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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
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Examining Gesture Production in the Presence of Communication Challenges
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Drawing or gesturing? Prior knowledge moderates the impact of embodied pedagogies
Icy Yunyi Zhang1, Zoey Zhao2, Rui Yu2
1UW Madison Educational Psychology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 53706, USA. icy.zhang@wisc.edu.
Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications
|July 12, 2026
Summary
Embodied cognition research shows that for statistics students with less prior knowledge, gestures enhance learning more than drawing. This suggests tailoring teaching methods to student understanding is key for STEM education.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Educational Psychology
- STEM Education
Background:
- Abstract STEM concepts present learning challenges.
- Embodied cognition theory suggests linking abstract ideas to physical actions improves understanding.
- Teachers intuitively use embodied pedagogies like gesturing and drawing, but their comparative effectiveness is unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the comparative effectiveness of gesture-based versus drawing-based embodied instruction.
- To examine how students' prior knowledge moderates the impact of these embodied pedagogies.
Main Methods:
- A college-level introductory statistics and data science course was used.
- Students were randomly assigned to view instructional videos featuring either drawing or gesture-based instruction.
- Instructional videos involved enacting and reenacting demonstrated actions.
Main Results:
- Prior knowledge significantly moderated the effectiveness of the instructional methods.
- Gesture-based instruction was more effective for students with low prior knowledge.
- No significant difference in effectiveness was found between gesture and drawing for students with high prior knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Embodied pedagogies can be tailored to learners' prior knowledge for improved STEM learning outcomes.
- Gesture-based instruction may be particularly beneficial for novice learners in statistics and data science.
- Findings contribute to understanding the nuanced interaction between embodied cognition, prior knowledge, and instructional design.
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