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How mind-body-world ecologies work: The use of gestures for idea generation in a Grade 4 composition class
Citation
Cheung, Y. L. (2023). How mind-body-world ecologies work: The use of gestures for idea generation in a Grade 4 composition class. Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 11, 29–52. https://doi.org/10.59960/11.a2
Abstract
Guided by the sociocognitive theory, this study investigated how teachers used gestures in cooperation with other multimodal resources to improve the learning outcomes of students. Two teachers and their students in Grade 4
writing classes at a local elementary school in Singapore participated in the study. Data were collected over a seven month period using classroom observations. Multimodal interaction analysis and conversation analysis conventions
were employed to analyze the lessons. The results show that teachers and students adapted multimodal resources in the writing classrooms, such as teacher’s gestures, body movements, eye gazes, and drawings, to negotiate meaning.
The study has yielded insights into practical application of the participation framework in elementary-school writing lessons. The study also confirms that teachers’ symbiotic gestures do serve the pedagogical function of drawing
students into a desirable participation framework, thereby enhancing their understanding of target learning points. The interplay between mind (speech) – body (gesture) – world (ecosocial elements such as classroom environment)
ecologies and the participation framework is important in that it fosters positive teaching and learning experiences in elementary-school classrooms. A pedagogical implication is that teachers should carefully design their lessons to
incorporate gesture and an array of multimodal teaching resources for effective instruction including inducing active participation by the students.
Date Issued
2023
Publisher
University of Santo Tomas
Journal
Asian Journal of English Language Studies
Project
OER 07/15 CYL
Funding Agency
Ministry of Education, Singapore