and other activities that transformed the natural landscape (Smithsonian, 2014), only in the last 250 years have modern cities become common. Within the last few years we became urban dwellers, with more people living in cities than in the countryside. In coming decades, it is projected that 70 percent of the world's population will live in cities. With this shift, the need for our designs to (re)connect people to an experience of nature becomes ever more important. Biophilic design is not a luxury, it's a necessity for our health and well-being.

We hope "14 Patterns of Biophilic Design" helps shed light both on the importance of the human connection with nature that are supported by biophilic design. We encourage people to challenge convention by bringing biophilic design patterns into a vision for healthy homes, workplaces and cities.

Appendix

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A review of research presenting the financial potential for a broad deployment of biophilic design in offices, communities, schools, retail and hospitals.

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Chris Brasier, FAIA, leader of the firm’s Higher Education practice, looks at how we can make wellness integral to facility design and what types of spaces offer the most benefit.

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Over the last year, the pandemic has spotlighted the importance of promoting student well-being through a holistic system of environments and resources. In the following, Clark Nexsen's Chris Brasier, FAIA, leader of the firm's Higher Education practice, looks at how we can make wellness integral to facility design and what types of spaces offer the most benefit:

Students today describe high stress levels, a need to disconnect from technology, and the desire for more opportunities to connect with others. Unquestionably, wellness has emerged as an imperative consideration during the design process. It is also a broad topic, encompassing mental health, physical activity, nutrition, and the impact of the surrounding environment.

So how do we as designers ensure we're creating spaces and experiences that reduce stress and support overall wellness for students? When I think about how designers can address those needs, I see them falling into three intersecting categories: spaces that support mental health, spaces that support physical health, and an overall design approach (such as WELL) that integrates wellness in every aspect of design and material selection.

Supporting mental health with spaces to unplug and spaces to socialize

Beyond the campus wellness centers and newer initiatives like mental health apps, designing a mix of spaces that promote belonging and quiet reflection is critical to supporting the whole student. Creating intentional spaces to unplug, read for enjoyment, and allow the mind to rest provide students with the opportunity to return to academic and social realms refreshed.

Wellness has risen to prominence on college and university campuses, becoming a distinguishing factor as prospective students look for a well-rounded, supportive higher ed experience.

As we look to restore a sense of connection and community, Ray Oldenburg's idea of the "third place" offers valuable lessons. The third place on a college campus may be found in the classic coffee shop example - a place where students can gather and socialize free of hierarchy and academic pressure. Inspired by the traditional neighborhood porch, the emergence of "mid-door" spaces also create a zone that bridges the public and private realms and links indoors to outdoors. Convenient to the flow of foot traffic, these spaces offer exposure to nature, opportunities for socialization, and quiet reflection - all things that support mental well-being. Mid-door spaces allow us to connect and engage with biophilic elements like the natural flow of air and movement of the sun, reinforcing our sense of place. By being intentional as we design mid-door and outdoor environments to create strong connections, we can leverage the power of the outdoors to reduce stress and improve cognitive performance.

Supporting physical health with spaces for activity and good nutrition

Physical health and mental health are inherently connected, and as schools increasingly prioritize wellness, it becomes important to weave nutritious food options and fitness spaces throughout campus. While the large campus fitness center and main dining halls are unlikely to disappear, we are often collocating convenient, healthy dining choices and exercise studios in residence halls or along main campus pathways.

Being more intentional in facility design includes addressing nutrition. Maker spaces are taking on new meaning, with kitchens for guided food preparation playing a role in helping students make healthier choices and cook independently. The quick, convenient dining options offered in residence life complexes are also an opportunity to feature healthy, whole foods. In general, the lines between living, learning, dining, and a healthy lifestyle continue to blur and we see demand for facilities that serve students on multiple levels.

Supporting wellness through material selection, access to daylight and views

Certifications like WELL approach the entire facility from a holistic point of view, seeking to address nourishment, movement, daylight, mindfulness, healthy and natural materials, and air and water quality. Anna Traylor, AIA, WELL AP, notes, "We spend 90% of our time inside. Air quality, water quality, daylighting, movement, healthy materials - they all matter and have a tremendous cumulative impact on our well-being. For students, these considerations only become more important as we think about ways to reduce stress and support the optimal learning environment."

While spaces for mental health and fitness are important to well-being, treating the whole building as a wellness tool can also have significant impact. For example, promoting movement through the building is a priority in WELL design. NC State's Fitts-Woolard Hall integrated daylight along primary circulation paths, along with opportunities for visual connection to the outdoors, which encourages movement along those paths with the added benefit of natural light.

As we look to the future of wellness on campus, it will be critical to take an integrated approach that considers how every aspect of programming, space types, and materiality contributes to student well-being.

Chris Brasier, FAIA, is Clark Nexsen's Higher Education practice leader and the firm's Chief Practice & Culture Officer. To learn more about wellness on higher ed campuses or to speak with Chris, please call 919.828.1876 or email cbrasier@clarknexsen.com.

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How Design Can Support Student Wellness on Higher Ed Campuses

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Over the last year, the pandemic has spotlighted the importance of promoting student well-being through a holistic system of environments and resources. In the following, Clark Nexsen's Chris Brasier, FAIA, leader of the firm's Higher Education practice, looks at how...

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This activity gives students the opportunity to explore an auditory digital tool, tune into their feelings, reflect on the experience, and share their thoughts/feelings.

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Give students the link to the auditory digital tool you selected. Ask students to stay muted as they explore the tool and listen to whatever interests them. Students should spend about 8 minutes exploring and listening. As they listen, students should focus on what they are listening to and how it makes them feel.

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5 Senses warm-up for in-person or online settings

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5 Senses warm-up for in-person or online settings

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This 5 Senses activity can be used as a warm up in either highly visual creative courses or non-visual courses that require creative problem solving.

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Curated list of peer-reviewed books and articles, with a focus on adults and adult learning.

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Demonstrates a Danish ensemble's unique performance style - movement and elements of choreography.

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György Ligeti - Six Bagatelles, CARION, 2014 (HD)

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Dance your PhD: active learning embodied

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Dance your PhD: active learning embodied

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Amazing example of how concepts can be represented physically.

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Dance Your PhD 2022 [SOCIAL SCIENCES WINNER]: Active learning

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Skills development and work placement of dance artists with disability.

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Propeller Dance is committed to helping artists working in the field of integrated dance to grow and learn so they can contribute towards more professional recognition of the practice across Canada, as well as play a key role in empowering, skills development and work placement of dance artists with disability.

Through a range of professional development activities, Propeller Dance provides opportunities for dancers with and without disability to learn from some of the best teachers in integrated contemporary dance.

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Propeller Dance is committed to helping artists working in the field of integrated dance to grow and learn so they can contribute towards more professional recognition of the practice across Canada, as well as play a key role in empowering, skills development and work placement of dance artists with disability.

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Embodied learning: introducing a taxonomy based on bodily engagement and task integration

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Embodied learning: introducing a taxonomy based on bodily engagement and task integration

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Several reviews and theory papers concerning the role of EC within the field of educational psychology introduced current findings from cognitive psychology and neuroscience to a wider audience within the field of educational and instructional psychology (e.g. de Koning & Tabbers, 2011; Paas & Sweller, 2012; van Gog et al., 2009). The following sections are aimed at illustrating the wide variety of approaches to EC that more applied fields focusing on learning and education currently utilize. A taxonomy of embodied learning will need to be able to categorize research drawing on all of these different aspects of EC.

Embodiment and multisensory cognitive processing

One of the most influential theoretical approaches of EC has been Barsalou's ( 1999) framework of perceptual symbol systems. This account suggests that humans use their sensory neural structures to create multisensory representations of their environment (for overviews on EC and language, see Pulvermüller, 2013; Zwaan, 2014). This thread of research revealed that humans reuse those brain structures that are active during perception when mentally imagining an object or action (Barsalou, 1999, 2003, 2008; for an overview on this aspect, see Anderson, 2010). Barsalou's ( 1999) model explicitly breaks with the idea of Fodor's ( 1975) abstracted forms of symbolic representations as a description of the human conceptual system (see Glenberg, Witt, & Metcalfe, 2013, for a contrast between abstract and embodied theories of cognition). Based on the embodied view of human cognition, educational researchers have started to develop interventions aimed at making learning contents easier to grasp by directly appealing to multisensory processing (for an overview, see de Koning & Tabbers, 2011). A variety of examples of EC-based interventions will be presented in the following sections.

Gestures

Evidence for the importance of bodily action in the context of learning stems from gesture research (for reviews on gesture research, see Alibali, 2005; Pouw et al., 2014; for an overview of gesture research relevant to learning, see Goldin-Meadow, 2010). Experimental research conducted with young children is said to be a demonstration of the close relation between gesturing and language learning (Iverson & Goldin-Meadow, 2005). In the field of mathematics education, children were shown to benefit from observing teachers' use of gestures as it increased the children's inclination towards gesturing themselves (Cook & Goldin-Meadow, 2006). In that study, those children that performed gestures scored higher on a test (Cook & Goldin-Meadow, 2006). An explanation for the positive effects of gesturing may be an eased generation of knowledge structures in long-term memory compared to teaching methods relying solely on children's verbalization (Cook, Mitchell, & Goldin-Meadow, 2008). Furthermore, a number of additional recent experiments have shown increases in learning outcomes when letting participants perform gestures (e.g. de Nooijer, van Gog, Paas, & Zwaan, 2013; Stieff, Lira, & Scopelitis, 2016; Toumpaniari, Loyens, Mavilidi, & Paas, 2015). Importantly, gesturing is not only relevant at a young age, but remains an important aspect of embodiment-based learning during later years (Kontra, Goldin-Meadow, & Beilock, 2012).

Physical and virtual embodied learning

In addition to gestures, other forms of bodily activity have been investigated in the context of embodied learning. For instance, a significant theoretical component of EC theory is the notion of enactment (Gallagher & Lindgren, 2015). The bodily enactment of learning targets occurs when bodily movements are semantically related to these targets (see Hutto, Kirchhoff, & Abrahamson, 2015 and Gallagher & Lindgren, 2015, for overviews; see also de Koning & Tabbers, 2011). Educational researchers have begun to exploit learning strategies focusing on enactment in several ways (see Fiorella & Mayer, 2016, for an overview). One example discussed by Fiorella and Mayer ( 2016) are studies focusing on reading comprehension (such as Glenberg, Gutierrez, Levin, Japuntich, & Kaschak, 2004). As reading comprehension is considered to be related to EC (for an overview of this relation, see de Koning & van der Schoot, 2013), several studies demonstrated how reading comprehension can be enhanced when children physically perform a story they are reading (e.g., Glenberg, 2011; Glenberg et al., 2004).

A wide variety of research questions inspired by EC are investigated using digital learning media (for overviews, see de Koning & Tabbers, 2011; Lindgren & Johnson-Glenberg, 2013). For example, Pouw, van Gog, Zwaan, and Paas ( 2016) demonstrated that animations depicting learning content from the domain of physics can be enhanced by including a drawing of a human to help learners understand an otherwise abstract relation. Other examples include studies examining whether particular types of tablet computer interactions yield higher learning results (e.g. Agostinho et al., 2015; Dubé & McEwen, 2015) or whether interactive mixed reality settings involving bodily movement can offer advantages for learning (e.g. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014; Johnson-Glenberg, Megowan-Romanowicz, Birchfield, & Savio-Ramos, 2016; Lindgren et al., 2016).

Taxonomies of embodiment in education

The reviewed literature suggests an enormous diversity of research questions and embodiment implementations when translated to learning and educational settings (see also Skulmowski & Rey, 2017b). Several taxonomies focusing on embodiment interventions in the context of education have been presented recently and will be described below.

Malinverni and Pares ( 2014) compiled a number of relevant categories to perform a systematic review of EC studies, including the theoretical context in which a study was performed, but also aspects of the user interface. Five main categories are listed by Malinverni and Pares ( 2014): theoretical framework; design strategy; educational context; interaction design; and evaluation. These categories contain additional subcategories (Malinverni & Pares, 2014).

Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) developed a taxonomy for educational EC research. Their taxonomy comprises three factors: motoric engagement; gestural congruency; and perceived immersion (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) emphasize the role of locomotion as a major contributor to motoric engagement. Furthermore, they define gestural congruency as the degree of how well a gesture matches a particular learning item (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). Lastly, perceived immersion is understood as it pertains to virtual reality and related technologies (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) list specific combinations of these three factors that yield four distinct levels. They define the first level as non-interactive learning settings with materials being presented on a desktop computer or a tablet computer (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). The next level introduces interactivity to the learning environment while the third level is reached when larger displays, full-body interactions (using motion-tracking devices), or both are integrated into an embodied learning setting (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). The fourth and highest level of embodiment in learning settings requires learning environments to feature high degrees of bodily movement involving locomotion (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014).

Concerning the first issue, the three factors Johnson and colleagues (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014) propose have been the subject of several studies and have shown varying degrees of success in increasing learning performance (for a related criticism, see Tran et al., 2017). As we will present in more detail in the following sections, there have been studies in favor of bodily movement (e.g. Mavilidi, Okely, Chandler, Cliff, & Paas, 2015; Mavilidi, Okely, Chandler, & Paas, 2016; Ruiter, Loyens, & Paas, 2015) as well as studies arguing for more restrained instructional designs that offer only very basic interactions such as starting and pausing a simulation (e.g. Song et al., 2014). Concepts similar to the second factor, gestural congruency, have been presented as a contributor to the effectivity of embodied learning (Hald, de Nooijer, van Gog, & Bekkering, 2016; Hald, van den Hurk, & Bekkering, 2015). However, another study found no statistically significant differences regarding the accuracy in a transfer test between implementations that vary in regard to this factor (Pouw, Eielts, van Gog, Zwaan, & Paas, 2016). Therefore, one may argue that gestural congruency should be a factor to be considered in the design of embodiment interventions; yet, based on the reviewed results, we think that this aspect may not be informative enough to be used as a central classifier for EC research and should be revised. Lastly, while perceived immersion has been investigated in the context of embodied learning (e.g. Lindgren et al., 2016; see Dede, 2009, for an overview of immersion in the context of education), there are recent studies that did not lead to significantly higher learning scores when devices that offer higher degrees of immersion (as supposed by the authors of the studies) were used (e.g. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2016; Johnson-Glenberg, Birchfield, Savvides, & Megowan-Romanowicz, 2011). However, it should be noted that these studies (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2011, 2016) did not actually measure participants' perceived immersion and are therefore based on the assumption that the different learning setups should, in theory, have led to different levels of immersion. Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2016) evaluated a mouse-controlled simulation, learning with a digital whiteboard, and a mixed reality learning setting. In addition, several of the embodied learning studies we reviewed earlier did not feature immersive digital environments but rather took place in ordinary instructional settings without the use of digital technology (e.g. Mavilidi et al., 2015; Ruiter et al., 2015). Hence, these scenarios cannot be distinguished informatively using the dimension of immersion proposed by Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014). Thus, we conclude that immersion should not be regarded as one of the central factors for a taxonomy of embodiment research in the context of learning.

From our criticisms concerning the three dimensions of Johnson-Glenberg et al.'s ( 2014) taxonomy, we derive doubts concerning the logic behind the four levels of embodiment resulting from these three dimensions. As Tran et al. ( 2017) state, it is still to be determined whether a higher level of embodiment according to the four-level model presented by Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) necessarily entails a better learning performance. Furthermore, one may question why these four particular combinations should be the optimal way to categorize embodied learning research given the arguments we presented earlier.

Integrated and incidental forms of embodiment

In order to describe an embodied learning setting in a meaningful way, we think that it is valuable to determine whether the intended form of embodiment is deeply integrated into the learning task or whether it is merely an incidental aspect. This approach follows the criticisms against a large part of EC research put forward by Wilson and Golonka ( 2013). Wilson and Golonka ( 2013) distinguish between two broad types of EC research. On the one side, Wilson and Golonka ( 2013) emphasize that EC research should consist of studies examining interactions between mental processes and their physical surroundings (including bodily capacities) as they pertain to the completion of tasks. On the other side, they present examples of experiments aimed at investigating how bodily influences can prime cognitive processes. Consequently, Wilson and Golonka ( 2013) consider the latter type of experiments to be of lower value for embodiment research than task-oriented studies testing hypotheses concerning the use of cognitive and physical resources. We define integrated forms of embodied learning to be aligned with Wilson and Golonka's ( 2013) notion of task-related embodiment manipulations and incidental forms of embodied learning as examples of those studies that Wilson and Golonka ( 2013) describe as dealing with bodily priming effects. We will discuss examples of these types of studies below.

Research on embodiment often involves the manipulation of cognitive processes using incidental cues (e.g. Ackerman, Nocera, & Bargh, 2010), such as making information appear more important by presenting it on a heavy instead of a light object (e.g. Jostmann, Lakens, & Schubert, 2009). Such types of embodiment experiments have often been carried out in the context of judgment and decision-making (e.g. Ackerman et al., 2010), but more recently in the field of learning and metacognition (e.g. Alban & Kelley, 2013; Skulmowski & Rey, 2017a). For instance, Alban and Kelley ( 2013) were able to influence ratings concerning the ability to remember words by increasing the weight of the boxes that these words were attached to. Heavier boxes induced higher subjective ratings concerning one's own ability to recall these words in later tests (Alban & Kelley, 2013). Skulmowski and Rey ( 2017a) extended this finding with studies indicating that wearing a heavy backpack during learning increased recall judgments and also heightened recall performance (at least when the learning contents were easy). Transferred to the field of education, we call such manipulations incidental forms of embodied learning.

On the other end of the spectrum, we consider studies in which embodiment aspects are connected inseparably with a learning task based on Wilson and Golonka's ( 2013) task-oriented view of embodiment. For instance, this can entail comparisons between learning settings built around bodily activities compared with those enabling learning without requiring motor activity (e.g. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014; Song et al., 2014) or presenting information for multiple sensory modalities compared with only providing information for one modality (e.g. Skulmowski, Pradel, Kühnert, Brunnett, & Rey, 2016). We call such manipulations integrated forms of embodied learning (see Mavilidi et al., 2015, for a recent study and literature review on integration in embodied learning). Mavilidi et al. ( 2015) operationalized, among other conditions, the factor of integration by comparing a language learning intervention that lets children bodily enact foreign language words with merely exerting physical activity with a comparable degree of effort. Crucially, Mavilidi et al. ( 2015) demonstrated that an integrated physical learning task leads to higher learning performance than letting learners perform bodily exercises without a relation to the learning contents. A similar result was obtained in a study by Brooks and Goldin-Meadow ( 2016) that found an advantage for content-related movements over unrelated movements when teaching children mathematics (for an overview of the aspect of meaning-congruency in the context of embodied cognition, see Hald et al., 2016). These results clearly demonstrate that task integration is an important factor for embodied learning.

In contrast to incidental forms of embodiment, integrated forms of embodiment can pose additional challenges when designing embodiment experiments (for an overview, see Wilson and Golonka, 2013). A crucial factor in ensuring a high internal validity of such experiments is the appropriate choice of control groups (see Castro-Alonso, Ayres, & Paas, 2016, for a related criticism of research in the field of multimedia learning). Educational embodiment researchers tend to perform research using widely available devices, such as video game consoles (e.g. Pouw, van Gog, et al., 2016) and tablets (e.g. Agostinho et al., 2015), which potentially puts limits on the amount of control experimenters have over the learning task. In some instances, studies rely on several different devices in order construct experimental groups aimed to assess the effects of different levels of embodiment on learners (e.g. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2016). Under such circumstances, care must be taken when extrapolating conclusions due to confounding factors (Castro-Alonso et al., 2016; Rey, 2010).

Bodily engagement

As the second dimension of our taxonomy, we propose to include bodily engagement. Bodily engagement and related notions of motor activation have been proposed as major characteristics of (educational) embodiment research in existing classification systems (e.g. Clifton et al., 2016; Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014, 2016). We prefer the more general term bodily engagement instead of the term motor engagement introduced by Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) since it includes aspects of embodiment that lie beyond the nervous system (for overviews on environmental aspects of cognition, see Clark, 2008 and Wilson, 2002).

As Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) divide their scale of embodiment into four levels, they assign each of these four levels specific ranges of motor engagement. The first two levels of their embodiment model only feature restricted levels of motor engagement allowing learners to watch animations (first level) or to interact with simulations (second level) using desktop computers or tablets while remaining seated (Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). For the factor bodily engagement in our taxonomy, we would consider such forms of embodiment as lower levels of bodily engagement. Research on observing gestures and other human movements has been linked to embodiment research in the context of mirror neuron activity (de Koning & Tabbers, 2011; see also van Gog et al., 2009) and may be regarded to exhibit a similar level of bodily engagement that Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) define as their first level of embodiment. Many recent examples of gesture research (e.g. de Koning & Tabbers, 2013; Post, van Gog, Paas, & Zwaan, 2013) would fall into the first or second level of embodiment of Johnson-Glenberg et al.'s ( 2014) taxonomy. The third and fourth levels of embodiment in the model of Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014) encompass letting learners perform bodily movements and locomotion, respectively. We define forms of embodiment qualifying for these two levels to be higher levels of bodily engagement in our taxonomy.

Several recent studies paint a positive picture concerning the inclusion of high levels of bodily engagement into learning tasks (e.g. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014; Lindgren et al., 2016; Mavilidi et al., 2015, 2016; Ruiter et al., 2015). Some of these studies focus on the effects of instructional activities incorporating walking and report positive results of movement-based interventions compared with teaching methods lacking bodily involvement (e.g. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014; Ruiter et al., 2015). However, there are studies demonstrating only small benefits of EC-based instruction featuring high bodily engagement. For instance, Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2016) could not find a significant overall learning advantage for higher embodiment levels that included a higher gestural congruency and in some instances a higher degree of sensorimotor engagement according to a taxonomy based on Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2014). Yet, Johnson-Glenberg et al. ( 2016) were able to detect higher knowledge retention with a delayed test for those participants who were assigned to an implementation involving a higher level of embodiment.

Various recent studies featuring minimal forms of bodily engagement have focused on the effects of basic interaction patterns involving hand movements and finger tracing on learning. Several studies support the idea that performing tracing activities with fingers and other simple hand movements can aid learners (e.g. Agostinho et al., 2015; Brooks & Goldin-Meadow, 2016; Dubé & McEwen, 2015; Ginns, Hu, Byrne, & Bobis, 2016; Hu, Ginns, & Bobis, 2015; Ouwehand, van Gog, & Paas, 2016). Results such as these can be taken as evidence for the claim that even very minor changes in interaction design towards bodily engagement can affect learning performance (see Schwartz & Plass, 2014, for a similar conclusion). Other research has revealed that interactivity can be more effective than merely letting learners observe an interaction (Jang, Vitale, Jyung, & Black, 2017) as well as having positive effects on working memory and affective variables (Vallée-Tourangeau, Sirota, & Vallée-Tourangeau, 2016; see also Domagk, Schwartz, & Plass, 2010, for a review on interactivity). Contrary to these results, some researchers highlight the pitfalls of interactivity (e.g., Song et al., 2014) and others assume that there may be ideal levels of interactivity (Kalet et al., 2012). Kalet et al. ( 2012) demonstrated that a medical simulation involving a restrained extent of interactivity in which mouse clicking on instructionally relevant items would start instructional animations leads to better learning outcomes than versions with less interactivity (i.e. only being able to start and stop animations) or more interactivity (i.e. being able to virtually enact medical procedures by moving the mouse). Song et al. ( 2014) presented the results of a study that compared four versions of a medical simulation illustrating how a stroke is generated in the brain. Song et al. ( 2014) specifically refer to embodiment literature such as Barsalou ( 2008) when discussing why stronger forms of activity might increase learning performance. The results of their study indicated that versions featuring only minor forms of interactivity (such as merely watching a simulation) actually lead to a better learning performance than versions demanding participants to control individual elements of the simulation using the mouse (Song et al., 2014).

Another form of rather low bodily engagement occurs if an embodied learning setting offers learners an opportunity to observe movements instead of performing movements (e.g. Brucker, Ehlis, Häußinger, Fallgatter, & Gerjets, 2015). Such studies are often conducted within a theoretical framing based on EC research in the case that learners' attention is focused on a human model (for theoretical overviews, see de Koning & Tabbers, 2011 and van Gog et al., 2009). Thus, despite their low bodily engagement, we consider such studies as examples of embodiment research as they illuminate our understanding of the role of human movement in learning (see de Koning & Tabbers, 2011, for a similar perspective that includes minimal bodily movement). Letting learners observe human movements has generally shown positive effects on learning compared with more static formats of instruction (e.g. Brucker et al., 2015; Castro-Alonso, Ayres, & Paas, 2015; Fiorella & Mayer, 2016; Rueckert, Church, Avila, & Trejo, 2017) or with non-human movements (Pouw, van Gog, et al., 2016) in recent studies. Some studies have revealed moderating factors or boundary conditions of presenting movements, such as the congruency between the learners' perspective and the perspective depicted in the learning materials (Fiorella, van Gog, Hoogerheide, & Mayer, 2016), learners' gender (Wong, Castro-Alonso, Ayres, & Paas, 2015), and the depicted movement type (van Wermeskerken, Fijan, Eielts, & Pouw, 2016). A small number of recently published studies brought about results indicating no effects for observed movements (e.g. Ouwehand, van Gog, & Paas, 2015). For instance, attempts to enhance geometry learning by presenting participants with recorded eye movements in an effort to guide their attention did not lead to significant learning advantages (van Marlen, van Wermeskerken, Jarodzka, & van Gog, 2016).

The studies reviewed in this section underline that the concept of embodiment is used very broadly within the field of educational research (see Skulmowski & Rey, 2017b, for a similar conclusion). In many cases, educational researchers set out to test specific embodiment hypotheses by varying details in the presentation of learning contents or in interaction designs. Although many studies are not concerned with elaborate patterns of full-body motion, they still should be considered as equally important demonstrations of embodiment effects. Therefore, we see no reason why such studies should be considered to deal with a "less embodied" research question than experiments involving full-body activity (cf. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014). Rather, a taxonomy of embodied learning should also encompass research testing embodiment hypotheses that do not primarily focus on extensive bodily movement during learning, but embrace bodily engagement in more restrained forms. Intriguing examples for such interventions deal with cognitive offloading (i.e. using the environment to reduce cognitive demands; Kirsh & Maglio, 1994; Wilson, 2002; see Risko & Gilbert, 2016, for an overview). Interactions between learners and their environment have recently gained attention within the field of educational psychology (Choi, van Merriënboer, & Paas, 2014). It is important to note that cognitive offloading does not require elaborate interactions or a high degree of bodily activity, as some of these studies investigate rather basic questions such as under which circumstances humans prefer methods of non-mental information storage using pen and paper (Risko & Dunn, 2015). Certainly, this broad definition of bodily engagement should not be misunderstood in a manner suggesting that virtually all forms of cognitive learning research could somehow be construed to qualify as embodied learning research.

More generally, our review does not support the idea that higher levels of bodily engagement will in all cases lead to better learning outcomes than instructional designs featuring lower bodily involvement (see Tran et al., 2017, for a similar conclusion). In fact, a number of studies (Post et al., 2013; Ruiter et al., 2015; Skulmowski et al., 2016) warn of heightened cognitive demands stemming from linking too many EC-based interventions at once and identify unnecessary cognitive load (which these studies refer to as extraneous load following the model of cognitive load theory, Sweller, 1988; Sweller, van Merrienboer, & Paas, 1998) as a major risk for embodied learning. A study investigating movement patterns in the context of dance training showed advantages for rehearsing with simplified dance moves of a to-be-performed dance (Warburton, Wilson, Lynch, & Cuykendall, 2013). Similarly, other studies argue for less (complex) activity during learning in order to save cognitive capacities (e.g. Kalet et al., 2012; Song et al., 2014).

However, embodiment manipulations using very subtle bodily cues run the risk of not finding substantial effects on performance measures such as recall tests. For instance, Alban and Kelley ( 2013) conducted a series of studies aimed at biasing metacognitive judgments and recall results using weight cues that were relatively light. The studies featured a word-learning task in which words were attached to small boxes that differed regarding their weight (Experiments 2 to 4 in Alban & Kelley, 2013) or in which clipboards used to write down metacognitive judgments differed in their weight (Experiment 1 in Alban & Kelley, 2013). While they found significant differences regarding metacognitive judgments concerning recall performance in favor of words written on heavier items, no significant recall differences could be observed (Alban & Kelley, 2013). Alban and Kelley ( 2013) discuss that stronger differences in weight may be required in order to find differences in memory performance. In a similar study design involving more pronounced weight differences induced by having the experimental group wear a backpack, significant differences regarding metacognitive judgments as well as memory performance could be found (Skulmowski & Rey, 2017a). In line with the explanations given by Alban and Kelley ( 2013) and Skulmowski and Rey ( 2017a), the difference in the result pattern between the minor weight manipulation (Alban & Kelley, 2013) and the greater weight difference (Skulmowski & Rey, 2017a) could be attributed to the difference in the degree of bodily engagement (rephrased in the terminology of our taxonomy). Thus, arranging studies along the dimension of bodily engagement may help to compare the magnitude of different embodiment effects. Moreover, thinking of embodiment manipulations in this manner may improve the estimation of effect sizes and calculation of sample sizes (see Rabelo, Keller, Pilati, & Wicherts, 2015, for an overview of EC research and sample sizes). Judging from the differences between the two discussed examples of low task integration (Alban & Kelley, 2013; Skulmowski & Rey, 2017a), studies featuring lower bodily engagement will potentially have a lower statistical power than studies with higher degrees of bodily engagement (at least for particular types of measures).

Moreover, Skulmowski and Rey ( 2017b) compiled several measures of cognitive load that can be used in embodied learning studies, such as behavioral, physiological, and metacognitive measures. Johnson-Glenberg and Megowan-Romanowicz ( 2017) emphasize that the nature of a learning test can greatly affect how well advantages of an embodied learning implementation can be detected. In their study, the benefits of a more embodied learning mode only became noticeable using an embodied learning test involving gestures (Johnson-Glenberg & Megowan-Romanowicz, 2017). Furthermore, Skulmowski and Rey ( 2017b) recommend the use of repeated-measures designs when measuring cognitive load in educational studies involving embodiment.

Summary

The reviewed literature and our classification of these studies along the dimensions of task integration and bodily engagement allow us to formulate recommendations concerning the design of embodied learning settings. The taxonomy results in a 2 × 2 grid with the dimensions task integration (incidental vs integrated) and bodily engagement (low vs high) and is presented together with criteria for the inclusion into one of the four quadrants of the grid in Fig. 1. Although the diagram in Fig. 1 appears to sharply divide the four combinations of factors, the dimensions should be regarded as continuous and the case may be made for regarding the boundaries as fuzzy; leading to intermediate forms of task integration and bodily engagement.

Research meeting the criteria for any of the four quadrants is faced with possibilities and challenges unique to each quadrant. Studies relying on low bodily engagement and incorporating only incidental embodiment manipulations may result in weak effects on some performance measures (e.g. Alban & Kelley, 2013). However, increasing the degree of bodily engagement can in some cases remedy this problem (e.g. Skulmowski & Rey, 2017a). A low degree of integration in itself may lead to worse learning results than an integrated intervention (Mavilidi et al., 2015). Turning to the dimension of bodily engagement, a large number of studies describing interventions with a lower level of bodily engagement, such as observing movements (e.g. Brucker et al., 2015) or performing gestures (e.g. de Nooijer et al., 2013), report successful outcomes. On the other hand, high bodily engagement has both been linked to learning gains (e.g. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2016; Lindgren et al., 2016) as well as to the risk of cognitive overload (e.g. Ruiter et al., 2015; Skulmowski et al., 2016; Song et al., 2014). Some researchers have defined a medium degree of interactivity to be best suited for increasing learning performance (Kalet et al., 2012).

To conclude, the reviewed literature and taxonomy underline that neither should the degree of bodily involvement be used as an indicator of how "embodied" a form of instruction is (cf. Johnson-Glenberg et al., 2014) nor can it be expected that increases in bodily engagement automatically entail increases in learning performance (see Tran et al., 2017, for a related discussion).

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Embodied learning: introducing a taxonomy based on bodily engagement and task integration - Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications

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Research on learning and education is increasingly influenced by theories of embodied cognition. Several embodiment-based interventions have been empirically investigated, including gesturing, interactive digital media, and bodily activity in general. This review aims to present the most important theoretical foundations of embodied cognition and their application to educational research.

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Podcast episodes, blog entries, and a link to get in touch. Please let me know if you have ideas for resources to share!

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Starting from new research on the body-aptly summarized as "sitting is the new smoking"- Minding Bodies aims to help instructors improve their students' knowledge and skills through physical movement, attention to the spatial environment, and sensitivity to humans as more than "brains on sticks." It shifts the focus of adult learning from an exclusively mental effort toward an embodied, sensory-rich experience, offering new strategies to maximize the effectiveness of time spent learning together on campus as well as remotely.

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