Teachers! gestures facilitate students! Learning: A lesson in symmetry

                                                  by

                      Laura Valenzano Martha W. Alibali, b, sand Roberta Klatzkya

Summary

The study puts forth the idea that factors influencing students' comprehension of spoken language also play a significant role in their understanding of the language employed in educational contexts. These factors encompass clarity of the message, the relevance of content, nonverbal cues, organization, engagement, pacing and repetition, tone and intonation, feedback, and integration. The primary aim of this research is to investigate the significance of gestures as a form of nonverbal communication in teaching and learning. It specifically highlights how gestures can provide substantial proof to enhance lesson content. For instance, using gestures to clarify concepts—like pointing to a shape to emphasize symmetry or tracing a line to illustrate an idea—demonstrates the educational value of gestures in making abstract notions more tangible and enriching the overall content of the lesson.

This research was conducted with 25 children, averaging 4 years and 6 months old, from two classrooms in a university laboratory preschool. The survey utilized a controlled environment featuring a table, two chairs, a small television VCR, and a video camera. This arrangement helped maintain consistency and reduce external distractions, allowing researchers to concentrate on the effects of gestures during the lessons.

 The experiment followed a three-stage approach: a pretest, the main lesson, and a post-test. During the pretest, the experimenter inquired whether the children were familiar with the term "symmetry" and presented four items (cross, letter C, mitten, and heart) for them to identify symmetrical versus non-symmetrical objects by circling the symmetrical ones.

 In the main lesson, the children were randomly divided into two groups to watch either a video-only lesson or a verbal-plus-gestures video lesson. Both videos had identical audio tracks and features with similar numbering, differing only in the use of gestures, which were illustrated through pointing and tracing in the verbal-plus-gestures video.

 The students did not spend time piecing together the twelve halves required to form the six items (cup, wristwatch, diamond ring, a pair of feet, a pair of pants, and a leaf) used as a posttest for evaluating their comprehension of symmetrical and non-symmetrical objects.

The researchers systematically analyzed and categorized the results from the experiments using coding. They focused on three main categories: content, correctness, and presentation of gestures, which were graded on a scale from 0 to 6. To enhance the analysis, the content was examined through various lenses, including sides, mirrors, halves, irrelevant, and don’t know explanations. Each explanation was also coded to indicate whether gestures were used or not. Additionally, head turns were coded to evaluate the students’ levels of focus.

 To ensure the study's reliability and consistency, a subsample of seven children from the verbal clip was evaluated by a second coder to assess the head turns. The pretest, lesson, and post-test results were all analyzed comprehensively. The performance was statistically analyzed across participants and items, with all hypotheses being directional, leading to the application of one-tailed tests of significance. Cohen’s d was utilized to compare the differences between the two groups, providing insight into the effect sizes.

 From the analysis, the following findings emerged:

- Students exposed to the verbal-plus-gestures video condition provided more items than those in the video-only condition when both evaluative decisions and reasoning were considered.

- The verbal-plus-gestures video condition yielded a greater number of judgments compared to the video-only condition.

- No significant difference was noted between the two conditions overall.

- The verbal-plus-gestures condition offered more mirror explanations, while the video-only condition included more irrelevant content.

- Judgments from both sides and mirror analysis indicated that children in the verbal-plus-gestures condition provided more advanced explanations.

- Students in the verbal-plus-gestures condition demonstrated greater focus and answered more questions correctly regarding symmetry.

In conclusion, despite some limitations of the study such as the specific nature of the types of gestures used and the lack of realistic instructional settings, the findings broaden our understanding of the significant role that gestures play in influencing student comprehension. This, in turn, extends to their overall learning of concepts. In conclusion, despite some limitations of the study such as the specific nature of the types of gestures used and the lack of realistic instructional settings, the findings broaden our understanding of the significant role that gestures play in influencing student comprehension. This, in turn, extends to their overall learning of concepts.

 Stop 1

“Students! comprehension may be challenged by instructional discourse that presents new concepts and uses unfamiliar terms”. Page 188

This quote speaks to me because it highlights the critical role of preparing lesson notes or plans. By clearly outlining our teaching steps, we can better connect what students already know to new concepts. A well-prepared lesson is essential for tackling the difficulties that come with presenting unfamiliar ideas and vocabulary. Without this preparation, we risk creating misunderstandings that can impede students' overall understanding of the material.

Additionally, gestures can play a powerful role in helping overcome these challenges. They serve as visual or physical representations of abstract concepts or complex terms, which can be incredibly useful when we’re crafting our lessons. For instance, as mentioned in the article, the teacher introduced new vocabulary by tracing shapes or pointing to relevant examples, which helped students relate the unknown to their existing knowledge. Careful planning allows educators to effectively incorporate gestures into their teaching strategies, enhancing the learning experience. How can I prepare my lesson to ensure that the gesture used in the class is beneficial to students of all learning styles?

 Stop 2

” Gestures may serve to capture students! attention precisely because they link speech to the physical environment”. Page 201

This resonates with me because the significance of gestures in classroom teaching and learning is crucial. It's vital to make mathematics more relatable to students. I believe that when a teacher delivers lessons with passion and utilizes body language to demonstrate concepts, it truly engages students and ignites their curiosity about the subject. I recall a time when I was teaching my students about the parts of a circle. I used my hand to illustrate each element, tracing and pointing out features like the circumference, radius, arc, diameter, and chord. It made the lesson more interactive and memorable for them.

 

 Question: do young children perceive gestures the way older children do in the teaching and learning environment? In what ways can educators use gestures to make lessons interesting to younger children?

 

“I added the numbers, it’s math!”: how sense-making in “Age of the Captain “problems differs between a mathematics classroom and a language classroom

                                                                     By

                              Molina, Natalia; Strohmaier, Anselm R; Reiss, Kristina M

SUMMARY

The article explores the use of nonsensical problems in solving word problems to get the step-by-step approaches and influencers of making sense when solving word problems.  The focus was on using ACP (Ages of the Caption Problems) about classroom context. This idea was introduced by the Mathematical Research Institute of Grenoble in 1980.

The researchers used a sample size of 48 primary school students. The instrument used was a language-based test administered to each student followed by a group interview. In both scenarios, the students experienced confusion because the questions were nonsensical. This is because the mathematics class attempted to solve the problem numerically while the language class were more comfortable questioning the logic behind the question.

The researchers raise four hypotheses in an attempt to determine how students make sense of nonsensical problems differently in the classroom context;

*Hypothesis 1: students will solve nonsensical problems by using arithmetic calculators

*Hypothesis 2: Students will make less use of arithmetic calculations during language class

*Hypothesis 3:  students in the mathematics class tend to use more of a paradigmatic approach

*Hypothesis 4: students in the language class use a narrative approach.

The T-test was used to analyze the hypothesis, and it was concluded that students in mathematics classes were more likely to provide arithmetic responses to ACPs as they were influenced by classroom context.

Stop1

” Mathematical word problems are documented to exist in the mathematics curriculum for centuries and still play an important role in education nowadays, aiming to bridge mathematics to everyday life (Dewolf et al.,2011)”. Page 1

This quote resonates with the importance of word problems in the mathematics curriculum. Word problems are powerful tools necessary for teaching mathematics concepts to students as they give room for a practical approach to problem-solving skills. They help students see the importance of mathematics in real-life situations. I can say word problems are avenues for bringing mathematics close to our students because it is essential in strengthening critical thinking analysis ability while encouraging creative thinking. It helps us identify and exploit opportunities in the environment.

 

 

Stop 2

“However, when studying how pupils relate word problems to real life experiences, research has shown that the attempt of this connection often fails when students are confronted with word problems in the classroom (Verschaffel, et al.,2000, & Dewolf, et al.,2011)”. Page 1

As discussed in Stop 1 above, Mathematical word problems are important because they allow students to apply mathematical concepts to real-world situations while developing critical thinking skills and aid in practicing translating language into mathematical equations. Students must first and foremost understand the idea or concepts behind the mathematical problem before solving it. This calls for concern as a lot of students cannot interpret these questions. When students struggle to comprehend mathematical word problems, it can lead to several disadvantages, like conceptual understanding of math, difficulty applying math skills to real-world situations, and potential struggles in higher-level math courses where word problems are often prevalent. One of the major causes is the underlying issues with reading comprehension or language processing that may need further assistance.

“A WAEC math word problem example could be: "A rectangular garden has a length of (x + 3) meters and a width of (x - 2) meters. If the perimeter of the garden is 20 meters, find the value of x and the dimensions of the garden.”.?

Imagine giving a student the question above in a standardized test, the students must first understand words or concepts like “rectangular, perimeter, length, width garden, meters, value and dimensions” before making sense of the question.

 

 

How do students perform in word problem analysis when teaching and learning activities are going on in your classroom? What strategies do you use as a teacher to address this deficiency?