Points to Ponder: Gesture and Language in Math Talk

Abstract

With the introduction of Common Core State Standards, mathematical learning and problem solving in the academic environment is more linguistically demanding. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) can support students with language impairment and teachers charged with new curricular demands. The role of gestural communication as a support for children's math learning and as an instructional strategy during math education is reviewed. Findings are presented from a recent pilot study on the gesture and language production of 3-, 4- and 5-year- old children as they solve early arithmetic and fraction problems. Children spontaneously produced deictic and representational gestures that most often matched their spoken solutions. A few children exhibited gesture-speech mismatches in which the gesture contained semantic content not contained in the speech alone. This can suggest some underlying knowledge that would not be apparent without the gesture. Furthermore, the investigator introduced gestured prompts with some preschool participants using spontaneous gestures previously observed by successful peers. Gesture's role in early mathematic areas preceding kindergarten and specific gesturing strategies effective in the academic environment continue to be explored.