Students’ writing ability could be improved by going back to using chalk and slate, according to a neuroscientist and expert on childhood literacy.

Dr Ragnar Purje, a senior lecturer at CQUniversity, said the old fashioned handwriting methods, which were phased out in most Australian schools by the 1960s, taught children to hold a writing implement between the thumb and index finger, supported by the middle finger – a foundation for efficient handwriting that was being lost with the increasing use of devices.

“Tapping a key does not light up parts of the brain that writing does,” he said.

“The impact that complex movements have on the brain, including the repetitive nature of tracing out letters, erasing and repeating the process is essential before writing becomes easy for students.”

He said kindergarteners and prep schoolers should start with chalk to write with before anything else, which would encourage repetitive movements that lead to better outcomes at later stages of learning.

“Schools spend billions of dollars on plastic markers each year,” he added. “Chalk is a low-cost item that encourages play.

‘“When devices are in the hands of students, they do not develop what is called ‘theory of mind’, which research shows is not only essential for good writing but also for developing empathy.”

NAPLAN results have progressively worsened in Australia, even before the introduction of online testing eight years ago, and there has been a growing backlash against laptops and phones in classrooms.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) recently published a report indicating one in three Australian students are failing to meet expected literacy benchmarks. And, this month, education ministers from across the country convened in Parramatta to discuss the impact of technology in classrooms, agreeing year 5 students will now undertake handwritten NAPLAN literacy exams.

Handwriting is profoundly important. When devices are put into the hands of children, they stop talking and they stop playing.

Dr Ragnar Purje

Professor Anabela Malpique, a senior lecturer in literacy at Edith Cowan University and part of the Writing for All Research group, agrees that handwriting is essential to creativity.

The group’s research has shown handwriting is a skill that needs to be explicitly taught through demonstration, modelling and regular practice.

“When we write with pens or pencils it triggers similar areas in the brain that are related with reading and memory,” she said.

“This is called embodied cognition and is essential to children becoming better at expressing what they have to say.”

As children become more proficient at forming and understanding letters, they can devote less mental effort to handwriting and more to composing complex sentences, developing stories and expressing higher-order ideas, she added.

The Department of Education’s ‘Digital Detox’ paper, published this month found a majority of parents in Australia believed the benefits of using technology in classrooms did not outweigh the disadvantages.

And, one parent-led initiative in Queensland has called for a total ban on devices in classrooms. Its petition for device-free learning has so far garnered 32,541 signatures.

Malpique said Australia needs more research to understand the trends of computer based learning, but she warned: “Eliminating writing on laptops entirely may result in older children falling behind.”

Purje, who is also an author on classroom behaviour management, said he believed devices should be eliminated from classrooms altogether.

“Handwriting is profoundly important,” he said. “When devices are put into the hands of children, they stop talking and they stop playing.

“The development of empathy can only take place in the company of other people. The foundations of humans becoming higher-order thinking adults lies in their ability to learn to write.”

Main image by audio-luci-store/Flickr.