UC Riverside

Teachers regularly use gestures—meaningful movements of the hands (Alibali, 2005)—when conveying STEM content to their students. Researchers have found that gestures can be particularly useful as a scaffold for student learning of mathematical equivalence (i.e. Goldin-Meadow, Kim, & Singer, 1999; Novack et al., 2014; Singer & Goldin-Meadow, 2005). Mathematical equivalence is a fundamental math concept taught early in elementary school that many students struggle with fully understanding (McNeil, 2008). Though there is evidence that supports gesture-use when teaching mathematical equivalence in a laboratory setting, there is a lack of evidence supporting its use in a classroom setting. In this study we examined if teacher’s gesture-use would be beneficial to students’ mathematical equivalence understanding in second grade classrooms. Further, we investigated whether gesture-use would affect learning outcomes differently within English Language Learning (ELL) students. Participants (n=119) were from seven classes and approximately half of the sample was of ELL status. Results did not support the use of gestures being more effective than the “business as usual” control; however, there was not a significant difference between the learning outcomes of ELL students and their non-ELL counterparts. This study highlights the necessity for further research on the use of gestures (and their impact) in the classroom setting.