Does nonverbal behavior contribute to cognitive as well as affective compon
ents of teaching? We examine here one type of nonverbal behavior: spontaneo
us gestures that accompany talk. Eight teachers were asked to instruct 49 c
hildren individually on mathematical equivalence as it applies to addition.
All teachers used gesture to convey problem-solving strategies. The gestur
ed strategies either reinforced (matched) or differed from (mismatched) str
ategies conveyed in speech. Children were more likely to reiterate teacher
speech if it was accompanied by matching gesture than by no gesture at all
and less likely to reiterate teacher speech if it was accompanied by mismat
ching gesture than by no gesture at all. Moreover, children were able to gl
ean problem-solving strategies from the teachers' gestures and recast them
into their own speech. Not only do teachers produce gestures that express t
ask-relevant information, but their students take notice.