It is often said that humans are visual creatures. Our sense of sight is the most prevalent, and our processing of it constitutes much of our brain power at any given waking moment. But when it comes to communication, most tends to be done with auditory signals. Almost all languages are sound-based, after all. It’s no surprise, then, that the way we teach others and learn are from a combination of sight and sound. But what if there were a more inspired way- a way with proven results?
The best way to teach the next generation is something that humans have sought to perfect for as long as we have existed. And while each individual is different, certain trends have been found that hint towards the best way to keep young minds both engaged and absorbent. A relatively recent article on Science Daily suggests that the best methods may not be new ones, even if data supporting them is novel.
The University of Sydney’s article “Finger tracing enhances learning: Evidence for 100-year-old practice used by Montessori: Tracing makes learning easier, faster, and more motivating” is truly eye-opening, not to mention the other senses. Maria Montessori is well-known for her innovative education methods, but recent data shows that she truly could have been ahead of her time. The working theory of the method in question was based on the idea that a multi-sensory approach to teaching would be more effective. It seems like an obvious concept, but until recently, there has been doubt as to whether more sensory input would be a distracting detriment rather than a useful aid. In the article, two different scientific papers are discussed, both published in the last year.
Wang et al.’s “Sequencing Tracing with Imagination” entailed teaching young students about triangles and their intrinsic properties, such as theorems of angle sums and the hypotenuse. Three groups were described- a control group (leaning from conventional means), a group that traced the relevant triangle shapes in the air, and a third group that both traced and were instructed to close their eyes and imagine or visualize what they had learned. To the method’s credit, the group that traced and imagined performed best on subsequent tests, followed by the tracing group and lastly the control group.
But why does this work? Further, why did imagining the shapes in addition to tracing help, when imagination does not provide an additional stimulus? The answer may be found in the paper “Learning math by hand: The neural effects of gesture-based instruction in 8-year-old children” by Wakefield et al (2019). In this paper, the underlying neural mechanisms of a similar disparity in education were observed. What was found was that other areas of the brain, such as the motor-region, could be ‘recruited’ for calculation and recall. This means that students who are using more senses are able to use more parts of their brain in order to learn, absorb, and understand difficult concepts. Moreover, the well-performing participants of Wang et al.’s experiment reported less cognitive load and greater motivation, suggesting that this division of mental labor is truly happening.
Further, these findings are not limited to young minds. The University of Sydney promoted another paper, Ginns et al’s “Pointing and tracing enhance computer-based learning”. In it, 44 adults were similarly split into a group that gestured and pointed as they learned compared to an immobile group- and the gesturing group performed better, experienced less of a cognitive burden, and even were quicker in being able to comprehend related but different topics- the last a sign of true understanding! That is an important finding, as it shows that these methods are not convoluted mnemonics that help with memorizing but rather foster true education.
What does this mean for the future of education? These recent findings are hard to dispute, but how could they be implemented? It is a common ‘study hack’ to chew a certain flavor of gum while studying and to chew the same flavor while taking the corresponding test to improve recollection- these findings suggest this is more than a placebo. Will schools and academies of the future have a required gum to chew, with a different flavor for each subject? Will school subjects or lessons have a corresponding air-freshener in the classroom? Or will students simply be encouraged to be more physical with their learning and studying? It’s impossible to know what methods of recruiting more brain power will become popular, but these findings provide a glimpse of what might be to come for future generations- who thanks to scientists such as these, have more information available to learn about the world than any generation before them.
Bo Wang, Paul Ginns, Nicole Mockler. Sequencing Tracing with Imagination. Educational Psychology Review, 2021; DOI: 10.1007/s10648-021-09625-6
Paul Ginns, Victoria King. Pointing and tracing enhance computer-based learning. Educational Technology Research and Development, 2021; 69 (3): 1387 DOI: 10.1007/s11423-021-09997-0
University of Sydney. "Finger tracing enhances learning: Evidence for 100-year-old practice used by Montessori: Tracing makes learning easier, faster, and more motivating." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 26 September 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210926182721.htm>.
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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