Those That Gesture Are Sure to Best Ya!
Spatial visualization, a skill that is integral to students, air traffic controllers and interior decorators alike, is the ability to mentally rotate or move an object to a different position or view. Recent studies found that gesturing your hands when speaking seems to boost spatial visualization.
How so? Gestures provide one with the ability to mentally keep track of an object’s trajectory as it is rotated, and serve as a visual cue.
Educators can implement some practical applications based on these findings. For example – by utilizing hand gestures in a still-life art class to picture a subject from a different angle, students can create a more vivid, three dimensional-like painting.
