Introduction

In today's university classrooms, you'll see a variety of note-taking methods in action. While many students type away on their laptops or scribble notes on university-issued iPads, there's been an interesting trend emerging (or maybe prevailing?): pen and paper. In my classes, I've noticed more and more students deliberately choosing traditional notebooks over their devices. When I asked them why, their response was straightforward - they simply remember the material better when writing by hand.

This observation isn't just anecdotal. Research has consistently shown that laptop note-taking, despite its convenience and speed, may actually be less effective for learning than good old-fashioned handwriting. While previous discussions about digital note-taking often centred on obvious concerns like social media distractions or multitasking (read more here), there's something more fundamental at play. Even when students use their laptops solely for note-taking - no Facebook, no messaging, no online shopping - the very act of typing appears to hinder their learning process.

In this article, we'll explore why the physical act of writing helps us learn better, and why typing, despite its efficiency, might actually be working against us. We'll look at research that shows how laptop users tend to transcribe lectures verbatim rather than processing and reframing the information in their own words - a critical difference that significantly impacts understanding and retention of the material.

Handwriting vs Typing

Writing by hand differs fundamentally from typing in both physical execution and cognitive engagement. Think about how you write – you have to form each letter through precise movements. On the other hand, typing involves pressing uniform keys, resulting in standardised characters. This distinction is more than merely mechanical – it reflects different neural processes. During handwriting, the brain must integrate complex visual, motor, and spatial information in a single focal point where the pen meets paper. In contrast, typing splits attention between the keyboard and screen, potentially reducing the cognitive connections formed during the writing process (1). Neuroimaging studies have shown that handwriting activates regions in the brain involved in learning, memory, and the execution of finely coordinated movements, suggesting a deeper level of cognitive processing than typing.

The temporal aspects of these writing methods also contribute to their cognitive differences. Again, think about how you write – it’s typically slower and more deliberate than typing, right? It requires sustained attention to each letter's formation. This slower pace may facilitate deeper processing of the written content, as the brain has more time to engage with each word and concept. Additionally, the unique movements required for each letter in handwriting create distinct motor memories, which become integrated with visual and cognitive processes. These motor memories appear to play a crucial role in letter recognition and overall literacy development. In contrast, typing's repetitive finger movements don't create letter-specific motor memories, as the same basic action – key pressing – is used for all letters.

The spatial organisation of these writing methods also influences cognitive processing. In handwriting, the writer maintains continuous visual attention at the point of inscription, creating a direct sensorimotor link between the physical act of writing and the visual feedback of letter formation. This unified space of action and perception supports what neuroscientists call a "kinetic melody" – a smooth, integrated pattern of movement that becomes automatised with practice. Typing, however, creates a spatial disruption between the motor action (on the keyboard) and the visual result (on the screen), potentially weakening the sensorimotor integration that appears crucial for optimal learning and memory formation.

Benefits of Handwriting for Learning

Good news for my pen-and-paper students: Multiple studies provide evidence for the advantages of handwriting over typing when it comes to learning. A University of Central Florida study (3) found that students remembered words better when they wrote them by hand compared to typing them, suggesting that the physical act of writing creates additional memory pathways. The study revealed that handwriting involves complex, unique movements for each letter or word, while typing consists of repetitive, similar actions. The researchers discovered that not only did handwriting lead to better recall, but participants who wrote by hand also made fewer errors when trying to remember information later.

This aligns with findings from Princeton University and UCLA researchers (2), who discovered that laptop users tend to transcribe lectures verbatim, while students writing by hand process and reframe information in their own words. Their studies showed that although laptop users took more extensive notes - often nearly twice as many words as those writing by hand - the quality of learning was actually inferior. Even when laptops were used solely for note-taking without distractions, students who took longhand notes performed better on conceptual questions and showed deeper understanding of the material. This difference persisted even when laptop users were explicitly instructed not to take verbatim notes, suggesting that the very nature of laptop note-taking may lead to shallower processing of information.

Mueller and Oppenheimer (2) further demonstrated that the benefits of handwriting extend beyond immediate learning. When students were given an opportunity to study their notes before being tested, those who had taken notes by hand still outperformed laptop users. This suggests that handwritten notes, despite being shorter and less complete, are more effective for both initial learning and later review. Particularly interesting was the finding that handwriting's advantages were most pronounced for conceptual understanding rather than simple factual recall, indicating that the physical act of writing helps students process and internalise complex ideas more effectively.

These findings have significant implications for educational practices in an increasingly digital age. Of course, typing and digital tools allow you to categorise, expand, and edit your notes, making it easier to create a comprehensive review guide. Digitised notes can be searched quickly, making them more useful for studying and reference. However, the cognitive processes involved in handwriting - the slower pace, the need to synthesise and summarise information, and the unique motor patterns required appear to create stronger neural connections that enhance learning and memory (Smoker et al., 2009). These results highlight how the additional cognitive engagement required by handwriting may be crucial for deeper learning and better retention of academic material.

Conclusion

The empirical evidence from neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and educational research presents a compelling case for maintaining handwriting as a crucial component of note-taking and learning, even in our increasingly digital world. While digital technologies offer numerous advantages in terms of speed, efficiency, and text manipulation, the unique cognitive and neural benefits of handwriting cannot be replicated through typing alone. The research reviewed in this article demonstrates that handwriting engages the brain in distinct ways, creating stronger neural pathways for learning, memory formation, and letter recognition. The physical act of forming letters by hand – with its unique combination of visual, motor, and cognitive processes – appears to be fundamental to deeper learning and better retention of information.

Does this mean that we should go back and abandon digital writing technologies? Not really.  Rather, these findings indicate the need for a balanced approach to writing instruction and practice.

As we continue to navigate the digital transformation of education (such a platitude), it becomes increasingly important to make informed decisions based on scientific evidence rather than merely following technological trends. The research presented here suggests that the future of writing instruction should not be an either/or choice between digital and analog methods, but rather a thoughtful integration of both, designed to maximise learning outcomes.

Read more in:

(1) Mangen, A., & Velay, J.-L. (2010). Digitizing Literacy: Reflections on the Haptics of Writing. InTech. doi: 10.5772/8710

(2) Mueller, P. A., & Oppenheimer, D. M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science, 25(6), 1159–1168. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797614524581 

(3) Smoker, T. J., Murphy, C. E., & Rockwell, A. K. (2009). Comparing Memory for Handwriting versus Typing. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, 53(22), 1744-1747. https://doi.org/10.1177/154193120905302218