Students in an outdoor setting learn about fulcrums, explore the concepts of pivot points and weight distribution. In this case, learning is based in the senses (embodied) and cross-curricular (physics & math). (photo credit: dhoydragons, instagram, Dec. 11)
There are "new conceptions about human cognition,...new understandings of the role of the body....Within these new conceptions, gestures, body posture, kinesthetic actions, artifacts, and signs in general are considered a fruitful array of resources....[that are] central elements of the students’ and teachers’ mathematical thinking" (Radford, L. 2017).
One of the primary ways we learn is through our senses, and, according to Annie M. Paul, one of the primary ways we can grow our knowledge and reduce cognitive load is by thinking with our bodies (2021). As hands are always 'within reach', gestures are one of the ways we extend our thinking, they " provide avenues through which learners can consider new ideas (Novack et al., 2016). In a review of the research on co-speech gestures Cutica & Bucciarelli (2013) also found "that gestures may provide a vehicle that allows the individual to express thoughts difficult to express in speech....[and help] organize a stream of thought...by reducing cognitive load" (p.202).
Young children in particular need to communicate through gesture. "The gestures [people] produce provide insight into what they know even before can express that knowledge in words" (Novak et al., 2015) and are able to explore increasingly complex ideas and develop their vocabulary if the adult around them pays attention to the gestures and names what they are doing. For example, when exploring the attributes of shapes, students do not typically know the words or definitions of angles, lines, or points. They never (at the kindergarten level) know the terms "parallel" or "intersecting". But, they will touch the points of an object, make a gesture to represent 'sharp', and say they are sharp and pointy, which can lead to a discussion of terms and their definitions. Through gestures the idea of Lines move from abstract to concrete, and back to abstract as students move, touch, gesture, and discuss.
"Although", according to Cook (2018) "there is robust evidence revealing the beneficial effects of gesture on learning...it is not clear what mechanisms underlie these effects", Alibali et al. (2014) suggest that gesture can link abstract concepts in the immediate environment". Further, recent research into the brain also shows that the pre-motor cortex, which is responsible for planning actions, is active during non-motor and "higher cognitive processes....hence, it may mediate the transition from motor to cognitive functions" (Tschenter et al., 2012, pp. 3146-7) For example, When initially being introduced to concepts around lines, students will often gesture to show lines intersecting and say that lines will eventually cross "because one line is swooshing down". In the pictures here, students are using their bodies to extend the sides of the shapes to see if lines will intersect, or if they are parallel. According to Tschenter et al. (2012) it is possible that students are using parts of the brain typically used in motor planning to make it easier to connect what they see and feel to the word they are looking for.
One of the primary ways we learn is through our senses, and, according to Annie M. Paul, one of the primary ways we can grow our knowledge and reduce cognitive load is by thinking with our bodies (2021). As hands are always 'within reach', gestures are one of the ways we extend our thinking, they " provide avenues through which learners can consider new ideas (Novack et al., 2016). In a review of the research on co-speech gestures Cutica & Bucciarelli (2013) also found "that gestures may provide a vehicle that allows the individual to express thoughts difficult to express in speech....[and help] organize a stream of thought...by reducing cognitive load" (p.202).
Young children in particular need to communicate through gesture. "The gestures [people] produce provide insight into what they know even before can express that knowledge in words" (Novak et al., 2015) and are able to explore increasingly complex ideas and develop their vocabulary if the adult around them pays attention to the gestures and names what they are doing. For example, when exploring the attributes of shapes, students do not typically know the words or definitions of angles, lines, or points. They never (at the kindergarten level) know the terms "parallel" or "intersecting". But, they will touch the points of an object, make a gesture to represent 'sharp', and say they are sharp and pointy, which can lead to a discussion of terms and their definitions. Through gestures the idea of Lines move from abstract to concrete, and back to abstract as students move, touch, gesture, and discuss.
"Although", according to Cook (2018) "there is robust evidence revealing the beneficial effects of gesture on learning...it is not clear what mechanisms underlie these effects", Alibali et al. (2014) suggest that gesture can link abstract concepts in the immediate environment". Further, recent research into the brain also shows that the pre-motor cortex, which is responsible for planning actions, is active during non-motor and "higher cognitive processes....hence, it may mediate the transition from motor to cognitive functions" (Tschenter et al., 2012, pp. 3146-7) For example, When initially being introduced to concepts around lines, students will often gesture to show lines intersecting and say that lines will eventually cross "because one line is swooshing down". In the pictures here, students are using their bodies to extend the sides of the shapes to see if lines will intersect, or if they are parallel. According to Tschenter et al. (2012) it is possible that students are using parts of the brain typically used in motor planning to make it easier to connect what they see and feel to the word they are looking for.
Why am I going here with my learning? For many years I have observed a decline in gesturing and motor planning in my room - getting students to attach a gesture to a sound or a dance movement to a word is difficult. Part of it is due (I think) not just to a lack of confidence, but a lack of proprioceptor (or visual) development - students have trouble with motor tasks when there are other students moving around them. There is a niggling feeling that my taking students outside to walk on uneven surfaces and climb through sticks causes sensory integration. If, as teachers, we start to become aware of the academic benefits to gesturing and thinking outside the body, then we are more likely to address those deficits by going outside and engaging in complex movement activities designed to bolster confidence and motor planning (otherwise known as risky play). (photo credit: dhoydragons, instagram, Nov. 8, 2021) (MEDL artifact interpretation - blog post, using research and "knowing" to reflect on educational practice) |
References:
Alibali, M. W., Nathan, M. J., Wolfgram, M. S., Church, R. B., Jacobs, S. A., Johnson Martinez, C., & Knuth, E. J. (2014). How teachers link ideas in mathematics instruction using speech and gesture: A corpus analysis. Cognition and Instruction, 32(1), 65-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2013.858161
Cutica, I., & Bucciarelli, M. (2013). Cognitive change in learning from text: Gesturing enhances the construction of the text mental model. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(2), 201-209. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2012.743987
Paul, A. M. (2021). The extended mind: The power of thinking outside the brain. Eamon Dolan Books.
Premotor cortex. (n.d.). ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/premotor-cortex
Novack, M., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2015). Learning from gesture: How our hands change our minds. Educational Psychology Review, 27(3), 405-412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9325-3
Tschentscher, N., Hauk, O., Fischer, M. H., & Pulvermüller, F. (2012). You can count on the motor cortex: Finger counting habits modulate motor cortex activation evoked by numbers. NeuroImage, 59(4), 3139-3148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.037
Cook, S. W. (2018). Enhancing learning with hand gestures: Potential mechanisms. In K. D. Federmeier (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 107–133). Elsevier Academic Press.
Alibali, M. W., Nathan, M. J., Wolfgram, M. S., Church, R. B., Jacobs, S. A., Johnson Martinez, C., & Knuth, E. J. (2014). How teachers link ideas in mathematics instruction using speech and gesture: A corpus analysis. Cognition and Instruction, 32(1), 65-100. https://doi.org/10.1080/07370008.2013.858161
Cutica, I., & Bucciarelli, M. (2013). Cognitive change in learning from text: Gesturing enhances the construction of the text mental model. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 25(2), 201-209. https://doi.org/10.1080/20445911.2012.743987
Paul, A. M. (2021). The extended mind: The power of thinking outside the brain. Eamon Dolan Books.
Premotor cortex. (n.d.). ScienceDirect.com | Science, health and medical journals, full text articles and books. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/premotor-cortex
Novack, M., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2015). Learning from gesture: How our hands change our minds. Educational Psychology Review, 27(3), 405-412. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9325-3
Tschentscher, N., Hauk, O., Fischer, M. H., & Pulvermüller, F. (2012). You can count on the motor cortex: Finger counting habits modulate motor cortex activation evoked by numbers. NeuroImage, 59(4), 3139-3148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.037
Cook, S. W. (2018). Enhancing learning with hand gestures: Potential mechanisms. In K. D. Federmeier (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 107–133). Elsevier Academic Press.