Many young readers struggle when first dealing with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) informational texts. Can applying a principle of embodied cognition, physical action congruent with the STEM content, help? We investigated whether congruent action while reading improves STEM vocabulary learning. Second- and third-grade Spanish-speaking children in Chile read a seven-chapter informational text about physics. The 216 children were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. The two Embodied Action conditions included: a) Screen-based, in which the children individually read and moved images on an iPad screen to simulate the meaning of the sentences; b) Pantomime-based, where the experimenter and the children both read aloud (as a teacher might read to a small group) and used whole body pantomime to mimic the actions presented in the text. We also included two active control conditions included: a) Screen-based Child Read-Only condition in which the child read the text on the iPad, but did not perform any movement of the images on the screen; and b) Read-only with experimenter condition in which the experimenter and the children read the text out loud together but did not perform any pantomime.

Results show that both types of embodied action (pantomime or screen-based movement) significantly enhanced both informational text comprehension and STEM-related vocabulary learning relative to the Read-Only conditions. There was a significant effect of embodied action in vocabulary learning. That is, children learned more vocabulary in the two action conditions (Screen-based; Pantomime-based) than in the two control conditions that did not have embodied action. There was also a significant effect of embodied action in reading comprehension. That is, children performed better on the comprehension assessment in the two action conditions (Screen-based; Pantomime-based) than in the two control conditions that did not have embodied action.

Our findings strongly support the effectiveness of incorporating embodied action whether is screen-based or Pantomime-based. We demonstrate that applying the principles of embodied cognition is an effective approach to vocabulary development and STEM-related text comprehension. Using embodied pantomime-based action during reading is a viable option for teachers in schools with limited resources. Finally, providing learning experiences for children in using embodied strategies is something that teachers can easily incorporate into their everyday practices in the classroom.

Keywords: Embodied action, technology, reading comprehension, vocabulary.