Gestures make big difference in what students gain from mathematics lessons, University of Chicago research shows University of Chicago researchers have found in a series of experiments in which they videotaped teachers as they presented mathematics lessons to individual students that students pick up on lessons teachers unconsciously convey through their gestures in ways previously unrecognized. Her co-authors are University of Chicago researchers San Kim and Melissa Singer. The finding could lead to new approaches to teaching, as educators learn how to better use their gestures to reinforce and amplify points they make in the classroom, Goldin-Meadow said.
Gesture offers students a second window onto the task, one that students do take advantage of.
We also need to learn more about the gestures students make during a class. Goldin-Meadow and her colleagues are undertaking research on those topics. Goldin-Meadow, a leading researcher on gesture, conducted experiments with teachers to better understand how nonverbal communication takes place in the classroom. Previous research in this area has focused on topics such as the facial expressions teachers use to express approval or disapproval of student work, but little research has been done on the gestures instructors make spontaneously, and often without noticing, while they teach. For the experiment, researchers selected eight teachers who taught or formerly taught mathematics or science in Chicago-area schools.