Writing by hand helps people learn more than typing does – study – Online Community of Writers

Research by Norwegian neuroscientists suggests that the pen really is mightier than the (key)board. Hardly anyone except for children in lower grades know how to write with a pen or pencil; keyboards and smartphone screens have almost completely taken over. And cursive writing in English is hardly taught in Israeli schools anymore. But is this good for the brain? In fact, the pen is mightier than the (key)board. New research just published by researchers the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and published in Frontiers in Psychology has shown that writing by hand leads to higher brain connectivity than typing on a keyboard. Prof. Audrey van der Meer, a brain researcher at the university in Trondheim whose study appeared under the title “ Handwriting but not Typewriting Leads to Widespread Brain Connectivity: A High-Density EEG Study with Implications for the Classroom ,” highlighted the need to expose pupils and students to more handwriting activities. “When writing by hand, brain connectivity patterns were far more elaborate than when typewriting on a keyboard, as shown by widespread theta/alpha connectivity coherence patterns between network hubs and nodes in parietal and central brain regions. Existing literature indicates that connectivity patterns in these brain areas and at such frequencies are crucial for memory formation and for encoding new information and, therefore, are beneficial for learning,” she asserted. “As digital devices progressively replace pen and paper, taking notes by hand is becoming increasingly uncommon in schools and universities. Using a keyboard is recommended because it's often faster than writing by hand. However, writing with a pen has been found to improve spelling accuracy and memory recall,” she added. An EEG Geodesic Sensor Net with 256 evenly distributed sensors that was used to record EEG activity from the participant's scalp during the research. (credit: NTNU/Microsoft) Study suggests that students should take notes in class by hand, not on laptop Participants were mostly students and were recruited at the university campus. They received a $15 cinema ticket for taking part. To avoid crossover effects between the two […]