Growing up as digital natives, most children today are at ease with many iterations of technological devices; however, new research led by Australia’s Edith Cowan University (ECU) has found writing with pen(cil) and paper is directly linked to optimum learning.
Research led by Dr Anabela Abreu Malpique, School of Education Senior Lecturer, has highlighted the importance of teaching handwriting in primary school education and beyond.
‘We argue that it is vital to teach handwriting in the first years of schooling and to continue supporting the development of handwriting skills across primary and secondary years. Handwriting skills are connected to improved spelling and greater capacity to write longer and higher-quality texts. Handwriting also promotes our capacity to learn and memorise information,’ she explains.
‘Written words have shaped our cultures, defining our actions and thoughts as human beings.’
Malpique and her colleagues conducted a meta-analysis to examine studies published between 2000 and 2022, comparing the effects of writing by hand or keyboarding on primary students’ writing performance (kindergarten to year 6).
‘It’s often presumed that children are digital natives because they have grown up with different technologies around them, so they will be naturally able to write texts using digital devices,’ Malpique says.
Yet, the research findings showed that primary students produce higher-quality work using paper and pen(cil) than when using a keyboard.
In a recent large-scale project examining the writing performance of Year 2 children (544 students, 47 classrooms) in Western Australia, it was also found that children wrote longer and higher-quality handwritten texts.
‘One thing we do know is the importance of transcription skills. Transcription skills refer to spelling and how quickly and accurately children can handwrite or type, also called automaticity,’ Malpique adds.
‘Writing resembles other complex skills, such as driving a car. Unless we automatise the management of gears, pedals, blinkers and wipers (transcription skills), we cannot select the most efficient or the most scenic route (creating texts).’
Moreover, teaching how to write letters is connected to children’s spelling and the capacity to develop automaticity in writing texts by hand. Similarly, keyboarding needs to be taught. ‘Keyboarding, much like handwriting, involves a complex set of cognitive, visual and motor processes, requiring frequent practice and instruction.’
How can families and teachers help?
By working in collaboration with families, teachers can maximise opportunities for practice and the enjoyment of writing or typing:
- Dedicate time for practice: teachers can build regular practice routines in class and send home mini-tasks such as 10-minute writing or spelling prompts (writing a shopping list, finishing a story, spotting the spelling mistakes).
- Become a fellow writer by modelling: joining the writing as opposed to “policing” the writing. As you write, you can talk about what you will write (planning), and you can share ideas about how you can make your writing clearer or more interesting.
- Talk about your mistakes and find ways of correcting your own writing: when adults talk about their errors or doubts, they make them a natural part of the process. When they correct themselves, they show children strategies to revise their own writing.
- Read what you have written: reading what you have written provides opportunities for correction and celebration. Praise children’s attempts, such as using new words or experimenting with expressions.
- Give children choice: the more children are in control of the process, the more likely it is that they will enjoy it. They can choose a topic, they can mix art and letters, they can choose paper or keyboard.
- Showcase the writing: make children’s writing visible on walls, fridges or as the wallpaper on devices. Writing samples can also be a great way to show children how much they have grown as writers.
- Aim for automaticity: find opportunities that let children see the importance and purpose of writing and keyboarding in their daily lives.
AI set to revolutionise the way we communicate
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are starting to revolutionise the way people communicate using written words.
This digital shift is likely to have an impact upon writing acquisition and development. So, researchers are stressing the urgency of preparing early writers to become “hybrid writers”, able to produce paper and computer-generated texts with a similar level of proficiency.
‘The contributions of transcription skills to paper-based and computer-based text composing in the early years‘ was authored by Dr Anabela Abreu Malpique, Dr Mustafa Asil, Associate Professor Deborah Pino-Pasternak, Professor Susan Ledger and Professor Timothy Teo.
