Is handwriting better than typing for learning?
One of the things I mostly hated in school was having to practise my calligraphy skills, I found it monotonous and uninspiring. However, despite not having served to improve my handwriting, it may have helped me fixate new information during my studies, as new research points towards handwriting being better than typing for learning and memory.
A new study on college students 1 indicates that handwriting produces stronger changes in brain areas related to memory than typing. Previous research had already indicated that handwriting is advantageous for various cognitive functions, including conceptual learning or memory recall. In this last study, students were fitted with electrodes in their heads to measure brain responses to the action of writing a word, either by typing or by using a digital pen to handwrite a certain word shown in a computer screen.
In particular, the researchers observed when handwriting, the brain activity in low frequency bands (alpha and theta) increased not only in the motor areas related with writing but also in others related to learning. Interestingly, handwriting, but not typing, increased connectivity between regions involved in sensory and motor processing and others involved in memory. Thus, it appears that handwriting activate and coordinate brain function better than typing.
However, this study did not measure memory retention, that is, it did not check whether the participants could better remember typed or handwritten words, however, it is indeed interesting that handwriting caused higher brain activation than typing. Together with previous evidence, this supports that removing handwriting from the learning curriculum at schools is not a very good idea.
Digital technology is a reality, and new generations need to be fit to live in a digital world. Nonetheless, handwriting is a valuable skill for which there will always be a room in our hearts. Our brains already decided what they like best.
References
- F. R. (Ruud) Van der Weel & Audrey L. H. Van der Meer (2024) Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom Front. Psychol. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1219945 ↩
1 comment
Desde que aparecieron las tabletas aptas para escritura manual (no las capacitivas, que son un chafarriñón a estos efectos) vivo en el más feliz de los mundos: puedo escribir a mano (de largo, la mejor forma de desarrollar mis ideas) sin generar al cabo del año centenares y más centenares de hojas de papel que después hay que archivar (el espacio es un bien escaso) o digitalizar (el tiempo es un bien más escaso todavía). Por no hablar de la posibilidad del reconocimiento de caracteres, pero este tiene que esperar todavía, al menos para reconocer mi letra (veremos si lo consigue la IA, que es previsible que sí). Puedo ir por el mundo llevando, en un solo y liviano adminículo, mi biblioteca, mi bloc de notas, varias aplicaciones que me ayudan en mis centros de interés… y si no fuera porque para ello es más práctico el móvil, incluso una cámara fotográfica.
Nunca me han gustado los teclados, aunque el signo de los tiempos me obligue ser hábil con ellos. Pero si tengo que redactar un artículo, una memoria, unos apuntes de una conferencia o similar… nada como escribir a mano. El teclado, quizá después… solo si hay que presentar lo escrito a terceros.