The Cult of Pedagogy Podcast EduTip 28: Add gestures to strengthen learning.
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Mar 23, 2025 Discover how incorporating meaningful hand gestures can elevate the learning experience. Learn about iconic and metaphoric gestures, and delve into practical examples that enhance understanding. This engaging approach not only improves comprehension but also promotes active learning among students.
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Use Gestures in Instruction
- Use hand gestures while teaching to improve student learning.
- Studies show that any gesture type helps, even simple ones.
Meaningful Gestures
- Iconic and metaphoric gestures, which relate directly to concepts, have a greater impact on learning than beat or dyktic gestures.
- Dyktic and beat gestures lack inherent meaning tied to learning content.
Learning Japanese with Gestures
- Jennifer Gonzalez uses iconic gestures to memorize Japanese menu items like eel, squid, and squid tentacles.
- She repeats the gestures alongside the words to reinforce the connection.