Can Handwriting Make You Smarter?

Watch this video produced by The Wall Street Journal

WE LOVE THIS BECAUSE

• it confronts the misconception about “more is better”. That is, students who use laptops during a lecture tend to take more notes than those who write out their notes by hand – thus more information!! Well, wait a sec. Typing faster and writing down every single word spoken by the professor does not equal better memory/ retention.

• it emphasizes the importance of engaging in some “desirable difficulty“- taking notes by hand – which fosters comprehension and retention by carefully listening, digesting, and explaining in your own words on paper the essence of the lecture

• it uses good examples to explain why writing by hand may be better for learning than taking notes on a laptop

RECOMMENDED ACTIVITIES

• as you watch, write down what you find surprising about what is discussed

• think about how you can apply these ideas in your own life

• after listening or viewing the video, take a break and then jot down the key points presented in the video

• tell a friend what the video is about and what you learned about learning

For more information on this topic here is the article to the video: Can Handwriting Make You Smarter?

and more here.. A Learning Secret: Don’t Take Notes with a Laptop

About the Author

Lasting Learning was created to bring together the world’s foremost learning scientists with a focus on providing information about the best ways to enhance long-term retention of knowledge and skills across the lifespan. Our goal is to be a valuable and trusted resource for students, teachers, parents, athletes, coaches and anyone else who wants to learn the best ways to learn.

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In 2015, Cameron Broumand, an entrepreneur and father of three living in Los Angeles, stumbled upon a media article on the science of learning. After reading the piece, he realized that the valuable research findings in cognitive psychology and the learning sciences were almost entirely unknown to the public and, more surprisingly, to teachers. How could this be?! Broumand decided to find out, so he called Dr. Robert Bjork, a distinguished research professor at UCLA and one of the world’s leading experts in human learning and memory. After an insightful conversation with Dr. Bjork about the disconnect between research and practice, Broumand recognized an opportunity to improve our educational system. Shortly thereafter, he—along with Clement Mok, an award-winning designer and digital pioneer—founded the company, Lasting Learning. The goal of the company? To provide information to the public about how the science of learning can help transform and improve the way people teach and learn. Broumand asked learning scientists, Dr. Nick Soderstrom and Saskia Giebl, M.Sc. (both of whom were in Bjork’s lab at the time), to join the team. They happily agreed and, with the help of Carri O’Neill, have been giving talks, workshops, and webinars around the country ever since. The UCLA-Lasting Learning team has had the privilege to talk with thousands of teachers, coaches, parents, students, and athletes about how they can leverage the science of learning to enhance their educational practices. We look forward to talking with many more!