Gesturing Gives Children New Ideas About Math
By: Susan Goldin-Meadow, Susan Wagner Cook, and Zachary A.Mitchell
In this study, the researchers investigate how gestures and bodily movements support children’s mathematical learning. They argue that students are sensitive to the movements they themselves produce and that these movements can influence cognitive processes. The experiment involved 128 third- and fourth-grade students, ages 9 to 10, including 81 girls and 47 boys. Students completed a pretest and were then randomly assigned to one of three conditions: correct gesture, partially correct gesture, or no gesture. Each group was taught a specific type of gesture prior to the math lesson and was asked to produce these gestures before and after solving problems. Following the lesson, students completed a posttest. The results showed that students who used correct gestures solved more problems correctly than those who used partially correct gestures, who in turn outperformed students who used no gestures. Overall, the findings suggest that producing gestures can positively influence mathematical understanding.
One aspect of the study that made me pause was how simple the gestures used in the experiment were. When the authors described the gestures, such as pointing with one or two fingers, I initially wondered whether these movements were too minimal to meaningfully affect learning. I found myself questioning whether such basic actions could really help students solve math problems. As I continued reading, the authors addressed this concern by explaining that the movements were modeled after gestures that children who already know how to solve these types of problems typically produce. As they state, “the movements that we asked children to produce were modeled after gestures that children who know how to solve problems of this type typically produce” (p. 271). This explanation helped me rethink what counts as a gesture and recognize that even simple hand movements can carry cognitive value.
Another moment of surprise came from how effective these simple gestures turned out to be. The results made me think about similar practices I have observed in schools in China, where teachers often require students in Grades 1 and 2 to use finger tracking while reading. By physically pointing to the words, students are better able to follow along and maintain focus, which supports their reading development. This connection helped me see how gestures may support learning across different subject areas. Just as finger tracking supports early literacy, purposeful gestures may also support mathematical thinking by grounding abstract ideas in physical action.
This reading also left me with lingering questions about the relationship between gesture and thought. When children point at math problems, what is happening cognitively? Does the gesture prompt new thinking, or is it mainly an outward expression of thinking that is already taking place? In addition, while the results of this study are convincing, the math problems and gestures used were relatively simple. This makes me wonder how gestures might function when students engage with more complex mathematical concepts. I wonder how teachers could intentionally design or encourage gestures in mathematics lessons to support deeper conceptual understanding, rather than just procedural success.
Hi Sukie, I agree that using gestures can benefit one's learning. I'm wondering in the research what the difference is between "correct gesture" and "partially correct gesture"?
ReplyDeleteI also like the example on using fingers to trace reading --- this is extremely helpful and something I'm doing even today!
The paper I read by Gerofsky (2011) is about how students use different gestures to represent graphs. Students didn't get any training or preparation in how to use gestures, so everything came from their own minds, which is different from the article you read here, where students were taught about gesture use before the task. This also makes me wonder if gesture is a spontaneous movement people do while thinking, or if people need to learn certain gestures to support their thinking, or a combination?
Sunny,
DeleteOops, the image attached is a bit blurred. Let me clarify the difference between the correct gesture and partially correct gesture with a sample problem 6+3+4 = _ +4. The correct gesture would be two fingers pointing at “6+3” on the left side, and one finger pointing at the “_” on the right side. Whereas the partially correct gesture would have the two fingers at the “3+4” on the left side, and one finger pointing at the “_” on the right side.
I think gestures and thinking can happen simultaneously. Our brain can for sure send signals for certain movements, and these movements can also send out more information for our brain to process and think about the next moves. But these are just my guesses, I think we’d need to read more papers to find evidence to support this thinking!
Very interesting stops & connections Sukie!
ReplyDelete“When children point at math problems, what is happening cognitively? Does the gesture prompt new thinking, or is it mainly an outward expression of thinking that is already taking place?” This connects with the paper I read this week by Nathan (2021) about first-order experiences and linking metaphors. I wonder if cognitively experiencing the math counts as a second-order (description of) experience… and as soon as the students move their bodies (finger gesture) it creates a first-order experience… and if they move their bodies a lot (visceral movement as described by Gerofsky (2011), they create an even stronger first-order experience. I never thought of this as a hierarchy of understanding that leads to memory before, but I’m seeing connections that I haven’t before!
You mention, “I wonder how teachers could intentionally design or encourage gestures in mathematics lessons to support deeper conceptual understanding, rather than just procedural success.” Another great wonder. I would love to incorporate more of this in my classroom. My hesitancy lies in buy-in for high school students that may continue to perpetuate the notion that bodily movements are for basic primary math concepts. My goal is going to be to sneakily, yet explicitly weave gestures into the classroom. My first thought was to put a laser-pointer on a stick (like a wizard wand) and have the students trace paths on the board for graphing to demonstrate understanding.
Thanks for the thoughts!
References:
Gerofsky, S. (2011). Seeing the graph vs. being the graph: Gesture, engagement and awareness in school mathematics. In G. Stam & M. Ishino (Eds.), Integrating gestures: The interdisciplinary nature of gesture (pp. 245–256). John Benjamins Publishing Company. https://doi.org/10.1075/gs.4.22ger.
Nathan, M. J. (2021). Foundations of embodied learning: A paradigm for education (1st ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429329098
I'd love to hear how your sneakily wave gestures goes in your classroom., Olly! Keep us posted.
DeleteI'd like to hear about your sneaky introduction of gestures in your secondary classroom too, Oliver! But in my experience, secondary students are not the least bit hesitant about using movement to make sense of math -- with the provisos that: (1) the teacher is not embarrassed to teach this way and to move themselves; (2) they are in a space (a large drama room or gym or multi-purpose room, or outdoors on the playground) where there is room to move without hitting walls and furniture and other people, and (3) the movement or gesture activities are clearly linked with the math topic at hand, and help students explore and understand the topic better -- often when accompanied in an oscillating way by writing, diagrams, symbols and so on, as appropriate.
ReplyDelete