A Norwegian team of scientists has investigated the influence of handwriting and typing on brain activity and memory. The study shows that students who wrote a text by hand performed better. The scientists therefore advocate more brain research in order to find the right mix between handwriting and new technologies.

Norwegian scientists believe they have found evidence that handwriting improves learning and memory more than typing on a keyboard. The University of Science and Technology team led by Professor Audrey van der Meer conducted a study with 36 students. The researchers compared electroencephalogram data from handwriting and typing, The Register knows. It turned out that handwriting had more positive effects.

Research necessary

The researchers wrote up their findings in an article published in Frontiers in Psychology. In it they note that traditional writing is increasingly being replaced by digital devices. “It is therefore essential to investigate the effects on the human brain,” say the scientists. According to the study, handwriting training appears to not only improve spelling accuracy and memory, but also makes it easier to recognize and understand letters.

The scientists examined the effects of handwriting and typing by recording brain activity using EEG devices. The (36) participants wrote projected words by hand with a pen or typed them on a keyboard. “We examined specific brain areas that are associated with attentional mechanisms and cognitive processes in visual perception.” The results showed greater connectivity for handwriting, which the researchers say indicates different underlying cognitive processes in the two tasks.

Include in teaching practice

“We observed increased connectivity only during handwriting and not when simply pressing keys,” the paper says. “Our results can therefore be seen as evidence that handwriting promotes learning.” This increased connectivity between different brain areas also seems to be related to the specific sensorimotor processes that are typical for handwriting.”

The importance of handwriting is highly valued by researchers. But they also recognize how necessary it is to keep pace with technological developments. “Therefore, both teachers and students need to know which practice has the best learning effect in a particular context. For example, when taking notes in class or during a writing assignment.”