Summary: A recent study found that writing and expression structures help young children learn characters and word structures more efficiently than typing. Researchers used keyboards or human writing to teach 5- to 6-year-olds new letters and pseudowords.
On assessments of reputation, writing, and pronunciation, particularly with new word sequences, those who practiced by hands performed significantly better. Writing may be a key component of early literacy education, according to the study, which emphasizes the value of kinetic motor movements in acquiring reading and writing abilities.
Important Information
- Handwriting Advantage: Kids who used keyboards to practice writing learned letters and pseudowords more effectively than those who used keyboards.
- Motor Skills Matter: Graphomotor activities aid in the memory-imprinting of email shapes and expression buildings.
- Free Writing Boost: Free copying ( without guides ) among handwriting groups produced the best learning outcomes.
University of the Basque Country
Today, online resources are frequently used as tools for various learning processes in children’s classrooms. For instance, there are computer applications designed for young people who are learning to read and write.
The kids press tips and switches, and they do away with pencil and paper because the tasks they suggest are to be done on computers.
A UPV/EHU study compared the effects of regular and console training on son’s skills in order to assess the impact of these typing-based techniques.
We wanted to investigate the impact of this on alphabetical and typographical knowledge because children write less and less by hands. In other words, we wanted to know whether keyboard use or regular training affects the ability to study letters and to absorb and retain word structure.
According to researcher Joana Acha,” We came to the conclusion that the youngsters who used their fingers got the best results.”
An experiment was conducted with 5 to 6 year olds to arrive at this conclusion. This period was chosen because it represents the most favorable stage of their growth. They begin to learn to read and write in point at this point.
So 9 characters from the Greek and Armenian letters, as well as 16 pseudowords that the researchers concocted, were taught to 50 children with basic reading understanding.
The goal was to make sure the kids were learning from damage by using words and words that were entirely new to them. It is not that simple to determine how many children did not know the images presented because the research conducted so much used the spellings in the children’s society, said Acha.
So all the students were given new words and letters, but not all in the same manner: quarter of them were asked to record them on keyboards, and the other half were given keyboards. The importance of the graphomotor work was thus put into perspective for the UPV/EHU research.
In other words, what kind of impact does turning the hands have on the writing and reading process. In truth, when we write on keyboards, we don’t follow the letter’s condition, so the graphomotor work has less of an impact on assimilating the email and word structure. In comparison, handwriting has a greater impact.
We submitted each group of children to three tests to assess the information we had acquired once we had taught them the fresh letters and words and trained them using one strategy.
The benefits clearly demonstrated that those who had practiced manual manual improvised their ability to identify, read, and speak both the characters and pseudowords.
The change was obvious in particular with the pseudowords; almost everyone who had studied on computers did not properly complete the tasks on notice patterns.
Our research confirms that the graphomotor functionality is crucial for remembering letters and word constructions, Acha said.
Variability also has an impact
However, they did not simply consider the impact of side motion. From the beginning, the parties that were using keys and hand tools were split into two subgroups.
Some students who were using pencils were instructed to follow the guides marked with small dots ( a technique of low variability ) while teaching the letters and the words. By contrast, the others practiced without any reference whatsoever: freely copying onto the blank page ( great variability ).
Some always used the same font for training ( such as Tahoma ), and others, more than one, as they did with those who worked on computers. In addition to the grapho-motor work, the researchers were able to examine the effects of the design variation factor and the grapho-motor work.
What they observed was that all those who had been taught by hands were more knowledgeable than all those who had used laptops, but even those who had practiced with pencil and paper showed variations. The best outcomes were obtained by those who had been trained easily.
We came to the conclusion that while it initially helps kids to have to exercise tracing, it’s wise to move on to free composing when they are able to produce more or less small, specific movements.
The need to prioritize regular exercise in the learning process is yet most obvious. They learn best from hands movements, consequently using technical tools in a complementary manner is advised, Acha said.
About this study reading and learning news
Encarni, Miguel
Source: University of the Basque Country
Contact: Encarni Miguel – University of the Basque Country
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Open access to original analysis
By Joana Acha and albert.,” The effect of writing and typing training in children’s email and word understanding: Implications for literacy development.” Empirical Child Psychology Journal
Abstract
Implications for literacy development from writing and typing training in children’s email and term learning
Recent research has discovered that the initial stages of reading growth may be hampered by typing as opposed to writing practice.
Reduced graphomotor activity and reduced variability in the physical letter forms are two possible explanations for typing’s negative effects.
However, earlier studies focused primarily on text learning and used the letter’s visible identification system as a learning tool.
The present study used a variety of tasks to examine the effects of graphomotor activity and output variability on notice and word learning.
In four different learning methods, 50 prereaders combined to learn nine letters and 16 pseudowords made up of these characters: copying the words or words by palm, tracing the words, putting the letters or words on a computer with various fonts, and typing with a single style.
Test duties included identifying, writing, and identifying the trained letters and words visually.
Results demonstrated that children who were trained through hand-copying or tracing had higher test accuracy scores than those in coding groups.
These outcomes support the graphomotor assumption and demonstrate the value of writing experience in learning alphabetical and typographical representations.
Therefore, teachers should be cautious about replacing pencil and paper with modern equipment while the children are still learning to read.
