The Thinking Body In/Of Multimodal Engineering Literacy

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Studies show that engineering is particularly suited for students traditionally experiencing difficulties in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects—including those marked learning disabled—because it supports literacy in its different manifestations (i.e., across modes). This article addresses this topic, building on the late Vygotsky’s premise that activity is the origin of consciousness. In Vygotsky’s approach, there are no underlying conceptions and schema that drive human communication—because thought does not precede and instead becomes in communication—and the different communicative modes (speaking, gesturing, doing) are but manifestations (attributes) of a thinking body.