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Haptic Experiences Shift Students' Representational Gestures and Knowledge Resources
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Haptic Experiences Shift Students' Representational Gestures and Knowledge Resources

Xiaoyu Tang, Matthew Lira and Robb Lindgren
Journal of research in science teaching, Vol.63(2), pp.138-160
02/2026
DOI: 10.1002/tea.70033
Appears in  UI Libraries Support Open Access
url
https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.70033View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

The present investigation adopts an embodied cognition perspective to characterize students' learning interactions between gesture and haptic experience. Haptic technologies have emerged as a promising approach to science learning because they can simulate physical forces that students would otherwise not experience. Student-generated gestures complement haptic technology by offering insight into students' embodied understandings of physical forces. In this study, we examined the role of tangible haptic molecular models by analyzing students' spontaneous gestures and speech after their learning experiences with these models. We designed three learning conditions—Individual Haptic Model, Aggregate Haptic Models, and Equation-Based Instruction—to prepare undergraduate students for learning from an agent-based computer simulation of dynamic equilibrium. Guided by Knowledge in Pieces (KiP) theory, we employed a think-aloud protocol to investigate how haptic and computational environments cue students' knowledge resources and spontaneous gestures. Our analysis of students' speech and gesture revealed that the haptic experiences—particularly individual-level haptic—augmented the computational environment by fostering shifts in students' reasoning (1) from the phenomenological primitive equilibrium to balance and (2) from representing aggregate patterns to individual interactions. We discuss the implications of using gesture as a window into students' developing reasoning, as well as the role of haptic technology in designing embodied learning environments.
 complex systems computational environments gesture haptic feedback knowledge in pieces UIOWA OA Agreement

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