Aesthetic experience as an aspect of embodied learning: stories from physical education student teachers

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Aesthetic experience as an aspectof embodied learning: stories fromphysical education student teachersNinitha Maivorsdotter a & Suzanne Lundvall ba Örebro University , Swedenb The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences , SwedenPublished online: 02 Jul 2009.

To cite this article: Ninitha Maivorsdotter & Suzanne Lundvall (2009) Aesthetic experience as anaspect of embodied learning: stories from physical education student teachers, Sport, Educationand Society, 14:3, 265-279, DOI: 10.1080/13573320903037622

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Aesthetic experience as an aspect

of embodied learning: stories

from physical education student

teachers

Ninitha Maivorsdottera* and Suzanne LundvallbaOrebro University, Sweden; bThe Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, Sweden

In this article we explore aesthetic experience as an aspect of embodied learning with focus on the

moving body. Our theoretical framework is mainly based on the work of John Dewey. In the first

part of the article we identify our understanding of central concepts and draw some lines to their

implication for physical education (PE). In the second part we then use the theoretical framework

in an empirical study inspired by the tradition of pragmatism. The aim is to study how physical

education student teachers (PETE students) feel when participating in ball game, and how their

feelings are related to the moving activity. Empirical data were mainly generated through

observations from two ball game lessons and stories written by 16 PETE students. All stories

were subjected to a categorical analysis of content. After analysing the empirical material, four

categories emerged built on two pair of words: familiar or unfamiliar, and pleased or displeased. In the

discussing section of this article, we put forward that moving activities in PE often are regarded as

being technical or instrumental. By using an aesthetic perspective on embodied learning, however,

we can go beyond that impression and show other dimensions of participation in ball game. It may

become an important shift from exploring performance only to studying learning connected to

feelings.

Keywords: Bodily learning; Embodied learning; Aesthetic experience; Physical

education; Teacher education; Stories

Introduction

The quotation below by Evans (2004) is the starting point for the study presented in

this paper:

PE [physical education] has become strangely disembodied. It has either ceased totalk about the nature of ‘physical education’, ‘educability’, ‘educe’ (the process ofbringing out or developing latent or potential existence) and ‘ability’ as processesand goals altogether, or reduced it to a dribble of unproblematic assumptions eitherabout motivation and health-related behaviour, or ‘fitness’ or ‘talent’ for ‘perfor-mance’ in the interest of health and/or participation in organized sport. Its dominantdiscourse is a poor substitute for consideration of the nature of PE . . . . (p. 96)

*Corresponding author. School of Health and Medical Sciences, Orebro University, SE-701 82

Orebro, Sweden. Email: [email protected]

ISSN 1357-3322 (print)/ISSN 1470-1243 online/09/030265-15 # 2009 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/13573320903037622

Sport, Education and Society

Vol. 14, No. 3, August 2009, pp. 265�279

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Evans (2004) articulates a problem of ‘disembodiedness’ in physical education (PE)

research concerning subject, research questions and results. What becomes possible

to explore and to discuss in the light of educational research in PE? After reflecting

on Evans’ line of argument, we ended with the impression that the moving body is

something which falls out of the research focus. Research in PE seldom has the

moving body as its point of departure. Influenced by work in other disciplines, such

as science education (Wickman, 2006) and arts (Bresler, 2004), an interest emerged

to explore a theoretical framework concerning aesthetics and embodied learning.

Our interest resulted in a study exploring aesthetic experience as an aspect of

embodied learning. We were in need of an educational setting where the people

involved should be interested in reflecting on body and learning. We therefore

created a study of exploring stories written by physical education student teachers

(PETE students). The theme of research was to ‘understand’ rather than to ‘know’

and, consequently, the approach of the project became qualitative (Denzin &

Lincoln, 2000). The intension was also to ‘reflect’ rather than to ‘prove’ and so we

decided to work within the tradition of pragmatism (Biesta & Burbules, 2003).

The article begins by exploring important concepts and drawing some lines to

their implication for PE. We then formulate the aim of the study and the research

questions, continuing with method and a presentation of the educational setting. The

empirical part is represented by four stories written by PETE students. At the end,

we discuss our findings and their implications for PE.

Theoretical framework

How do we understand aesthetic experience as an aspect of embodied learning? To

be able to answer this question we must make clear the meaning of learning. Our

interpretation of learning is based on the work of John Dewey. According to Biesta

and Burbules (2003), Dewey created a theory of experimental learning. All humans

are capable of establishing and maintaining a dynamic, coordinated transaction1 with

their environment. Through this process the predispositions of the individual

become more focused and specific, which is another way of saying that through

the tentative, experimental way of establishing coordinated transaction, the

individual has learnt. The learning is not to be regarded as knowledge about how

the world ‘out there’ really is. It is learning in the sense of acquiring a complex set of

predispositions to act. In this process the world becomes more differentiated. It

becomes, in other words, infused with meaning.

In order to understand embodied learning one also has to say something about the

embodiment of learning. Varela (1999) suggest that the proper units of knowledge

are primarily concrete, embodied, incorporated and lived. In every learning

situation*as Stinson (1995) puts it*we can only think with what we know ‘in

our bones’. Stinson (1995) gives a picture of how the body looks like on the outside

depends on what it feels like on the inside, internal forming of muscles and bones

creates the external form. This form is created in a specific environment where action

266 N. Maivorsdotter and S. Lundvall

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is fundamental. All human beings, as long as they are alive are always already in

motion (Dewey, 1896). Exploring embodied learning must therefore have a focus on

process rather than a dualistic focus such as ‘body and soul’ or ‘stimulus and

response’ (Dewey, 1896).

A pedagogical and movement centred perspective on embodied learning

Before going into a description of the aesthetic aspect of embodied learning, there is

a need to formulate the meaning of body within this theoretical framework. Sullivan

(2001) explains how Dewey thinks of bodies as transactional. Humans and their

various environments*social, cultural and political as well as physical*are

constituted by their mutual influence and impact on each other. Sullivan (2001)

puts forward how thinking of bodies as transactional allows a nonreductive

recognition of the significance of bodily materiality to lived existence. Through

this angle it is possible to acknowledge the importance of corporeality to people

without opposing bodies to the mental, psychological, cultural, or other so-called

nonmaterial aspects of existence.

We collect and analyse our empirical material from a pedagogical and movement

centred perspective. The pedagogical perspective is needed in order to deepen our

understanding, and to avoid reducing bodily movements to technical or instrumental

skills. Meaningful learning is grounded in personal experience. Dewey (1938/1997)

speaks of the qualified experience, which is characterised by reflection and its

connection to feelings. The quality of experiences has two aspects: the aspect of

agreeableness and/or disagreeableness and their influence upon later experiences. We

focus our research on bodily movements which are mainly manifested in visible, well-

defined bodily expressions and connected to feelings (Dewey, 1938/1997; Stinson,

1995). The perspective becomes operative to the extent that it shapes our attention

on the actual body movement. With such a focus, though, every learning process that

occurs during, for example, a ball game lesson will not get our attention. It may be a

weakness to limit the range of interpretation, though for example, Varela (1999),

Horn and Wilburn (2005) and the authors in the anthology Knowing bodies, moving

minds: Towards embodied teaching and learning (Bresler, 2004) show us the complexity

of the systems involved in embodied learning. Nevertheless, we still believe this way

of exploring embodied learning may be fruitful.

Aesthetic experience according to John Dewey

Usually, to shoot an underarm shot or to get to a handstand will not be seen as an

aesthetic experience. We therefore need a theory that will incorporate these kinds of

activities within the domain of aesthetics. Dewey (1934/2005) seems not to make any

significant difference between the aesthetic experience and any other human

experience. Instead, Dewey stresses that every experience may have aesthetic qualities

Aesthetic experience 267

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when it is perceived as a wholeness or fullness, something which he emphasises is the

distinctive mark of aesthetic experience.

From Dewey’s (1934/2005) point of view, aesthetic as a process is of importance

and especially the coming to existence and the meaning making. From that follows

that it is essential to pay attention to the context where the experiences are created.

Here, feelings hold the elements of the aesthetic experience together as a moving and

cementing force and works as a filter through which perceptions are screened. In this

way, feelings allow some features of the environment to stand out and others to fade

away (Dewey, 1934/2005; Jackson, 1998).

Aesthetic experience as an aspect of embodied learning

How do we define aesthetic experience as an aspect of embodied learning? Our

understanding of embodied learning is grounded in a focus on the moving body,

which is constantly involved in transaction with its environment (Dewey & Bently,

1949). It is learning in the sense of acquiring a complex set of predispositions to act

(Biesta & Burbules, 2003). Embodied learning refers to actions connected to

feelings, were the aesthetical dimension is expressed in a sense of wholeness or

fullness (Dewey, 1934/2005). The intensified sense permeates a process where the

world becomes more differential through the movements of the body, and in this

way*through and within the body*the world becomes infused with meaning

(Dewey, 1934/2005; Stinson, 1995; Sullivan, 2001).

Theoretical implications for physical education (PE)

It is possible to demarcate the aesthetic to deal with certain defined activities.

According to such a view, dance, for example, would be an activity within PE which

most clearly would give rise to aesthetic experiences. Aesthetic education tends to

put forward the aesthetic appreciation, but it can also examine a person’s capacity to

respond to the world in aesthetical ways (see for example Gard, 2006). Though this

has impact on our reasoning, the use of Dewey’s (1934/2005) interpretation of

aesthetic experience results in an analysis of the aesthetical which includes

experiences of different kind were the quality of the experience*the feeling of

wholeness or fullness*will define if the experience is to be seen as aesthetical or not.

Gymnastics, ball games or track and field*to mention some activities*will all be

possible to study through the lens of aesthetic experience. Consequently, a result of

this theoretical perspective will be the possibility to study learning in different

activities (not just dance, rhythmical gymnastics or other ‘aesthetical’ sport activities)

and to be able to conduct the investigation from a coherent point of view.

Gard (2006) mentions in an article about aesthetic ability that, traditionally,

dancing movements are associated with the fashioning of movement itself (How does

it look? What does it mean?), and sporting movements are associated with a more

instrumental approach (How many goals? Who won the game?). By using the


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aesthetic with reference to Dewey (1934/2005), it is possible to find a common

component in activities of seemingly different kind. The question is how does it feel ?

Feelings hold the experience of the moving body together. The dancer, as well as the

basketball player, can have experiences connected to their feelings which give them a

sense of wholeness or fullness. Common themes and differences may be revealed

which may not, in a simple way, be attached to whether or not the executor is a

dancer or a basketball player.

Dewey (1934/2005) invites us to think of experience as something that embraces

what is being experienced as well as the experiencer. This is valuable in PE where the

performance and the performer are brought together like one single unit and where

the meaning of that unit needs to be examined and reflected on. Dewey (1934/2005)

also expands that unit (experience and experiencer) by saying: ‘Instead of signifying

being shut up within one’s own private feelings and sensations, . . . [experience]

signifies active and alert commerce with the world; at its height it signifies complete

interpenetration of self and the world of objects and events’ (Dewey, 1934/2005,

p. 18). As we can see, the objects and the events are as much a part of experience as

we are ourselves, a fact which is important when analysing PE. When speaking of

‘objects’ and ‘events’, it is necessary to make clear that what is fulfilling is not the

performance in sport, although we often speak as though it was. We say things like

‘He really enjoyed making that goal’, and this way of speaking is, according to

Jackson (1998, p. 5) a ‘clear-cut separation of subject and object, is but an instance of

the commonsensical view of experience that Dewey wants us to abandon’. Instead, it

is the players struggling with making the goal that proves to be the source of his

enjoyment or suffering (see for example, Dewey, 1934/2005; Jackson, 1998).

Enjoyment and suffering is connected to feelings, and as we have mentioned before

in this paper, the question of how something feels is of importance. Though the

feelings may belong to the self, they are complexly attached to the situation as a

whole. How does this situation make us feel? How are our feelings related to it? In

our opinion, these are some of the questions needed to be asked when examining

aesthetic experiences in PE.

Aim and research questions

Our aim with this study is to explore aesthetic experience as an aspect of embodied

learning by doing a qualitative study of PETE students at the Swedish School of

Sport and Health Sciences in Stockholm. On the basis of our theoretical perspective,

we intend to explore the following research questions:

. How do the PETE students feel when participating in a ball game lesson?

. How do the PETE students describe their feelings in relation to the activity?

. In what way can the PETE students’ experiences be understood as aesthetic

aspects of embodied learning?


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Method and participants

The empirical data were generated through two sources. The first consisted of

observations from two ball game lessons, and the second of the participants’ written

stories.

Participants during the two observations were 48 white PETE students in their

first year. Participants in the setting were also their teachers, white, a male and a

female. From this larger group we then collected written stories from 16 PETE

students, seven men and nine women, in the age of 19�39.

Data were collected through purposeful sampling (Patton, 2002). During the

observations of the ball game lessons (handball and basketball), the researcher took

part as spectator studying both teacher and students in the setting. Notes were taken

from an outsider perspective and within a broad focus (Patton, 2002). The aim of

this part of the study was to capture the educational setting.

In order to let the students capture their experiences as well as possible,

arrangements were made to let the students write their stories immediately following

the lesson. Kvale (1996) points out the value of working with people who are willing

to share their experience. For that reason, we let the students decide whether they

would like to participate or not. The students were asked to write about their

experience of the ball game lesson and how they felt when participating. The

students wrote from five to 30 minutes, half to two handwritten pages.

All stories were subjected to a categorical analysis of content (Lieblich et al., 1998)

where we used our research questions as predefined major categories. By reading the

texts as openly as possible, subcategories emerged from the collected material. As the

interpretation depends upon the written story, the material was sorted into

subcategories independently to create higher sensitivity to the text and its meaning

to different readers. We then brought together our different interpretations into one

mutual statement.

Ethical considerations

After contact with The Central Ethical Review Board of Stockholm, we were

informed that ethical permission was not needed. The participants were formally

informed of the purpose and methodology of the study, as well as the nature and

extent of their possible participation. It was made clear that they were free to

withdraw from the project at any time without having to provide a reason for doing

so. The participants were informed that confidentiality and anonymity procedures

would be established in the study. Informed written consent forms were also

obtained from the participating students.

Credibility

The study was carried out in an environment that we ourselves are acquainted with,

although in parts of the educational programme where we ourselves are not active.


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We have tried to achieve a state of ‘initiated strangers’, a condition that can be of

value for research. We have worked with credibility mainly through intersubjective

probing, repeated categorizing of data and initiating stories rich of information

(Patton, 2002).

The educational setting

According to Sparkes (1999), people must resort to a mode of narrating with which

they are familiar. ‘In this sense, narrative is a form of social practice in which

individuals draw from a cultural repertoire of stories that they then synthesise into

personal stories. Consequently, in the very act of telling people engage in creating

and constructing certain kinds of self in specific social contexts’ (p. 20). It is therefore

necessary to give a brief backdrop to the context within which the students’ stories

have been created.

Field notes from a ball game lesson

The class is gathered on the benches in the sports hall. The PETE students sitcurled up listening to a run-through of the coming lesson. One student whispers to

his neighbour ‘ . . . some concern as to theory . . . but we should be having practicalnow’. The teacher ends the introduction and, as if on a given signal, everyone

begins to move out onto the floor, sauntering out, looking for balls. It is warmingup time and in a matter of seconds the hall is filled with the sound of bouncing

balls. Everyone commences with great energy and mobility. The students areaccustomed to movement and the majority has ball training. The activity

continues without any problem. Typical ball game movements: rocking steps,bodies bending forwards, cupped hands that encircle the balls; a playful

atmosphere with many smiles. The impression is that in principal all are/havebeen ball players, however, the choice of training clothes reveals the football

player, the gymnast and the orienteer.

The lesson proceeds following a clear process. Several movements begin with a

short run through where the teacher illustrates the action by using spoken andphysical instruction. The students stand for the most part quietly, but are felt to be

fully engaged, eyes registering, the information seemingly transformed into bodilymovement. They try the movements themselves, individually, in pairs or in other

groupings. The exercises run from easy to difficult, from technique training tomatch moves. The teacher does not partake in the actual activity but is present the

whole time giving instruction when needed. Moving bodies and balls dominate thewhole scene. The hall reverberates with the sound of bouncing balls, shouts,

laughter and the shrill whistle. Activity ceases only for short interruptions forfeedback, returning to earlier movements, presenting new ones, and then activity is

resumed again.

The final whistle blows. Vests and balls are collected. Everyone is sweating andtrying to recover their breath. The teacher analyses what she/he has seen,

demonstrating by word and body. According to the teacher the game looks cleaner,

more defined. She/he refers to the breadth and depth of the game ‘How does it feel


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when you are playing?’. One student answers ‘it feels good when it is right’. Another

student speaks of how the in-programmed moves from a different ball game easily

make her take wrong steps.

Narratives from PETE students

When reading the students writings the following categories emerged: the students

seem to write from a position of feeling rather familiar and essentially pleased with the

situation, or feeling rather familiar and not altogether pleased; the students also put

forward expressions of feeling rather unfamiliar and essentially pleased with the ball

game lesson, or feeling rather unfamiliar and not altogether pleased. We will continue

with a presentation of four stories, one from each category. The stories are chosen

due to their quality and that they are representative in their full-length.

Feeling rather familiar and essentially pleased

This category represents a minor part of the sample as a whole (two PETE students).

The category will be illustrated by the following story written by Molly, a 25-year-old

female with some experience of the sport. Molly has a wide background of sports; she

has been playing football, tennis, basketball and doing track and field, to mention

some of the activities.

I played basketball one semester when I was around 11 years of age, it is almost15 years ago. But, the movements are still there and it is great with repetition. At

first, in the morning my body felt gluey and stiff but after warming up it got started.

The shooting practice was useful to go through. I would need to stand and drill only

this to get it really established. During the warming up I did that a couple of times,and made progress. It’s a groove feeling when the ball hits the basket with a perfect

spin. The movement feels complete somehow. Sometimes I score by luck, it’s like

the ball decides by itself. I enjoy it most when I have full control over the

movements of the body, I’m the one in charge of the ball course. When the ‘basketgreeting’ was there it resulted in several nice scores, which was great, fun also when

the body got the hang of the swaying in basketball, it’s like becoming one of the

players on TV.

Molly begins her story by recalling her former experiences of playing basketball. She

feels at first unwilling to move, but soon warmth and softness appear. Molly has no

problem to relate her feelings to the activity in a positive way. She concentrates on

herself and doesn’t mention any other person in her story. When reading her story

one can get an impression of a single person in harmony with herself and her

environment. The reason why this impression may appear is that Molly can give

word to her bodily experiences, for example by telling about the groove feeling when

moving like a basketball player. Even if Molly mentions making goals, she gives that

activity a qualitative dimension by reflecting on the process. She seems to be aware of

that her struggle making a goal is the source of her enjoyment and not the goal itself.

According to Molly, it is such a great feeling when the ball is placed in the basket with


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just the right spin. Molly’s focus on the quality of her experience has an aesthetic

aspect of wholeness or fullness.

How does Molly describe her learning? Her learning strategy*as it appears in her

story*seems to be observing, recalling previous bodily experiences and trying for

herself with an active reflection on her bodily experiences. The main part of her story

is focused on her moving body and the transaction between the body, the basket and

the ball. It is a small universe created with only one ‘I’, something which is interesting

in a group activity such as basketball. According to Dewey (1934/2005) and Jackson

(1998) feelings allow some features of the environment to stand out and others to

fade away. We therefore read Molly’s story as an expression of feelings of wholeness

or fullness mainly related to Molly’s own repertoire of movements. Her story gives a

picture of an aesthetic experience expressed in the pleasure of expanding bodily

movements.

Feeling rather familiar and not altogether pleased

This category represents a minor part of the sample as a whole (three PETE

students). The category will be illustrated by the following story written by Peter, a

26-year-old male with seven years experience of the sport. The active experience of

playing basketball is almost a decade away. Nowadays his activities are more outdoor-

orientated like cross-country running and cross-country skiing.

With quite a lot of basketball in my body, a great part of the technique is already in

my spine*having a ball in my hand has become a part of my natural movementpattern. Nevertheless I enjoy the more theoretical methodology because I don’t

remember it from my time as a basketball player*still I remember the practical

because it has become a part of me. Sometimes it’s hard to get an outlet for one’s

capacity when one is playing with less experienced players. They don’t think the

way I do which may lead to the fact that my tactical moves, according to me, don’t

render the wished-for development of the game. I feel that, even though, the

capacity for me to make moves is there, I want to share the game in hope of getting

an even better game, with more players involved, and by that, hopefully, reach an

even greater game. Altogether, I experienced the lesson as well planned with a clear

red thread, and in terms of physical effort*just right.

Peter feels safe when it comes to handling a basketball, but he is puzzled by this*for

him*rather odd situation playing with less experienced players. The other students’

inability has an effect on him. Peter seems to read the situation as an activity which

needs to be shared by others to be satisfying. He also seems to see the activity as

something that should be working on a certain level or in a certain way to be

recognised as well done. The situation reveals a possibility to act in new ways and

Peter is aware of that. Nevertheless, what he mentions explicitly in his story as being

pleasant is the theoretical parts of the ball game lesson and the way the content of the

lesson is structured. It seems as if Peter, to be able to express the lesson as satisfying,

has to reflect on the experience in educational terms. In his story, he moves himself

from the role of an executor to the role of an educator.


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What does Peter*according to his story*learn through his participation in the

ball game lesson? His former practical experience of playing basketball, which has

offered him pleasure in the past, is not enough to give him joy in this present

situation. His learning process during the lesson seems to focus and shaping his

attention towards the movements of the other people in the setting. Peter is

struggling with feelings of comfort and discomfort. The experience does not to give

him any sense of wholeness or fullness, and is therefore not to be regarded as a

positive aesthetic experience. A longing for a sense of wholeness or fullness, however,

seems to be the implicit feeling which is the moving and cementing force in Peter’s

story. He has a former experience of the good feeling of playing together with others,

and therefore he has a longing for an aesthetic dimension of the activity even in this

particular lesson of basketball.

Feeling rather unfamiliar and essentially pleased

This category represents a major part of the sample as a whole (nine PETE

students). The category will be illustrated by the following story written by Maria, a

20-year-old female with limited experience of basketball, but with great experience of

ball games. Maria is playing handball at elite level, but has been injured for a long

time, and has recently been playing less frequently.

The lesson felt harmonious from my own bodily point of view. Bearing in mind thatI have been playing handball for a long time*and established the movementrepertoire in handball*it becomes a challenge to find a way of bouncing the balland making the steps in the right way, to suddenly become a basketball player with amore rocking and gliding body than I’ve been used to in my own sport. The straightwrist in the shot position (basketball) feels unnatural for me*the straight positiongives me a feeling of lactic acid. In spite of that, basketball becomes more and morefun the more we practise*I like the rocking and gliding. It feels like being rocked.The way of moving gets stuck and in some way I feel that I’m training handballwhen I’m training basketball. New ways of moving are possible to transfer tohandball, e.g. the practise of less steps and the bouncing of the ball in anotherposition. The jump shot with both feet together as well. This lesson felt as atechnique lesson*which suits my physical status right now. I have not been able tocatch up with my normal state of fitness after the injury and I like the drilling oftechnique*then I avoid ending up worn out with no ‘thinking capacity’. I wassweating just right and the pulse was so well adjusted that I didn’t feel it (or thoughtof it). A great feeling in the body. Soft. Calm. Fun.

Dewey (1938/1997) points out the relationship between former experience, present

experience and subsequent experience. This line of experiences is visible in Maria’s

story. She gives a picture of what she thinks is of importance in her former experience

(established movements from another ball game), how she feels in the present (new

bodily perceptions) and how she feels like practicing basketball in some ways is like

practicing handball (a new ball game practice and its implications for her habitual

ball game). Her predisposition to act in handball is expanding by her new experience

of basketball. Maria gives a sensible description of grounded bodily perceptions. She


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likes the feeling of groove basketball movements. Her feelings are related to a

situation where she feels comfort and joy, and where she seems to capture the lesson

from her own bodily perspective. Maria does not give focus on the other people in the

setting. Her feelings seem to lead her to an ‘I-perspective’ where the environment

(other people, the physical environment, etc.) is a playground for expanding

learning. In her story, Maria gives the impression of feelings of wholeness or

fullness. Her experience can be understood as an aesthetic experience in the way that

it includes feelings as well as reflection. She gives clear references to her bodily

perception and expresses learning through and within her body. The feeling of

‘rocking into’ the body of a basketball player seems to be the moving and cementing

force in Maria’s writing.

Feeling rather unfamiliar and not altogether pleased

This category represents a minor part of the sample as a whole (two PETE students).

The category will be illustrated by the following story written by Anne, a 23-year-old

female with eight years background of gymnastics.

I felt unaccustomed to the situation. Haven’t played handball since secondary

school. Hardly remembering the rules or the tactics. Mostly thinking of the

handball one may see on TV. The lesson gave me knowledge about rules, playing

arena, number of players, etc. It was hard to get a game going. High tempo,

confusion, hard balls. But it went over my expectations. I didn’t harm myself and

most of the players play a decent game, which I appreciate being so unaccustomed.

I got warm and out of breath. I felt capable when the pass went right or when I felt

I contributed to the game. I like quick and rapid games. Good exercises before the

game helped getting into the game in a good way. Excellent with short matches.

I have learnt how the game is constructed, that you have to be quick on your feet, to

be attentive and take quick decisions. I’ve also learnt new names and definitions like

0�6 form, 9 meters line, etc. The exercise that I felt most uncommon with was the

first one when one was supposed, on a defined area, to pass the ball two and two in

different ways. The playing was fun. But it becomes sort of unpleasant when

somebody is running straight into the other one. But probably it is good to exercise

attention to several things at the same time. My body felt good during the whole

lesson, warm, sweaty. Fun to feel the belonging to one’s own team. Eva [student]

also explained to me where I should place myself and how the game worked. Then

I felt more comfortable.

The following picture could describe the theme of this story: Anne is in the

circumference of the ball game and tries to move into the centre of the activity. Anne

is aware of her ability during the ball game lesson and her feeling is related to that

awareness. The feeling is connected to her role as an unfamiliar player in a context

where ball game is of importance. Anne’s feelings move between feelings of fear of

getting hurt and feelings of uncertainty to feelings of pleasure. It is a situation in

which activity and participation dominates. Anne becomes warm and sweaty. Her

feet move as quickly as she can, and her eyes try to register movements of the ball as


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well as movements of the other students. Time and space are of importance*Anne

likes games of speed but she also finds it unpleasant with someone running into her.

Anne’s learning process is influenced by struggling with positions (her own and the

others), new movements, handling a ball and the good energy when that complex set of

components is working. Her experience of bodily movements seems to be more

differentiated than before in some ways: for example, her expression of speed is now

coloured by the movements of the ball and the other bodies interacting with her. When

looking at bodies as transactional, we can shed light on Anne’s experimental way of

learning. She observes and tries for herself. The environment offers rich possibilities

for observations, but not enough time and space to make her feel totally able.

Discussion and conclusion

We will end this paper by discussing our research questions and round off with

suggestion for further research and some implications for PE.

How do the PETE students describe their feelings and their relation to the activity?

After analysing the stories written by the PETE students, four categories emerged

built on two pairs of words: familiar or unfamiliar, and pleased or displeased. We

have presented four stories from each category and we will summarise them as

follows: Molly is feeling rather familiar and essentially pleased with the ball game

lesson. In her writing she gives focus to herself. Molly’s reflection is in a clear way

grounded in her own bodily movements and in her feeling of doing them. Peter on

the other hand is feeling rather familiar and not altogether pleased. Peter is more

familiar with basketball than Molly, and he puts forward feelings of comfort

(established basketball movements) as well as discomfort (the other people in the

setting acting in unwanted ways). From Peter’s description it seems like he is

striving to reach a feeling of wholeness or fullness. When participating in the same

ball game lesson as Peter, Maria creates another story where she feels rather

unfamiliar and essentially pleased with the lesson. A positive line of experience is

visible in Maria’s story and her experience is clearly anchored in a sense of her

moving body. In the last of our four categories Anne writes about feelings of lack

of training*to be unfamiliar becomes a source of fear of getting hurt. At the same

time, Anne has former experiences of sporting activities*she likes games of

speed*and it seems like participating in this ball game gives her moments of

feelings of wholeness.

All the PETE students write their stories with their pervious experiences as a

starting point. As we can see the students which are familiar enough with the activity

(playing a ball game), but not too familiar (Maria and Molly) are the ones most

pleased with the lesson. Nevertheless, the students’ feelings are not in a simple way

connected to their former experience in terms of being able to perform. A longing for

reaching a sense of wholeness or fullness seems to be a moving and cementing force


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in their stories. All four have a focus on their learning process rather than a focus on

how many goals or which team won the game. Maria as well as Molly concentrate

their stories to the relation of the body, the ball and the basket and describe a unit in

fullness. Peter and Anne also invite other participants (the other students) into their

stories, and their stories give a picture of an escaping sense of pleasure. They both

show, however, an awareness of feelings of wholeness or fullness in relation to bodily

movements. Peter as well as Anne is used to sporting activities and the pleasure that

their moving bodies can give them.

Conclusion

The present study was conducted to extend research on aesthetic experience as an

aspect of embodied learning. Through this work we have learned more about the

embodiment of learning and the feelings PETE students describe when participating

in ball games. The findings are that the PETE students are very aware of ‘the

knowledge in their muscles’. In their stories the students give words to the difficulty

to change knowledge that is embodied. Still, some of them seem to acquire a more

complex set of predispositions to act and they put forward feelings of expanding

movements: for example, by recalling bodily experiences from previous practicing or

by adding new movements to already established ones. The students in our study

which put forward clear feelings of wholeness or fullness are the same students that

seem to expand their previous movement repertoire to be useful in the new situation.

The striving for an aesthetic experience seems to be important for their learning.

We can see some plausible theoretical explanations for our main finding about the

embodiment of learning. Dewey begins his analysis of learning by exploring

transaction, he then moves to experience, and then to reflective experience. The

latter stage has been of importance for us, because if there is no reflection, then

learning remains totally embodied. Dewey (1938/1997) talk about this kind of

learning at the level of habit as the acquisition of a knowledge that lives ‘in the

muscles’ and because it remains embodied, individuals can in a sense do nothing

with what they have learnt, they cannot ‘use’ it in any sense. It is just there in their

habits and dispositions. This kind of learning is very important and*according to

their stories*the PETE students are aware of the knowledge that lives in their

muscles. Nevertheless, it is only when there is awareness of this knowledge through

reflection that the knowledge can consciously be used in different situations. This is

visible in our empirical material where the PETE students are struggling during the

ball game lesson to merge reflection and action into one co-ordinated transaction.

One unexpected finding in the study was that the PETE students who described

clear feelings of wholeness or fullness in their stories were the same students who did

not mention any other people in their texts. We find this in some ways surprising

reminding that a ball game usually is described as being a group activity. In the

present study we cannot give any empirical answers to this finding, but we believe

this is an interesting question for the future. It is important to mention that the


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design of the research project and its theoretical perspective creates certain

limitations to the study. We have not, for instance, made any critical reflection on

the content of the lesson or described which kind of stories that are possible for the

students to write within this specific social context. The study also leaves a number of

questions to be answered by future research: Why do some PETE students describe

aesthetic feelings of wholeness or fullness? How can ‘the knowledge in their muscles’

be possible to reflect upon in terms of learning? Is ‘the knowledge in their muscles’

connected to, for example, the cognitive knowledge? What kind of education is

needed to stimulate reflection built on bodily experience? Is that kind of education of

value?

The present study also has a number of strengths, however. Primacy is given to

stories arising from bodily experience with focus on bodily movements. Moving

activities in PE are often regarded as being technical or instrumental. By using an

aesthetical perspective on embodied learning, we may go beyond that impression and

show other dimensions of learning in ball games. It may become an important shift

from exploring performance only to studying learning connected to feelings.

Concerning implications for teacher education in PE, we suggest on the basis of

our results that the PETE students’ awareness of ‘the knowledge in their muscles’

should be seen as an intriguing point of departure for exploring and developing

learning in PE. The present study shows that the embodied knowledge and the

striving for aesthetic dimensions are essential to the PETE students’ experiences in

this educational setting. We therefore suggest that the presented theoretical frame-

work can be seen as valuable framework for educational research in this field. If we

not clarify in what way the PETE students understand learning in PE themselves, we

may run the risk of discussing other important concepts such as ‘quality’ from more

technical starting points, and the discussion may turn out to be ‘strangely

disembodied’.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the following for the contribution they have made to this article: the

two anonymous referees, Gert Biesta and the members in Studies of Meaning-

making in Educational Discourses (SMED). Margery Skoglund for help with

language check. And most of all, our heartfelt thanks to the participating PETE

students and their teachers.

Note

1. In his earlier writings Dewey (1929) described nature as a moving whole of interacting parts.

When, in his later writings, he preferred to speak about ‘transaction’, it is because

‘interaction’ still suggests the existence of independent entities that interact, while

transaction puts the process first and treats distinctions such as those between subject and

object or between organism and environment as functional distinctions emerging from this

process*not as starting points or metaphysical givens (Biesta & Burbules, 2003, p. 26).


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Documents

Aesthetic experience as an aspect of embodied learning: stories from physical education student teachers