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Promoting Academic Achievement and Developing Cognitive Automaticity
Dr. April BlakelyDr. Faye Deters
Handwriting Instruction in a New Century
Background
Public schools drop cursive requirement
Why Schools Should Keep Teaching Handwriting, Even If Typing Is More Useful
Handwriting Is on the Wall for Cursive Instruction
The many health perks of good handwriting: Not only does it help the brain develop, it can also improve grades and confidence
Does Handwriting Matter in a Digital World?
You type. I type. Why bother with handwriting?
What teachers are saying…
There are areas in the world without technology... I feel students should be equipped with tools to prepare them for whatever life brings for their future.”
Middle School Language Arts Teacher
“My school has been having many debates about handwriting lately. …many believe computers will eventually take the place of pencil and paper. My response is I only have 6 computers in my classroom what would I do if I needed to be able to read what the other 19 students in my classroom are writing?”
1st Grade Teacher
What teachers are saying…
“We live in a very technologically advanced society, and not teaching our students to use it to its fullest potential would be ludicrous. But I do think that we have to understand the written language before we can use technology to our advantage. For example, I have students who are proficient calculator users but when given a word problem the calculator is useless because they don't understand the basic process they are being asked to do. I think word processing is the same way. Usually my kids who have difficulty writing have difficulty producing a word document on the computer.”
5th Grade Teacher
What teachers are saying…
“I have always had my students practice in handwriting journals everyday as they come into class. This time spent in their handwriting journals is strictly handwriting/penmanship practice. However, I'm not really seeing an improvement in their handwriting since the beginning of school. My students must print legibly so that they can get their ideas across in writing. …I've realized that maybe having them write authentically and more for an intended audience every morning would be a better approach to handwriting practice, rather than just line after line of letter formation practice.”
1st Grade Teacher
Handwriting Summit
National H
andwriting
Day
January 23
What does research tell us?
The Digital Shift
With the adoption of the CCS, many states are dropping cursive instruction totally.
CCS calls for a technology-based approach to producing and publishing writing, spending more time on research and reflection, and less time on actual composition.
Starting in 4th grade, students under the CCS are required to take an exam demonstrating command of the keyboard by typing a minimum of one page in a single sitting.
Curricular Shift
Formal keyboarding instruction begins.
Shift to cursive handwriting instruction to build speed and fluidity; formally taught with practice required on assignments.
Print handwriting instruction taught formally in classrooms with practice for homework.
PK-3PK-3 3-43-4 4+4+
Formal keyboarding instruction with no cursive handwriting instruction.
Print handwriting instruction.
Does Handwriting Still Matter?
ACT/SAT college-entrance exams:Scorers unable to read a student’s writing assign an illegible score of 0.
ACT/SAT college-entrance exams:Scorers unable to read a student’s writing assign an illegible score of 0.
Test scores:Good handwriting can boost a test score from the 50th percentile to the 84th percentile while bad penmanship can drop it to the 16th percentile.
Test scores:Good handwriting can boost a test score from the 50th percentile to the 84th percentile while bad penmanship can drop it to the 16th percentile.
Improved writing:A study of 2nd, 4th, & 6th graders indicated that students wrote more words, faster, and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard.
Improved writing:A study of 2nd, 4th, & 6th graders indicated that students wrote more words, faster, and expressed more ideas when writing essays by hand versus with a keyboard.
Indiana Univ. MRI Scans
In children who had practiced writing by hand, the scans showed heightened brain activity in a key area, circled on the image at right, indicating learning took place.
Is Handwriting Faster?
Researchers who tested second-, fourth- and sixth-graders found that children compose essays more prolifically — and faster — when using a pen rather than a keyboard.
In addition, fourth- and sixth-graders wrote more complete sentences when they used a pen.
Forming letters by hand may engage our thinking brains differently than pressing down on a key.
Source: Dr. Virginia Berninger, Univ. of Washington, 2011.
Handwriting’s Impact on the Brain
If you write yourself a list or a note — then lose it — you're much more likely to remember what you wrote than if you just tried to memorize it.
The more one practices a skill such as handwriting, the stronger the motor pathways become until the skill becomes automatic. This automaticity allows one to focus on the subject, rather than worry about how to form letters.
Handwriting engages different brain circuits than keyboarding. The contact, direction and pressure of the pen or pencil send the brain a message.
Source: Dr. Katya Feder, Univ. of Ottawa
Current Research
Purpose of this Study
Research Questions
Data Collection
Pilot survey sent to sample of elementary and middle grades teachers statewide.
150+ Teachers participated in the pilot phase.
Responses will be examined against state reported testing data for reading and writing.
Teachers invited to participate in a focus group. (72+ volunteers)
Preliminary Survey Results
Preliminary Survey Results
Preliminary Survey Results
Preliminary Survey Results
Preliminary Survey Results
Preliminary Survey Results
Preliminary Survey Results
Preliminary Survey Results
Handwriting vs. Keyboarding
I cannot spend valuable class time teaching handwriting if it is not a CCS.
Students can't read cursive much less write a correct signature due to lack of instruction.
We realize that in today's society that everyone must know how to type on a keyboard, but we also feel that it is just as IMPORTANT that our children may express themselves without the use of technology!!
This is not taught until 9th grade....how ridiculous! This needs to be a rotation class along with PE, music, etc. in middle school.
Keyboarding will allow students to effectively use written expression skills to complete essays and assignments with greater efficiency in later grades.
ManuscriptPK-2/3
Cursive2-4
Key-Boarding
6+
The 21st Century Writer
A forward-balanced approach
DigitalHandwriting
ToolsPK-12 Hand to
Text
Voiceto
Text
Tech Familiarity
PK+
Major Resources
American College Testing. (2011). Scoring guidelines. Retrieved January 30, 2012 at http://www.actstudent.org/writing/scores/guidelines.html Berninger, V., Abbott, R., Augsburger, A., and Garcia, N. (2009). Comparison of pen and keyboard transcription modes in children with and without learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 32(3), 11- 18.Berninger, V., Abbott, R., Jones, J., Wolf, B., Gould, L., Anderson-Youngstrom, M., et al. (2006). Early development of language by hand: Composing, reading, listening, and speaking connections; three letter- writing modes; and fast mapping in spelling. Developmental Neuropsychology, 29(1), 61-92.Cutler, L., & Graham, S. (2008). Primary grade writing instruction: A national survey. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(4), 907-919.James, K., & Atwood, T. (2009). The role of sensorimotor learning in the perception of letter- like forms: Tracking the causes of neural specialization for letters. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 26(1), 91-110James, K., Wong, C., & Jobard, G. (2010). The case for letter expertise. In Gauthier, I., Bub, D., & Tarr, M. (Eds.), Perceptual Expertise: Bridging Brain and Behavior (305-331). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.Jones, D., & Christensen, C. (1999). The relationship between automaticity in handwriting and students’ ability to generate written text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 44-49.Longcamp, M., Boucard, C., Gilhodes, J., Anton, J., Roth, M., Nazarian, B., et al. (2008). Learning through hand- or typewriting influences visual recognition of new graphic shapes: Behavioral and functional imaging evidence. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(5), 802-815.Longcamp, M., Zerbato-Poudou, M., & Velay, J. (2005). The influence of writing practice on letter recognition in preschool children: A comparison between handwriting and typing. Acta Psychologica, 119, 67-79.National Institute of Child Health & Human Development. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. (NIH Publication NO. 004769). Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office.Vander Hart, N., Fitzpatrick, P., & Cortesa, C. (2010). In-depth analysis of handwriting curriculum and instruction in four kindergarten classrooms. Reading and Writing, 23, 673-699.
Support Resources
http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/09/29/why-schools-should-keep-teaching-handwriting-even-if-typing-is-more-useful/
Education Weekhttp://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/01/25/18handwriting_ep.h31.html
ACT Scoring Guidelineshttp://www.actstudent.org/writing/scores/guidelines.html
Handwriting in the 21st Century? An Educational Summithttp://www.hw21summit.com/
Hanover Research White Paperhttps://www.zaner-bloser.com/media/zb/zaner-bloser/pdf/hw_hanover.pdf
Indiana Public Radio Interview w/Dr. Karin James and Dr. Steve Graham
Contact Information
Dr. Faye Deters
859-622-2159
Dr. April Blakely
859-622-2396
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Eastern Kentucky University
215 Bert Combs Building
521 Lancaster Ave.
Richmond, KY 40475
