The pen is mightier than the keyboard, #Writing

At last, proof for the offspring that you need to take hand-written notes.

This is an interesting article on how taking hand-written notes results in deeper learning than taking similar notes using a keyboard.

The researchers conclude that rich sensory-motor experiences seem to facilitate learning, or put simply, it is the physical movement of the pen that makes the difference. The movement is picked up by the senses and, due to their involvement, results in different neural activity that governs all higher levels of cognitive processing and learning.

Explaining the importance of the results, van der Meer says that, “This difference in activity is really significant, it tells us that using a pen to take notes means that the brain is able to process learning in a much more effective way.”

It reminds me of research that showed how fonts that are hard to read promote better recall of the message. Daniel Oppenheimer with colleagues Connor Diemand-Yauman and Erikka Vaughan found that students presented with material written in hard to read font (grey, 12-point Comic sans) recalled 14% more facts than students given material in pure-black, 16-point Arial.

There’s something about a certain friction being necessary to embed things in the brain.

Image credit: https://unsplash.com/@aaronburden

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