Authors:

Zhengyi Jiang

Date Created:

Not specified

Course Title:

Professor:

Not specified

About Paper:

Statistical concepts, for instance, Central Tendency, Variability, and Regression, are fundamental, yet challenging for most STEM students. Prior research demonstrates that embodied learning, and in particularly gestures, can improve conceptual understanding by connecting complex theories to physical representations. However, few studies have translated these findings into practical instructional tools. This project bridges the gap between embodied cognition research and practical pedagogy by developing gesture-augmented instructional videos for statistics education. Building on earlier findings, where students used spontaneous gestures to explain statistical concepts, we now focus on intentional design of instructional videos to amplify these benefits. In collaboration with Purdue Envision Center and UIUC, we intend to produce videos on Central Tendency, Variability and Regression, where the conceptual explanations are coupled with representational gestures (McNeil, 1992). The choice of the candidate gestures are informed by students' spontaneous use of gestures while explaining the concepts. Using PowerPoint, we storyboard slides that pair categorized gestures from McNeill's framework with statistical graphs. Each slide includes minimal scripted narration to align gestures with key concepts, including best-fit lines and distributions. Preliminary work has yielded: Candidate gestures from past interviews, e.g., cueing gestures for correlation strength, and prototype slides where gestures dynamically interact with graphs and other visuals. Feedback from statisticians on the team ensures pedagogical accuracy. This work advances embodied learning by transitioning from observational research to actionable instructional design. The videos aim to provide an accessible, multimodal approach to statistics education, with potential applications in undergraduate STEM curricula. Future phases will test efficacy in classroom settings. Keywords: STEM Education; Statistical Learning; Video Production; Embodied Cognition; Cueing Gestures † Presenting Undergrad Author; ‡ Contributing Undergrad Author; * Undergrad Acknowledgment

Source:

Purdue University / 2025

Topics:

No topics listed

Co-authors:

Zhengyi Jiang