**Theoretical Perspectives of Hands-On Educational Practices — From a Review of Psychological Theories to Block Magic and INF@NZIA DIGI.Tales 3.6 Projects**

Orazio Miglino, Michela Ponticorvo and Luigia Simona Sica

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60922

#### **Abstract**

In this chapter, the main theories related to cognitive development are discussed, starting from psychological discussion up to theories application to training, pedagogical and formation sciences issues.

We start from the classical contribution by Vygotsky and Piaget to arrive to the recent embodied cognition approach.

This theoretical excursus leads us to describe two projects we are involved in: the Block Magic project and INF@NZIA DIGI.tales 3.6. The goal of Block Magic is to introduce a new teaching methodology and technology targeting young children between the ages of 2.5 and 7 who are attending pre-school or the early years of primary school. The project aims at helping young learners to learn autonomously. This, the authors believe, is a basic life skill, of critical importance for their future development.

We then describe INF@NZIA DIGI.tales 3.6 project, an Italian project aimed to promote the use of ICT technologies and the latest paradigms of human–computer interaction (augmented reality, RFID/NFC sensors, handwriting and speech recogni‐ tion, motion detection, etc.) in order to define psycho-educational practices, which are able to enhance curricular activities and facilitate acquisition processes for skills and knowledge for pupils.

**Keywords:** Hands-on practices, Embodied cognition, ICT tools for learning, Logic blocks, Learning processes

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