Embodied Learning: A Qualitative Study on Extracurricular Exercise, Psychological Capital, and Academic Experience of High School Seniors

Abstract

This study employs autoethnographic methods, using the researcher and three classmates as research subjects, to explore the impact of extracurricular exercise on psychological well-being and learning experience during the senior year examination preparation period. Through two weeks of learning journal records and semi-structured in-depth interviews, the study found that: (1) Regular exercise significantly enhances learning focus and problem-solving flexibility through emotional regulation mechanisms; (2) Appropriate blurring of the “exercise-learning” boundary helps expand cognitive flexibility and promotes interdisciplinary thinking; (3) “Time anxiety” under the examination-oriented culture is the main barrier restricting high school seniors’ participation in exercise. The study suggests that high school education should reconstruct the “effective learning” time politics, integrate the mind-body connection into the examination preparation support system, and provide more humanistic academic guidance for high school seniors.