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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 11, Issue 1,
Foreword (Jun., 2010) John K. GILBERT The role of visual representations in the learning and teaching of science: An introduction
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Asia-Pacific Forum on Science Learning and Teaching, Volume 11, Issue 1,
Foreword (Jun., 2010) John K. GILBERT The role of visual representations in the learning and teaching of science: An introduction
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The scope of the gestural mode of representation
Gesture as a mode of representation is undervalued in science, being commonly considered as of significance only in the arts e.g. ballet. However, watching any teacher at work will provide evidence that gesture, the movement of the body, especially that of the hands and arms, is extensively used in depicting all of the three types of representation (macro, sub-micro, symbolic), most usually as an augmentation to the use of the other modes and forms.
Very little research into the use of gesture in science teaching has been published so far. It may be that the specific use of gesture in science is hard to detect against the background ‘noise’ of complex and continuous bodily movement in busy classrooms and laboratories. But gesture does, for an individual, become more language-like with repetitive use i.e. as a personal repertoire is acquired to express particular meanings. Four usages can be culled from the general literature. First, deixic use, that is, pointing to real or virtual objects. For example, a teacher might augment an explanation of the nature and functions of a piece of equipment by pointing to it. Second, metaphorical use in which the semantic content, the meaning, of speech is conveyed. For example, the use of hand and arm movements to portray the relative position and movement of the planets in the solar system. Third, for temporal highlighting, by means of which emphasis is conveyed. For example, the use of hand movements to emphasise the order of events in the heart as it pumps blood around the body. Fourth, the social interactivity use, in which the relationships of ideas to other ideas are conveyed. For example, when displaying the historical sequence of the major paradigms in physics (the Aristotelian, Newtonian, Einsteinian) (Golden-Meadow 2006).
Copyright (C) 2010 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 11, Issue 1, Foreword (Jun., 2010). All Rights Reserved.
