Recently, researchers have begun to explore the benefits of gestures in facilitating learning. There is significant evidence that using gestures in addition to speech can aid in learning and recall, specifically in children. As education and teaching methods are constantly evolving, this research is important as it provides insight as to how learning can be better facilitated amongst the general community. Especially in a world where the nature of education is changing due to limitations enforced by the COVID-19 pandemic, research that can help educators to better understand how their students learn best is essential and extremely relevant.
In “Learning math by hand: The neural effects of gesture-based instruction in 8-year-old children” Elizabeth Wakefield et. al examine the effect of gesture learning on neural activity. Using fMRI technique Wakefield and colleagues were able to determine that children who learned through gesture and speech activated more brain regions when using the learned skill than children who learned the same skill through solely speech. The study identified the neural network in which higher activation was observed to include, “ bilateral postcentral gyrus, anterior to the general superior parietal activation shown by all children, extending into the left precentral gyrus and the left inferior gyrus, as well as activation in the right middle temporal gyrus, right insula, and right supramarginal gyrus” (6). These areas are associated with the motor system and indicate that learning through gestures provides a lasting neural trace that is activated when children go to perform the learned skill, even if they do not perform the gesture while using said skill.
In “The effects of observing and producing gestures on Japanese word learning” Naomi Sweller and colleagues provided research that adds to that of Dr. Wakefield. By examining the effects of gesture based learning through both observation and reproduction strategies researchers were able to understand how gestures facilitate recall. The study observed this through testing second language acquisition. Participants were native english speakers, ages 18-35 who had no prior knowledge of the japanese language. They were taught japanese words through videos that utilized speech, speech and gesture observation or speech, gesture observation and gesture reproduction (3). Participants were tested on these words immediately after learning and one week after learning. While the study found that participants in the observation and reproduction conditions had better recall scores than participants that learned through speech alone, there was no significant difference in scores between the observation and reproduction conditions. Further, researchers found no effect of learning method on long term memory; indicating that the "beneficial effect of observing or reproducing gestures over speech only learning does not change with time"(8). This suggests that while gesture is beneficial for learning, it does not need to be reproduced for it to be effective in aiding the learning process. It is implied that the motor system can be activated through observation alone.
The research completed by Dr. Sweller and colleagues helps provide insight into the work of Dr. Wakefield. Dr. Wakefields research showed how gesture learning engages more of the brain then speech learning alone and identified brain regions involved in this process. Dr. Sweller was able to explain that the increased activation is crucial to facilitating improved learning and recall, however the reproduction of the gesture is not essential for the effects to occur; merely observing the action provides the same benefit. While these studies differ in demographics and academic disciplines, they both provide ample evidence of the benefits of gesture based learning and can help educators to better understand how to approach teaching in order to best serve their students.
Works Cited:
Sweller et al., N. Sweller, A. Shinooka-Phelan, E. Austin (2020). The effects of observing and producing gestures on Japanese word learning. Acta Psychologica, 207 (2020), p. 103079, 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103079
Wakefield, E. M., Congdon, E. L., Novack, M. A., Goldin-Meadow, S., & James, K. H. (2019). Learning math by hand: The neural effects of gesture-based instruction in 8-year-old children. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 81(7), 2343–2353. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-019-01755-y
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