Chickenscratch No More
Many students struggle with handwriting. Each year I encounter fewer and fewer students who voluntarily write in cursive, which is discouraging because studies have shown that SAT essays written in cursive, on average, receive higher scores than those not written in cursive.
My writing class begs to go to the computer lab whenever a written assignment is given, however, like Thursday Bram, I do still believe in the power of neat, legible handwriting and encourage my students to use pen and paper for the rough drafts. When crafting a document on the computer (like this blog entry) it is incredibly easy to let my inner self-critic take over and start backspacing and deleting everything I've just written, despite the gems and pockets of clarity in the first draft. Using pencil and paper those gems and clear phrases are still available for revision and inclusion on the final draft, but once they're deleted from the computer screen, they're much more difficult to recreate. Ms. Bram also takes it one step further and outlines why legible handwriting is important for safety.
My writing class begs to go to the computer lab whenever a written assignment is given, however, like Thursday Bram, I do still believe in the power of neat, legible handwriting and encourage my students to use pen and paper for the rough drafts. When crafting a document on the computer (like this blog entry) it is incredibly easy to let my inner self-critic take over and start backspacing and deleting everything I've just written, despite the gems and pockets of clarity in the first draft. Using pencil and paper those gems and clear phrases are still available for revision and inclusion on the final draft, but once they're deleted from the computer screen, they're much more difficult to recreate. Ms. Bram also takes it one step further and outlines why legible handwriting is important for safety.
The article is a short but thought-provoking read. Share it with your high schoolers and college-aged students and children who don't think taking the time to write neatly is worthwhile.
Click here to read Ms. Bram's blog article.
posted by Tracey at
7:49 AM
3 Comments:
Another reason for writing out assignments by hand that fascinates me: you actually use different parts of your brain when you hand write a document than when you type. You can actually come up with a different response when typing than you might when you handwrite.
I've heard that before, too. I'm not as well versed in neuroscience and neurobiology as I'd like to be, but maybe Mindworks' director Joe could chime in.
I agree with that. I've read in many research reports that the physical process of writing actually affects attentional areas of the brain differently than typing. Repeated use of this area of the brain would seem to lead to better performance. That leads to interesting implications for the incorporation of technology into the school. I think that technology shouldn't replace writing, but should supplement. Interesting discussion!
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