Gesture-based instruction enhances neural synchrony and predicts children’s mathematical learning

Teachers’ hand movements shape how children learn mathematics, but not all movements are equally effective. Gesture-based instruction on problems like 4+2+5=__+5—where a teacher forms a V-shaped hand under the 4 and 2 and points to the blank (“grouping strategy”)—promotes learning more than action-based instruction, where the teacher manipulates magnetic numbers to mimic the gestures. How do gestures facilitate learning? We tested 8- to 10-year-old children (N = 76) using fNIRS to measure neural activity as they watched gesture-based or action-based videotaped lessons. Gesture-based instruction elicited greater intersubject neural synchrony in the motor cortex and angular gyrus, a region implicated in arithmetic processing. Critically, synchrony in the right angular gyrus during gesture instruction predicted learning gains, whereas synchrony during action-based instruction did not. Our findings indicate that gestures foster shared representations in brain regions supporting arithmetic reasoning, and highlight fNIRS as a powerful tool for capturing how learning unfolds in children.