ERIC Number: EJ1449298
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Sep
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: EISSN-1467-8624
Individual Differences in Working Memory Predict the Efficacy of Experimenter-Manipulated Gestures in First-Grade Children
Child Development, v95 n5 p1494-1507 2024
Why is instructional gesture ineffective in some contexts? And what is it about learners that predicts whether they will learn from gestures? This between-subjects linear measurement training study compares gesture instruction to two controls--operant action and transient action--in a diverse sample of first-grade students (N = 174, M[subscript age] = 7.01 years; N[subscript female] = 84; N[subscript male] = 90, 10% Latinx-identified; 70% White; 6% Black; 6% Asian; 18% multiple racial categories, M[subscript income] = $59,750, SD[subscript income] [approximately equal to] $25,000; data collected 03/16-03/19). Results show that instructor-manipulated gestures may be less effective than demonstrative actions in part because they are iterative and do not leave a lasting trace. Verbal working memory, but not spatial, positively predicted an ability to learn from gesture and transient action in children with the lowest context knowledge.
Descriptors: Individual Differences, Short Term Memory, Nonverbal Communication, Grade 1, Elementary School Students, Teaching Methods, Modeling (Psychology), Object Manipulation, Instructional Effectiveness
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 1; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B090025