Journal article
Teachers’ Gestures and How They Matter
Topics in cognitive science, Vol.17(3), pp.545-568
07/2025
DOI: 10.1111/tops.12755
PMID: 39401068
Abstract
Abstract How do teachers’ gestures influence students’ learning? This article reviews research investigating the role of gestures in communication, focusing on teachers’ communication with their students, primarily in mathematics and science instruction. We first briefly consider gesture's role in communication more generally as a backdrop for considering teaching as a special context for communication. We then describe teachers’ spontaneous gesturing in teaching contexts, and we consider how teachers’ spontaneous gestures might influence students’ learning. We then consider experimental studies that provide causal support for the effects of teachers’ gestures on students’ learning. We conclude by discussing future directions and implications for educational practice.
This article reviews research on teachers’ gestures in instructional communication and on the effects of teachers’ gestures on students’ learning, with a focus on mathematics and science instruction.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Teachers’ Gestures and How They Matter
- Creators
- R. Breckinridge Church - Northeastern Illinois UniversityMichelle Perry - University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMelissa A. Singer - Bridgewater State UniversitySusan Wagner Cook - University of IowaMartha Wagner Alibali - University of Wisconsin–Madison
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Topics in cognitive science, Vol.17(3), pp.545-568
- DOI
- 10.1111/tops.12755
- PMID
- 39401068
- NLM abbreviation
- Top Cogn Sci
- ISSN
- 1756-8757
- eISSN
- 1756-8765
- Publisher
- WILEY
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 10/14/2024
- Date published
- 07/2025
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984734287302771
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