Imitation is a crucial process for learning and brain development. It is based on the mirror neuron mechanism and underlies our understanding of actions and the gestures of others. Some researchers hypothesized a possible correlation between a low functioning mirror neuron system (MNS) and developmental coordination disorder, including dysgraphic…

This study proposes that the gestures of an agent tutor in a multimedia learning environment can generate positive and negative emotions in learners and influence their cognitive processes. To achieve this, we developed and integrated positive and negative agent tutor gestures in a multimedia learning environment directed by cognitive gestures.…

This study investigated the extent to which different pedagogical gestures contribute to learners' foreign or second language (L2) narrative recall, and further discussed how task complexity and task difficulty (i.e. working memory capacity or WMC) influence recall performance. Sixty-four adolescent learners, assigned to four different gesture…

Nonsigners viewing sign language are sometimes able to guess the meaning of signs by relying on the overt connection between form and meaning, or iconicity (cf. Ortega, Özyürek, & Peeters, 2020; Strickland et al., 2015). One word class in sign languages that appears to be highly iconic is classifiers: verb-like signs that can refer to location…

Background: Video lectures which include the teachers' presence have become increasingly common. As teacher enthusiasm is a nonverbal cue in video lectures, more and more studies are focusing on this topic. However, little research has been carried out on the interactions between teacher enthusiasm and prior knowledge when learning from video…

The effects of question or task complexity on second language speaking have traditionally been investigated using complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures. Response processes in speaking tests, however, may manifest in other ways, such as through nonverbal behavior. Eye behavior, in the form of averted gaze or blinking frequency, has been found…

This study, generated from considerations of embodied cognition, observational learning, and cognitive load theory, investigated the effect of mimicking gestures on learning to play piano tasks. Fifty university students from an Australian University, with two different levels of piano-playing experience, were randomly assigned to one of the two…

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are characterized by deficits in social communication, partly attributed to the inability to pick up cues from social partners using joint attention (JA) skill. These deficits have cascading adverse effects on language acquisition and the development of cognitive skills. Therapist-mediated JA…

This paper reports on exploratory research into visual imagery in the learning of early mathematics. It aims to present a theoretical position in relation to perceptual perspectives of visual imagery. Students' visual imagery is explored in one example of a teacher's use of a protocol to encourage students to replicate dot patterns. This example…

Programming is a complex learning activity that involves coordination of cognitive processes and affective states. These aspects are often considered individually in computing education research, demonstrating limited understanding of how and when students learn best. This issue confines researchers to contextualize evidence-driven outcomes when…

Previous study has shown that tracing gesture may enhance the worked example-based learning by reducing cognitive load. The present study attempted to replicate the previous results and further explored the individual differences in tracing effect in relation to the learners' working-memory capacity. Specifically, 11- to 13-year-old students…

In this article two dimensions of handshape complexity are analyzed as potential building blocks of phonological contrast-joint complexity and finger group complexity. We ask whether sign language patterns are elaborations of those seen in the gestures produced by hearing people without speech (pantomime) or a more radical reorganization of them.…

Introduction: Despite the fact that the capacity of non-written sources (NWS) understanding is included in the Spanish secondary education curriculum, no research has addressed this competence. The main objective of this study is analysing how teachers consider NWS understanding that should be assessed to help decide which kind of support give to…

In the context of advocacy of the rights of minorities, communities should research about the learning rights of individuals with hearing loss. This article reports a case study that looked into the retrospectives and perspectives of three hard-of-hearing participants (HHs) on learning another language. The data on retrospectives refer to the…

Mathematical problem solving typically involves manipulating visual symbols (e.g., equations), and prior research suggests that those symbols serve as diagrammatic representations (e.g., Landy & Goldstone, 2010). The present work examines the ways that instructional design of student engagement with these diagrammatic representations may…