Gestures and a chain of signification: the case of equilibrium solutions

Abstract

This paper provides an exposition of the unfolding and growing complexities of student and instructor gesturing over time. Specifically, it provides an account of how different forms of gestures, all related to the same mathematical idea, can create a chain of signs that support and enhance increasingly sophisticated understanding of one important concept in the learning of differential equations. The chain of gestures presented in this paper offers researchers, instructors, and instructional designers a view of the way in which different gestures can form a common conceptual thread. Expanding on Walkerdine’s (1988) theory of chains of signification, gestures are framed as signs in a chain of signification that captures the evolution of the idea over an extended period of time. Data for the analysis comes from a semester-long classroom teaching experiment in a first course in differential equations.