title: How our hands help us learn.
abstract: When people talk they gesture, and those gestures often reflect thoughts not expressed in their words. In this sense, gesture and the speech it accompanies can mismatch. Gesture-speech 'mismatches' are found when learners are on the verge of making progress on a task - when they are ready to learn. Moreover, mismatches provide insight into the mental processes that characterize learners when in this transitional state. Gesture is not just handwaving - it reflects how we think. However, evidence is mounting that gesture goes beyond reflecting our thoughts and can have a hand in changing those thoughts. We consider two ways in which gesture could change the course of learning: indirectly by influencing learning environments or directly by influencing learners themselves.
authors.affiliation: University of Chicago, 5730 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. sgm@uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Goldin-Meadow
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Wagner
mesh_terms: D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D005868:Gestures; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007804:Language Development; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology