Gesture-Based Learning and Instructional Systems

Grounded Cognition and Embodiment

Gestures serve important functions in speech and communication. Researchers have found that speakers gesture even when communicating with blind listeners and that the blind speakers gesture when speaking to other blind listeners. In an increasingly globalized society, gestures are often used in communication between people who do not speak the same language. However, gestures can be misinterpreted or used inappropriately due to cultural and regional differences. For instance, making eye contact or looking people in the eye is a sign of attentiveness and honesty in some societies, but it is considered disrespectful in others. Gestures can reveal thoughts as well as feelings. In educational settings, students signal their willingness to answer a teacher’s question by raising a hand, while they signal their desire not to be called on by lowering their heads. Research shows that teaching is more effective when a teacher recognizes, pays attention to, and is mindful of students’ gestures and body language.

Grounded cognition and embodiment theories have been cited as foundations for gesture-based learning and instructional systems. Some researchers use the terms grounded cognition and embodied cognition interchangeably, while others argue that grounded cognition focuses on the internal mental representations shaped by external bodily movements, while embodied cognition replaces representations with activities, emphasizing the body’s role in the environment in creating cognition. Regardless of scholarly differences, grounded cognition and embodied cognition highlight the importance of gestures and the relationship between the bodily state and cognitive or mental state.

Based on grounded and embodied cognition, cognitive processes are often deeply rooted in the body’s interactions with its physical environments. Embodiment, that is, using body movements and activities to demonstrate or act out one’s knowledge and thoughts, is a powerful force for learning. Using human movements to embody instructional materials can enrich learners’ [Page 329]knowledge representations and assist in concept acquisitions. Knowledge representations in cognition are grounded in multiple ways. According to grounded cognition, we draw upon our experience in the physical world not only when thinking about bodily actions but also when engaging in higher order thought processes. Radford (2009) believes that “thinking … does not occur solely in the head but in and through language, body and tools” (p. 113).

It has been argued that integrating one’s body into educational activities is beneficial for everyone. For instance, research has shown that individuals who make hand gestures in learning learn better than those who do not. Learners produce more integrated and richer presentations when they describe a procedure with gestures. Including motor actions into mental representations can also help improve performance. Gestures help people externalize their thoughts. When people have difficulty solving spatial visualization problems, they spontaneously produce gestures to help. People who gesture or act on the words heard have better recall of the words than those who only listen to the words. A teacher’s use of gestures also helps learners; for example, when explaining the phases of the moon, the teacher might make gestures to indicate the direction of rotation of the moon around the earth, relative to the position of the sun.

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