While the benefits of handwriting have long been recognized, scientists only recently engaged in brain imaging research to uncover why writing by hand has beneficial effects over keyboarding. Handwriting, they have discovered, is a complex brain process that requires many different brain systems work together.

A recent article at NPR.org -- Why writing by hand beats typing for thinking and learning -- looks at multiple research studies showing why hand writing leads to better and longer-lasting recognition and understanding; improves memory and recall of words; and leads to better conceptual understanding of material.

According to this study -- Handwriting but not typewriting leads to widespread brain connectivity: a high-density EEG study with implications for the classroom -- published in January, 2024 in Frontiers in Psychology:

"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.

Our findings suggest that the spatiotemporal pattern from visual and proprioceptive information obtained through the precisely controlled hand movements when using a pen, contribute extensively to the brain’s connectivity patterns that promote learning. We urge that children, from an early age, must be exposed to handwriting activities in school to establish the neuronal connectivity patterns that provide the brain with optimal conditions for learning."

Read the article at NPR.org
Photo Credit: Whidbey Island Waldorf School

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