What students say

Each semester we invite students to reflect on their embodied learning experiences. In their own words....

"Like many MIT students, I'm used to sitting at a desk, absorbing information through readings, lectures, and problem sets. The idea that learning could be tied to the body, through broomball, weightlifting, Tai Chi, and yoga, initially felt foreign. But as I progressed through the course, I found that using my body to understand concepts not only helped solidify them, but also transformed how I connect with my peers and how I think about learning itself."

"The learning feels much less exhausting...despite participating in physically exhausting activities, such as Pickleball or strength training, I found myself leaving the lab feeling much more energized than I had coming in."

"These collective physical experiences reshaped our interactions…Having gone through unusual but shared physical tasks, we were more comfortable speaking openly, even about sensitive topics…This level of mutual respect can be difficult to cultivate in a conventional lecture setting." 

"Movement, it turns out, isn't just a way to escape thinking, it's a way into it. Throughout the course I noticed a consistent theme: when I physically engaged the material I remembered it better."

"In a lecture, it is easy to be multitasking in some way with your computer or phone. In these labs, where your mind and body are fully occupied, I feel I am more present and more likely to retain the material once the class ends."

"Other classes give you tools. Here you ARE the tool."

"Labs have helped me understand topics in a way that would be impossible otherwise, and more than that, they have caused me to broaden my perspective both on the topics themselves and on the way I can learn them. Though many classes at MIT do not strongly adapt this model of teaching, I believe it is applicable in some capacity to almost every class." 

"This course reminded me that intellectual learning divorced from physicality is a relatively recent and culturally specific phenomenon. At a place like MIT known for its rigorous academics, re-integrating the body into learning felt both innovative and necessary. "