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Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

scientificamerican.com

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Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#81

Post by bonton89 »

jerlam wrote: post #69
chenxi9649 wrote: post #51

I wonder if it also had to do with the fact that handwriting is slower . Which means that you generally hold the concept in your working memory for longer than typing. Which often times does not require the concept to be held in working memory at all because typing speed matches reading speed. I also wonder if looking down at the page as you write vs looking up at the board. Constantly looking up and down is like a h…

I had a teacher who told us that when we took notes, we could not just transcribe what the teacher said - we had to take the ideas and write them down in our own words, because we would actually be thinking and learning and not just brainlessly writing it down.

This may well require to much time to do depending upon the material.

I remember a math class that drove me nuts because the instructor used overhead sheets. Usually they were at least limited to output speed of their own hand writing so I could keep up but with the overhead protector I was always scrambling to even get it down.

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#82

Post by nolamark »

intelligencesec wrote: post #70
softfalcon wrote: post #31

I was late to this game of "going backwards" to improve my memory and understanding of what I read and wrote. Being raised by two technologically forward engineers, we jumped on the palm-pilot/laptops/tablets/phones/e-readers bandwagon very early. 5 years ago I started turning back to calligraphy, fountain pens, and hand writing. I buy books and fill up my bookshelf. It wasn't just for the memory recall, it was the p…

I can never get over the "scratching" feeling of fountain pens. It gives me a weird goosbump feeling and makes them impossible to use. Am I using them wrong? Using the wrong brand/type?

You ought to be able to find a pen without a scratching feeling. The nib, the ink, and the paper can all contribute to a scratchy feeling. If you have been trying with an old pen, the nib could be damaged, or the ink too dried out.

If you are writing with a new pen the you might need a wider writing nib, a medium or above is your best bet. In pen reviews, look for how "wet" the pen writes.

I like writing very tiny letters and use a Pilot extra-fine, an it is can be scratchy, but I replaced the medium nib my Pilot Metro was sold with. It was not scratchy with the medium.

Jetpens has some 5 pen sampler pack if you're are $25 curious. https://www.jetpens.com/JetPens-Beginner-Fountain-Pen-Sample...

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#83

Post by MSFT_Edging »

andy-eye-candy wrote: post #66
dthedavid wrote: post #62

In university I noticed that some of my classmates just sat there and didn't take notes. So I stopped as well. I sat there, listened and then took pictures of the blackboard. This method worked better for me and I noticed that I performed better. The lesson here is that people learn in different ways.

This was key for me as well. I tried doing transcription style notes on my computer (I'm a fast typer), and I tried doing deliberate handwritten notes. When I first started actually paying attention without noting I learned so much more

To extend this further, most of my math notes in college were done with a wacom tablet and a note app, xournal. this worked better for me than an ipad because I was able to keep my eyes up, my small laptop screen right below the whiteboard in the front. I was able to handwrite, but also adjust scale to make tiny annotations or large diagrams. I could also use built-in tools to quickly make perfect straight lines for graphs, change the background to lined, graph, blank, or a pdf, insert images, etc.

Then I was able to export notes as pdfs for classmates, retaining the speed of handwriting for non-text notes but also having the digital usefulness and never forgetting a notebook.

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#84

Post by politician »

munificent wrote: post #52
softfalcon wrote: post #31

I was late to this game of "going backwards" to improve my memory and understanding of what I read and wrote. Being raised by two technologically forward engineers, we jumped on the palm-pilot/laptops/tablets/phones/e-readers bandwagon very early. 5 years ago I started turning back to calligraphy, fountain pens, and hand writing. I buy books and fill up my bookshelf. It wasn't just for the memory recall, it was the p…

I love handwriting. As in, I hand-lettered every single one of the hundreds of diagrams in my two books [1]. I am also a sucker for nice pens and fancy paper. Office supply stores are like toy stores for me. (What can I say, I was a teacher's pet growing up.) So I am 1000% the kind of person to get into fountain pens. But I'm also a lefty. :( I know it is possible to learn to use a fountain pen while writing left-han…

Unrelated, but thanks for your book. The illustrations are lovely and carefully crafted; I’d wondered how you made them.

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#85

Post by kayodelycaon »

wildermuthn wrote: post #22
sowbug wrote: post #11

Anyone else remember less from reading an ebook compared to a physical one? This happens to me, and I think it's a similar explanation. I recall less of where I read something in an ebook. But in a physical book, I often remember that a phrase was at the top or middle or left side of a page, or that I was sitting in a particular chair when I read it. There's simply more of the brain working when I read a physical boo…

Maybe the article covers this, but there an ancient memory technique (still used today) of “places and things”, also known as a memory palace. You put objects into spaces in your mind, then walk through that imaginary space to remember things. Turns out that humans are much better at remembering things when the context is spatial. Makes sense that this would apply to reading physical books.

I almost exclusively use spatial memory for programming. It's basically a flowchart I can zoom in or out of. A whole application or problem will be a forest I can walk through or fly above. Everything in a single context to avoid context switches.

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#86

Post by taejavu »

> She notes that children who have learned to read and write by tapping on a digital tablet “often have difficulty distinguishing letters that look a lot like each other or that are mirror images of each other, like the b and the d.”

Not saying the broader claims of the article aren’t without merit, but the sentence quoted was true long before ubiquitous touchscreens (mid 90s, and long before then too I imagine)

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#87

Post by stuporglue »

JoeDaDude wrote: post #67
satao wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Was it a Waldorf school?

It was a German school in South America (no WWII refugees there, lol). I guess the school leadership was taught that way, and they were sure to make the kids learn that way too - with fountain pens!

I moved to Germany a few years ago and my kids have to use fountain pens for all their school work, even math. It's this way for grade school and high school.

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#88

Post by StefanBatory »

dthedavid wrote: post #62

In university I noticed that some of my classmates just sat there and didn't take notes. So I stopped as well. I sat there, listened and then took pictures of the blackboard. This method worked better for me and I noticed that I performed better. The lesson here is that people learn in different ways.

I have similar feelings on this. I took notes only if I felt it was quite important.

I could either listen to lecture or take notes by hand, but not both.

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#89

Post by [deleted] »

zharknado wrote: post #57

The only conclusion that seems even remotely supported by the evidence here is that writing by hand is important for learning letters . As in, learning your ABC's. No arguments there. The new study cited is a Norwegian small-sample-size study of college kids typing vs. writing Pictionary words while wearing an EEG. Not learning, I would point out. What they observe is more connectivity between brain regions when they…

[deleted]

Re: Why Writing by Hand Is Better for Memory and Learning

#90

Post by WillAdams »

munificent wrote: post #52
softfalcon wrote: post #31

I was late to this game of "going backwards" to improve my memory and understanding of what I read and wrote. Being raised by two technologically forward engineers, we jumped on the palm-pilot/laptops/tablets/phones/e-readers bandwagon very early. 5 years ago I started turning back to calligraphy, fountain pens, and hand writing. I buy books and fill up my bookshelf. It wasn't just for the memory recall, it was the p…

I love handwriting. As in, I hand-lettered every single one of the hundreds of diagrams in my two books [1]. I am also a sucker for nice pens and fancy paper. Office supply stores are like toy stores for me. (What can I say, I was a teacher's pet growing up.) So I am 1000% the kind of person to get into fountain pens. But I'm also a lefty. :( I know it is possible to learn to use a fountain pen while writing left-han…

Try an ink formulated for drying quickly:

https://noodlersink.com/product-tag/fast-drying/

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