Elizabeth Wakefield

Elizabeth Wakefield is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Loyola University Chicago, specializing in Developmental Psychology and Neuroscience. She also serves as Assistant Chair of her department.

• Post-Doc: University of Chicago
• Ph.D.: Indiana University
• B.A.: Kalamazoo College

Her research explores the role of gestures in learning, focusing on how hand movements enhance education in domains like mathematics, language, spatial reasoning, and music. Using behavioral experiments and eye-tracking technology, she investigates:

1. The cognitive mechanisms behind gesture’s impact on learning
2. Individual differences affecting gesture-based learning outcomes

Recent publications highlight gesture’s influence on children’s analogical reasoning, mental rotation, and informant selection, with studies spanning neuroimaging and developmental cognition.

She teaches foundational courses including Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, and Psychology of Music, while leading the Movement Learning Lab to advance gesture-based pedagogical research.