Does Writing by Hand Make Kids Smarter?
Do you often write by hand or type on a keyboard? Does your school offer any handwriting training?
Maybe you think it’s the age of technology now and digital learning is popular. And typing is easier than handwriting. Digital learning has many positive aspects, but we also need to write by hand.
The result from Van der Meer and her colleagues’ studies has shown that both children and adults learn more and remember better when writing by hand. They used an EEG(脑电图) to track and record brain wave activity. Young adults and children participated in their study. The participants wore a hood(兜帽) with over 250 electrodes(电极) attached. The brain produces electrical impulses(脉冲) when it is active. The sensors(传感器) in the electrodes are very sensitive and pick up the electrical activity that takes place in the brain. The result shows that the brain in both adults and children is much more active when writing by hand than when typing on a keyboard.
“Writing by hand creates much more activity in the sensorimotor(感觉运动的) parts of the brain. A lot of senses are activated by pressing the pen on paper, seeing the letters you write and hearing the sound you make while writing. These sense experiences create contact between different parts of the brain and open the brain up for learning. We both learn better and remember better.” says Van der Meer.
In the debate about handwriting or keyboard use in school, some teachers believe that keyboards create less frustration for children. They point out that children can write longer texts earlier, and are more motivated to write because they experience greater mastery with a keyboard.
“Learning to write by hand is a bit slower process, but it’s important for children to write by hand. The hand movements and the shaping of letters are beneficial in several ways. If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand requires control of your fine motor skills and senses. It’s important to put the brain in a learning state as often as possible.” says Van der Meer.
Given the development of the last several years, we risk having one or more generations lose the ability to write by hand. In order for the brain to develop in the best possible way, we need to use it for what it’s best at. If we don’t challenge our brain, it can’t reach its full potential(潜能). And that can have a strong effect on school performance.
We should ensure children receive at least a minimum(最小量) of handwriting training. Now it’s time to use the pen and paper to do some writing.
【小题1】What do you know about Van der Meer and her colleagues’ studies from the passage?| A．The hood the participants wore has no electrodes. |
| B．Writing by hand can make people’s brain much more active. |
| C．The sensors in the electrodes are attached by keyboards. |
| D．They write the information by hand to record the brain wave activity. |
| A．creates different sense experiences to help people learn better |
| B．makes people control their feelings to develop their brain |
| C．gives people chances to contact with digital learning |
| D．keeps the brain of people staying in a state of rest |
| A．careful to write | B．afraid of writing |
| C．responsible for writing | D．interested in writing |
| A．keyboards should not be used | B．challenging our brain is difficult |
| C．handwriting training is necessary | D．writing by hand creates less frustration |
