Is keyboarding making handwriting obsolete?

Are you beginning to think that handwriting is obsolete? This is certainly a valid thought given our students’ dependency over the last year due to the pandemic on keyboarding assignments instead of handwriting them. Keyboarding is always legible and who doesn’t life spell check?

And a recent IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting for a student that I serve, the topic of handwriting verses keyboarding was raised. Lists can be made on phones, letters sent by email, and essays written using google documents. In short, is handwriting even necessary?

To this question, the answer is a resounding Yes.

Recent research, comparing handwriting to keyboarding, found handwriting improves memory/recall, comprehension, and even test scores. Handwriting remains an essential skill for both younger and older students, including those in college. Three recent studies noted the following:

·       Preschool students were taught to copy letters by hand or by typing them. After three weeks of learning, letter recognition test were completed. The older preschool students in the handwriting instruction/practice group demonstrated better letter recognition – a fundamental skill for learning letter sounds and reading (Longcamp et al, 2005)

·       One study compared methods of note taking, handwritten or typed, and the recall and understanding of children 10-11 years old. Using a multiple choice question (MQC) format, factual recall and understanding of a history and a biology lesson were assessed. MCQ tests were carried out after each lesson and one week later. Factual recall was not affected by the note-taking mode, but those students who wrote their notes by hand had greater conceptual understanding after one week after their lesson compared to those who typed notes (Horbury & Edmonds, 2021)

·       Eighty college students were included in a study to compare taking notes or a quiz by hand or on their laptop. Those who took notes by hand performed better on quizzes overall and with conceptual questions than students who took notes on their laptop, suggesting that handwritten notes may improve how students encode and store material. (Crumb et al, 2020)

The cognitive benefits of handwriting compared to keyboarding as noted above are just one facet. There are many other benefits of handwriting. Some examples include:

·       Handwriting helps students to slow down and gather their thoughts

·       Handwriting benefits creative writing by removing the urge to immediately edit as one writes thereby allowing thoughts to flow more freely and less fragmented.

·       Handwriting supports writing outlines and brainstorming ideas. A blank page has no restrictions – add side notes or circle important points to link thoughts.

So even though lists can be made on phones, letters sent in an email and essays written on the computer, as a minimum, encourage your student to put down their laptops and take handwritten notes in class, as they read a chapter or make index cards for studying with a nicely sharpened pencil.

If your student is a naysayer, share the evidence-based research with them. They may come to realize that they’d prefer an A on that quiz instead of the ease of spell check.

Kimberly Bonacum is an occupational therapist for Piedmont Unified School District and owner of Mindful Fidgets, LLC www.mindfulfidgets.com. For additional questions, she can be contacted at mindfulfidgets@gmail.com