Using Gestures to Signal Lesson Structure and Foster Meaningful Learning

• In Event: Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Students' Learning Strategies and Interventions

Abstract

This study tested whether an instructor’s gestures can be used to signal the underlying conceptual structure of a lesson, thereby fostering understanding. 123 undergraduates watched an instructional video comparing eastern and western steamboats in which the instructor produced structural, iconic, structural and iconic, or no gestures. Structural gestures represented the compare-and-contrast structure of the lesson – the instructor moved her hands to the left or right side of her body when describing attributes of eastern or western steamboats. Iconic gestures represented specific features of steamboats (e.g., the instructor moving her hands apart or together to indicate a deep or shallow hull). Consistent with our hypothesis, students who viewed structural gestures outperformed the other groups on a subsequent inference test.

Authors

• Logan Fiorella, University of Georgia

• Celeste Pilegard, University of California - Riverside