Individual differences in working memory predict the efficacy of experimenter‐manipulated gestures in first‐grade children

Abstract

AbstractWhy 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, Mage = 7.01 years; Nfemale = 84; Nmale = 90, 10% Latinx‐identified; 70% White; 6% Black; 6% Asian; 18% multiple racial categories, Mincome = $59,750, SDincome ≈ $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.