Thursday, March 3, 2011
HANDWRITING SKILLS VS. KEYBOARDING
I have just finished my master's research project which explored how Montessori exercises contribute to the development of fine motor skills and spatial awareness necessary to handwriting readiness. As part of this project, I reviewed some related literature that debated the possible obsolescence of handwriting now that we use keyboards so much. Research has found that the physical act of learning to write is integrated into the mental act of processing writing. Students who use keyboards too early have more difficulty later with composition, interpretation, and other higher thinking tasks necessary to good writing. Students should become adept at keybording in the upper elementary years, after basic writing skills and thought processes have had time to develop.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Do the studies distinguish between print and cursive handwriting? My niece recently started learning cursive, and it got me thinking about whether it has any value in today's world. With the exception of my signature, I cannot recall ever writing in cursive after it was no longer required on a particular assignment in middle or high school. If the learning value of handwriting is maintained with printing, then replacing cursive learning time with keyboarding skills seems to make sense.
ReplyDelete