Spatial Intelligence and Learning Center
NSF Science of Learning Center
Gesturing is an activity that people spontaneously engage in when talking about spatial content, and even when talking about non-spatial content. Space is continuous, but the language we use to describe space is not. Language divides space into categories and, as a result, is a relatively poor technique for capturing the continuous quality of space. What gesture can do is fill in the gaps left by language, allowing learners to reveal knowledge about space that is not apparent in their talk. We examine the gestures that speakers produce when describing tasks that call upon the fundamental systems of spatial learning and cognition (e.g., mental rotation tasks). We use gesture to explore the three types of symbolic systems of spatial learning and cognition: (1) spatial representations of spatial content, e.g., maps; (2) spatial representations of non-spatial content, e.g., number, moral dilemmas; (3) non-spatial representations of spatial content, e.g., language). Finally, we consider the implications of our findings on gesture and space for educational practice. Gesturing may turn out to be particularly important in teaching STEM disciplines, as teachers often find it difficult to talk about many of these areas (e.g., chemistry, geology, physics) without using their hands. Fundamentally, the two questions we ask are: (1) Can gesture be used as a window onto spatial skills not evident through other probes? (2) Can gesture be manipulated to promote spatial learning?
Our aims of the Gesture Working Group are:
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