Seminar I Why are gestures not always helpful? Task, gesture and individual characteristics influencing gesture’s effects on narrative comprehension
Seminars / Lectures / Workshops
![1400 Seminar12Sep2024 website](/engl/-/media/department/engl/events/2024/1400-seminar12sep2024-website.png?bc=ffffff&h=540&w=1000&hash=B6D075C47596C09BFA4F67B4533881A2)
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Date
12 Sep 2024
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Organiser
Department of English and Communication
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Time
14:00 - 15:00
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Venue
Online via Zoom
Speaker
Professor Naomi Sweller
Remarks
This event is jointly organised with the International Society for Gestures Studies - Hong Kong
Summary
Storytelling, and learning from narratives, is ubiquitous in human development across the lifespan. A growing body of evidence suggests that gestures can influence our recall and understanding of narratives. In this presentation, I will draw on studies from my own research showing the effects that observing and producing gestures can have on narrative recall and comprehension. We will focus on which types of gestures affect recall, and interactions between gesture use and task and individual characteristics on learning. While overall, gestures are beneficial for learning, they are not universally helpful. Careful attention must be given to specific task manipulations, as well as individual differences.
Keynote Speaker
![Professor Naomi Sweller](/engl/-/media/department/engl/events/2024/photo_naomi-sweller.jpg?as=1&sc=0.5&hash=8EA752CB854E9E4C8691E14911E21352)
Professor Naomi Sweller
School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Australia
Naomi Sweller is a professor in the School of Psychological Sciences at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia. She conducts research in cognitive development, including the use of gesture by both child and adult learners and communicators. She partners extensively with researchers in education, with a focus on development from infancy through to adolescence.