Giving learning a helping hand: Finger tracing of temperature graphs on an iPad

Shirley Agostinho; Sharon Tindall-Ford; Paul Ginns; Steven J. Howard; Wayne Leahy; Fred Paas

doi:10.1007/s10648-015-9315-5

Giving learning a helping hand: Finger tracing of temperature graphs on an iPad

Shirley Agostinho^*, Sharon Tindall-Ford, Paul Ginns, Steven J. Howard, Wayne Leahy, Fred Paas

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

77 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Gesturally controlled information and communication technologies, such as tablet devices, are becoming increasingly popular tools for teaching and learning. Based on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive load and embodied cognition, this study investigated the impact of explicit instructions to trace out elements of tablet-based worked examples on mathematical problem-solving. Participants were 61 primary school children (8-11 years), who studied worked examples on an iPad either by tracing temperature graphs with their index finger or without such tracing. Results confirmed the main hypothesis that finger tracing as a form of biologically primary knowledge would support the construction of biologically secondary knowledge needed to understand temperature graphs. Children in the tracing condition achieved higher performance on transfer test questions. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Original language	English
Article number	A004
Pages (from-to)	427-443
Number of pages	17
Journal	Educational Psychology Review
Volume	27
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-015-9315-5
Publication status	Published - 1 Sept 2015

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AB - Gesturally controlled information and communication technologies, such as tablet devices, are becoming increasingly popular tools for teaching and learning. Based on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive load and embodied cognition, this study investigated the impact of explicit instructions to trace out elements of tablet-based worked examples on mathematical problem-solving. Participants were 61 primary school children (8-11 years), who studied worked examples on an iPad either by tracing temperature graphs with their index finger or without such tracing. Results confirmed the main hypothesis that finger tracing as a form of biologically primary knowledge would support the construction of biologically secondary knowledge needed to understand temperature graphs. Children in the tracing condition achieved higher performance on transfer test questions. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

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Giving learning a helping hand: Finger tracing of temperature graphs on an iPad

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