The world is becoming digital, for our convenience, but researchers have found that longhand note-taking triggers more brain activity than using your digital device keyboard or stylus pen.
Using pen and paper allows the brain to summarise information in a way that is understandable to an individual, while using a keyboard tempts the brain to record information as received, the University of Tokyo found in a recent study.
The study was conducted using three groups of 48 students who had to use a paper notebook, a paper-sized tablet with a stylus pen and a phone, respectively. They each had to read dialogues and write down appointments contained in them; an hour later, students had to participate in a memory retrieval process where they answered questions about the appointments.
Although groups using mobile devices wrote and typed faster than the pen-and-paper group, the researchers found that writing on paper triggered more brain activation as the group managed to respond to questions more quickly and confidently than their technology-using counterparts.
Another study in conjunction with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, where the writing of 12-year-olds was studied, found that children learn effectively and remember better when writing by hand because pressing a pen on paper and seeing the words you write activates more senses.
The study suggested children continue to get handwriting training even as the world was adapting to mobile devices for the fourth industrial revolution transition.
“Cursive writing has been considered an essential precursor for further academic success, and the skill is typically acquired during childhood in societies with a strong literacy tradition,” reads the research.
The study reports that children need to learn the shape of letters and coordinate their hand movements when writing certain words for better brain activation in remembering their note-taking. In classrooms where computers were used, students had lower marks and were typically distracted by multitasking.
The cofounder of NeuRL, a neuroscience lab at the University of Witwatersrand, Sahba Besharati, said note-taking was used to help the brain later recall information better — the level of focus affected brain activation when trying to remember.
Besharati said the pandemic had intensified questions about learning in person versus online. She said science still needed to explain how evolving learning environments influence memory processes.
“In general, experimental research has shown that taking notes by hand leads to better memory recall, of verbal information at least, compared to computer-based methods,” she said.
“But this, of course, depends on many factors, such as visual or audio distractions. In some cases, computer-based and handwriting-based note-taking yield similar results.”
Besharati believes it is unwise to abandon paper for young children who are still learning how to write, but believes there is no right or wrong way of note-taking. It depends on the environment and on individual preference.
However, digital devices provided constant opportunities for distraction from applications running in the background or notifications, which can be ignored by turning off data or wi-fi use. Why handwriting is important
Contrary to the view that handwriting is a trivial skill, handwriting actually is important for a number of reasons.
One involves the concept of mental resources to which I have alluded in several other columns, in relation to reading and mathematics as well as writing. Just as effortful word decoding may impair reading comprehension, or lack of automatic recall may reduce the mental resources available for learning advanced computational algorithms in math, labored handwriting creates a drain on mental resources needed for higher-level aspects of writing, such as attention to content, elaboration of details, and organization of ideas.
Because handwriting is a basic tool used in many subjects — taking notes, taking tests, and doing classroom work and homework for almost every content area as well as in language arts classes — poor handwriting can have a pervasive effect on school performance.
Moreover, when handwriting is perceived as arduous and time-consuming, motivation to write may be greatly reduced, leading to a lack of practice that may further compound difficulties with writing.
Finally, handwriting in the earliest grades is linked to basic reading and spelling achievement; for example, when children learn how to form the letter m, they can also be learning its sound. Attention to the linkages among handwriting, reading, and spelling skills can help to reinforce early achievement across these areas.
Instruction in handwriting
Relatively modest investments of instructional time devoted to handwriting — perhaps the equivalent of ten or fifteen minutes daily — may pay off in preventing later writing problems, including difficulties with higher-level composition skills.
The early years of schooling are especially critical for handwriting instruction; once children have formed counterproductive habits in handwriting, such as poor pencil hold or inefficient letter formation, those habits can be difficult to change.
Even for young children, however, handwriting instruction should occur in the context of a broader program of written expression in which children learn many other writing skills and develop motivation to write.
Of course, children also should have access to word-processing programs and assistive technology, with appropriate accommodations as needed for individual students.
Here are a few specific suggestions for teaching handwriting:
Teach children consistent formation of letters using a continuous stroke if possible.
Children should learn a highly consistent way to form a given letter every time they write it. Although some letters, such as f and t, require lifting the pencil from the paper to make a second stroke, teach letter formation using a continuous stroke (without lifting the pencil from the paper) when possible.
For example, teach children to write the letter b by starting at the top with a vertical stroke, then making the loop to the right without lifting the pencil, rather than having children form the vertical line and the loop in separate strokes.
Focus initially on learning the motor pattern rather than perfect legibility or size.
When children are learning to form a new letter, it is helpful to begin with large movements such as forming the letter in the air; have children use a sweeping movement with the entire arm, not just the hand. This initial practice should emphasize learning the motor pattern with correct formation of the letter (e.g., as discussed for the letter b above) rather than writing the letter on paper with perfect legibility or size.
Teach similarly formed letters together, and use an instructional sequence that takes into account both ease of formation and frequency in words.
For instance, the manuscript letters c, a, and d all begin with the same loop and can be taught in one group; i should be taught before y because it is simpler to form and is needed more frequently to write words.
Separate reversible letters such as b and d.
Children appear less likely to confuse visually similar letters if they have learned one letter of a confusable pair well prior to introduction of the other letter of the pair. In addition, it can be helpful to teach children to form confusable letters differently; for example, b starts at the top whereas d starts with the loop.
Use written arrow cues to help children remember how to form letters.
Especially when the teacher is working with large groups of youngsters, monitoring each child while he or she is writing may be difficult. Written arrow cues for tracing dotted letters and copying letters are important so that children do not inadvertently practice incorrect letter formation repeatedly.
For children at beginning stages of reading and spelling, integrate handwriting instruction with instruction in letter sounds.
For instance, while children are practicing writing a given letter, they can also be saying the sound the letter makes.
In teaching cursive, explicitly teach connections between letters as well as formation of single letters.
Unlike manuscript writing, cursive writing involves making connections between letters within a word. Once children can form individual letters, explicit teaching of letter connections is important.
Connections involving four letters — cursive b, o, v, and w — followed by a subsequent letter (e.g., as in the words bed, on, have, will) are often especially confusing for children, because unlike most cursive connections, these do not involve going back down to the bottom line before writing the subsequent letter.
Aim for speed as well as legibility.
Whether children are learning manuscript or cursive, speed should not be emphasized until children can form letters legibly and from memory. With either form, however, children must eventually develop enough speed to use writing efficiently in tasks such as note-taking or test-taking.
It also is useful to distinguish different standards for legibility depending on the purpose for writing; for example, in taking notes, "messy" handwriting is entirely acceptable as long as children can easily read their own writing.
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