Handwriting Instruction
in a New Century
Promoting Academic
Achievement and Developing
Cognitive Automaticity
Dr. April Blakely
Dr. Faye Deters
Background
Does Handwriting Matter in a Digital
World?
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
You type. I type. Why bother with
handwriting?
The many health perks of good
handwriting: Not only does it help the
brain develop, it can also improve
grades and confidence
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
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
PK-3
Print
handwriting
instruction
taught formally
in classrooms
with practice for
homework.
Print handwriting
instruction.
3-4
Shift to cursive
handwriting
instruction to
build speed
and fluidity;
formally taught
with practice
required on
assignments.
4+
Formal
keyboarding
instruction
begins.
Formal keyboarding instruction with no
cursive 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.
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.
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.
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 sixthgraders 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
To acquire an understanding of the
nature of handwriting instruction
currently implemented within our state,
and
To determine whether the state’s Core
Academic Standards’
recommendations to replace
handwriting instruction with
keyboarding are empirically sound.
Research Questions
What is the status of handwriting instruction in
public schools?
What instructional methods, materials, and
time allotment do teachers use to teach
handwriting and keyboarding?
What are the implications for students of the
handwriting instructional practices in schools?
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
What grade(s) do you currently teach? (select all that
apply)
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Preliminary Survey Results
Has your school adopted a commercial handwriting
program (e.g., Handwriting Without Tears, Zaner-Bloser,
etc.)
Yes
No
Preliminary Survey Results
How much class time do you use to provide direct
instruction in handwriting?
0.0% 1.5% 4.5%
No time
7.6%
Less than 30 minutes per
week
30-60 minutes per week
21.2%
61-90 minutes per week
65.2%
91 - 120 minutes per week
More than 120 minutes per
week
Preliminary Survey Results
Is keyboarding taught in your school?
47.2%
52.8%
Yes
No
Preliminary Survey Results
In which grade(s) is the keyboarding program used with
students? (select all that apply)
40.0%
35.0%
30.0%
25.0%
20.0%
15.0%
10.0%
5.0%
0.0%
K
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Do not
know
Preliminary Survey Results
How has the amount of handwriting instruction in your
SCHOOL changed since the adoption of the Kentucky
Core Academic Standards for English Language Arts?
Decreased
22.8%
1.5%
41.9%
33.8%
No change
Increased
Do not know
Preliminary Survey Results
How has the amount of keyboarding instruction in your
SCHOOL changed since the adoption of the Kentucky
Core Academic Standards for English Language Arts?
13.2%
29.4%
Decreased
No change
Increased
12.5%
44.9%
Do not know
Preliminary Survey Results
In your opinion, how
important is
HANDWRITING
instruction?
0.7%
4.4%
In your opinion, how
important is
KEYBOARDING
instruction?
0.7%
2.9%
36.0%
47.1%
47.8%
60.3%
Not important
Important
Very important
Do not know
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.
A forward-balanced approach
Cursive
2-4
Manuscript
PK-2/3
Tech
Familiarity
PK+
The
21st
Century
Writer
Digital
Handwriting
Tools
PK-12 Hand to
Voice
to
Text
Text
KeyBoarding
6+
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), 1118.
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 letterwriting 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 letterlike forms: Tracking the causes of neural specialization for letters. Cognitive Neuropsychology, 26(1), 91-110
James, 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
Indiana Public Radio Interview w/Dr. Karin James and Dr. Steve Graham
http://stateimpact.npr.org/indiana/2011/09/29/why-schools-should-keepteaching-handwriting-even-if-typing-is-more-useful/
Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/01/25/18handwriting_ep.h31.html
ACT Scoring Guidelines
http://www.actstudent.org/writing/scores/guidelines.html
Handwriting in the 21st Century? An Educational Summit
http://www.hw21summit.com/
Hanover Research White Paper
https://www.zaner-bloser.com/media/zb/zaner-bloser/pdf/hw_hanover.pdf
Contact Information
Dr. Faye Deters
Faye.deters@eku.edu
859-622-2159
Dr. April Blakely
April.blakely@eku.edu
859-622-2396
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Eastern Kentucky University
215 Bert Combs Building
521 Lancaster Ave.
Richmond, KY 40475