Every day, we grasp to make meaning of our experience in the world. Whether grappling with complex scientific concepts or an unexpected wave of emotions, we interpret our experiences through metaphor. And the creative use of gesture to understand and represent ideas and feelings is an important form of metaphor -- representing one thing with something else. Metaphor and gesture are cross-cultural forms of communication all over the world. We use both in everyday conversation, often unconsciously, to simplify and represent abstract concepts and experiences. In this way, the body is an important sensemaking tool in learning and communication -- to grasp at meaning and exchange that meaning with others. Simply put, we live in a metaphor marketplace. Not surprisingly, research illustrates how both simple and elaborate forms of gesture support students’ academic development across domains. Yet, typical educational environments largely ignore this free and accessible resource, especially for some of our most marginalized students. Those students, and their teachers, miss out on the creativity that gestural metaphor cultivates.
