In an ever more digital world, pen and paper are increasingly getting replaced with screens and keyboards in classrooms. Now, a new study has investigated neural networks in the brain during hand and typewriting and showed that connectivity between different brain regions is more elaborate when letters are formed by hand.
This improved brain connectivity, which is crucial to memory building and information encoding, may indicate that writing by hand supports learning.
The research also found that writing by hand improves spelling accuracy and memory recall, if for no other reason than that pen and paper is cut off from the security of autocorrect features.
Researchers in Norway used an EEG to measure brain activity in subjects when writing by hand and typing on a keyboard.
Connectivity of different brain regions increased when participants wrote by hand, but not when they typed.
They wrote, “Our findings suggest that visual and movement information obtained through precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen contribute extensively to the brain’s connectivity patterns that promote learning.”
They conclude that their findings demonstrate the need to give students the opportunity to use pens, rather than having them type during class.
Guidelines to ensure that students receive at least a minimum of handwriting instruction could be an adequate step.