The Importance of Gestures in Learning

    Determining the importance of utilizing gestures in learning and how they shape learning outcomes has been a question that neuroscientists have been working to answer. Whether it is using gestures to solve a math problem or learn a new language, neuroscientists seek to know the benefits of using gestures. At Loyola University Chicago, Dr. Elizabeth Wakefield and her colleagues study how Gesture helps learners learn, but not merely by guiding their visual attention. They worked with elementary school aged children who had been taught how to solve missing addend equivalence problems. Tracking their visual attention during gesture and non-gesture learning, they aimed to determine if the use of gestures could positively predict learning outcomes. In 2022, Natalie Wexler, a senior contributor for Forbes, discussed How Gestures Can Help Students Learn. Looking closely at the impact of gestures when learning a new language, Wexler uncovered similar results. Both articles identified how gesture-based learning produced favorable results in learning and cognition versus speech alone based learning. Let us look deeper at why gesture-based learning has the ability to positively impact learning and how results have proven it to be measurable.

The first study we will discuss is Gesture Helps Learners Learn, but Not Merely by Guiding Their Visual Attention by Dr. Elizabeth Wakefield and her colleagues: Miriam A. Novack, Eliza L. Congdon, Steven Franconeri, and Susan Goldin-Meadow. In contrast with other studies, this paper discussed the impact of gesture-based learning through the tracking of visual attention and where students' eyes were when the gesture was taking place. They set up 3 zones within the screen: Instructor, problem, and gesture space. During the strategy segments, when the gesture was taking place, students focused significantly more on the problem than the instructor when the gesture was present. Looking at the posttest scores, students who received instruction with gestures solved 1-2 more problems correctly in the posttest than the students who received verbal instruction alone. Although this isn’t the first work to be done looking at gesture-based learning, this study was the first to evaluate cause and effect on a relatively short time scale. In addition to providing a better understanding of how gestures can direct the learner's attention and help them depict ambiguous speech, ultimately improving posttest importance.

    Shifting focus to Natalie Wexler’s article in Forbes, How Gestures Can Help Students Learn, Wexler elaborates on the impacts of using gestures in a variety of classrooms. In one first grade classroom, the use of gestures when talking about layers helped students visualize the word and provided context that enabled them to recall the word later in the school year when it came up in another subject. In fact, students subconsciously made the hand gesture without being prompted. In Australia, an anatomy professor had her students learn body parts and systems by acting out and pointing to their own bodies while learning. As a result, their professor, Kerry Dickson, has observed a significant increase in test scores by 42%. In the final study, Wexler discusses how third and fourth graders who were taught math in various ways, one which involved gesture-based learning. Initially, all students performed similarly but after four weeks the performance in those who had received gesture-based learning improved more than the other students. Overall, her findings led her to the conclusion that gesture-based learning can enable children to “understand a story better” (Wexler 2022) and when evaluated on performance, perform significantly better than those who learned without gesture. 

Both studies emphasize the positive impact gesture-based teaching has on learning. Dr. Wakefield and Natalie Wexler, highlight just some of the numerous studies, such as missing addend math problems, layers in Earth’s surface, or our human anatomy, which have produced results in support of the use of gesture-based learning in classrooms. Evidence supports that gestures enhance the learning process, and they also direct the learner’s attention to the specific concept at hand. Going forward, the use of gestures in learning has the potential to become a key factor in the success of students' ability to learn new concepts and retain information further in time. 

Works Cited

Wakefield, Elizabeth, et al. “Gesture Helps Learners Learn, but Not Merely by Guiding Their Visual Attention.” Developmental Science, vol. 21, no. 6, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12664. 

Wexler, Natalie. “How Gestures Can Help Students Learn.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 12 July 2022, https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2022/07/07/how-gestures-can-help-students-learn/?sh=65a4ede438b3.