Humans spontaneously gesture when doing mathematics, when learning mathematics, and when communicating mathematics. In this project, we seek to understand why they move, and how this helps their mathematical reasoning.
Humans spontaneously gesture when doing mathematics, when learning mathematics, and when communicating mathematics. Generally, embodied cognition research has highlighted the central role of movement in mathematical reasoning. Consequently, research in embodied learning has explored how to meaningfully include bodily movements in learning interventions for mathematics.
One approach is the inclusion of directed actions, that is, making students move in specific ways to help them ground their reasoning. These directed actions are often designed in alignment with expert gestures or with teacher gestures. However, humans may gesture for various reasons, and it is unclear which of these gestures are helpful for learning and should thus be integrated in learning interventions.
In this project, we aim to untangle these different types of gestures and the underlying mechanisms that support mathematical reasoning.
Team
- Dr. Dragan Trninic
- Dr. Charlotte Müller (ETH Zurich)
