@phdthesis{discovery10006658,
            note = {Thesis: (PhD) University of London Institute of Education, 2005.},
           title = {The use of gesture by young children and their teachers : a classroom based study of gestural behaviours in grouped tasks},
            year = {2005},
          school = {Institute of Education, University of London},
        abstract = {Background: It is not currently known how Year 1 Primary school pupils
and their teachers use activity-related-gestures and targeting, during group-based
task-activity in a working classroom.
Airn: To explore this context using two teacher 'settings': 'teacher-out-of-the-group'
(TOG) and 'teacher-in-the-group' JIG), informed by an ecological, affordancesbased,
psychological perspective.
Sample: Twenty-five observations of pupil groups (12 TOG, 13 TIG), involving two
schools, four teachers and 49 pupils, working in groups of up to six pupils.
Method: Non-video-based, systematic, participant observation in working
classrooms.
Results: No statistical differences were apparent when girls' and boys' mean use of
particular categories of gesture, targeting and task-activity were compared
(underlying variability between participants may have influenced this lack of
difference). Significant differences with their teachers were apparent. However,
within and between settings, and within task-groups, some evidence of subtle
differences between girls' and boys' overall gesture-use, targeting and task-activity
profiles were identified. Extensive differences with their teachers were also apparent.
Correlation analysis revealed that girls and boys showed limited and different
associations in the two settings. Case studies revealed that a teacher, when part of a
group, became the principal target for gestural activity, dominating pupil gestural and
targeting activity. Limited evidence suggested that Partnering could affect gestural
activity and task-activity. Teachers overwhelmingly used speech, rather than gesture,
for communicative purposes, particularly in the TIG setting. Pupils used more
gesture than did teachers in both settings.
Conclusions: Teacher and pupil role, pupil gender, task-structure, using shared
resources and, to some extent, partnering, are key factors relating to pupil and
teacher gesture-use, targeting and task-activity. Arguably girls, boys and teachers
bring different saliencies and expectations to the same group activities, as revealed
in their gesture-use, targeting and task-activity. The implications for classroom
practice, and gesture-in-action in the working classroom, are discussed.},
             url = {https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10006658/},
          author = {Wall, Kevin Roger}
}