학교에서 미술을 교과로 가르치기 시작한 19세기 이후 지금까지 미술교육자들은 일 반 교과로서 미술교과의 정당성을 주장하는데 힘써왔고, 그러한 주장의 근거로 제시 된 키워드들은 각 시대마다 드로잉 리터러시, 창의적 자아 표현, 미적 안목과 이해, 시각적 문해력 등 다양하였다. 20세기 중반 이후 미술교과의 정당성을 뒷받침하는 중 요한 이론적 개념이 바로 인지(cognition)이다. 학교에서 미술교과를 가르쳐야 하는 이유로서 인지를 말하게 된 것은 오랫동안 미술이 느낌, 직관, 정서, 상상력에 초점을 맞추는 비인지적 학습 영역이라는 인식이 있었고, 그 결과 미술교과가 학교교육과정 안의 주변적 위치에 머물러 있었기 때문이다(Efland, 2002/2006). 1950년대 후반에 인 간의 마음(mind)을 규명하기 위한 학제 간 연구로서 등장한 ‘인지과학(cognitive science)’과 제1세대 인지과학의 패러다임인 ‘인지주의(cognitivism)’(이정모, 2010)는 미술이 인지적 학습 영역임을 증명하는데 있어서 획기적인 발판을 마련해주었다.
This study has examined the possibility of adopting embodied cognition theory in the elementary photography class. During the 1960s and 70s, researchers in art education drawn from the first generation of cognitive theories tried to explain the artistic activities as a cognitive process. But they showed their limitation to explain such bodily cognition as visual perceptions. Recently, the second generation of cognition called embodied cognition theory or extended mind has attempted to provide a very supportive ground for unique cognitive aspects of art education. Drawn from Lakeoff and Johnson’s embodied cognition theory, Efland partly discussed cognitive perspectives discussing visual metaphor and narrative thinking as cognitive instrument of applying artistic imagination. This paper attempted to adopt their theories to art practices. The one of co-authors of this study have offered ten 6th grade elementary students with an opportunities to explore the visual metaphor and narrative thinking by creating their own photographic stories. In the photography class, the elementary students could apply image schema as embodied cognition, which is rooted in our bodily experience to construct photographic stories as an integration of the text and images. The children have shown in their photographic stories that they understand the world around them through their bodily sensations. Thus, this study is important for exploring visual metaphor and narrative thinking in terms of adopting such new cognition theory to suggest a specific curriculum example.