Impact of gestures and simple signing on instructional interruptions

Abstract

Addressing distracting or non-compliant student behavior can be disruptive to an overall lesson and classroom. If a teacher is constantly managing student behavior rather than teaching, students may fall behind in curriculum pacing. While prior studies have looked at intervention methods to support student behavior or the benefits of using gestures to enhance instructional success, little research has been done to look at managing student behavior using gestures. The researcher examined how the use of gestures and simple signing impacted instructional interruptions (II). The study was to be conducted in a Transitional Kindergarten classroom with 19 students over the course of 6 weeks. Data were to be gathered from field notes and video evidence taken at baseline, week 2, week 4, and week 6. Based on findings from available literature and the data trend seen between baseline and Phase 2, the use of gestures and simple signing to manage student interruptions would be expected to reduce the amount of II and favorably impact instructional time on task.