“Pet the bunny“, the classic touch and feel book from 1940, remains to be in print – a testament to how worthwhile touch is in introducing infants and toddlers to the world of reading. Later, when children reach school age, a standard technique for learning the alphabet is to have interaction in hands-on manipulations, comparable to forming letters out of clay.
However, as these students grow old, the role of touch diminishes, to the scholars' detriment. Today's reading tasks are heavily digitizedand using computer keyboards for writing shows no signs of declining, especially given the The temptation of AI tools for editing and composing.
I'm a linguist studying this Differences between printed and digital reading and the way writing supports considering. my colleague Anne Mangen and I asked greater than 500 secondary students at a world school in Amsterdam about their experiences reading print and digital texts. Separately, I surveyed 100 university students and young adults within the US and Europe about their likes and dislikes about handwriting and typing.
Taken together, their responses show that teens and young adults proceed to value touch when encountering the written word. The research offers necessary insights for educators and fogeys.
What students tell us
In the studies, students wrote enthusiastically about touch when asked what they liked best about reading print or writing by hand. What surprised me was how similar their perceptions in regards to the meaning of touch were in each studies.
On a physical level, the sensation of holding a book or writing instrument of their hands was necessary to the scholars. These are a few of their observations: “You actually feel like you're reading because you're holding the book in your hand” and “I like feeling the paper and pen under my hands and being able to physically form words.” Study participants also commented on the interaction between touch and movement. About reading, one wrote about “the feeling of turning each page and anticipating what will happen next.” About writing by hand, one participant described how he could “feel the words just sliding across the page.”
Many students also mentioned cognitive advantages. A lot of respondents wrote about focus, concentration, immersion or memory. Regarding print reading, one student said, “I take it more seriously because it is physically in my hands.” When it involves writing, one response was, “I can see what I'm thinking.”
There were also psychological considerations. Students wrote, “The feeling of holding a book in my hands is a very pleasant feeling” and “The satisfaction of having filled a whole page with handwriting, it feels like I have climbed a mountain.” Other comments discussed how touch helped students feel more personally connected to reading and writing. About reading, one said, “It's more personal because it's in your own hands.” About handwriting, one other said, “I feel more connected to the content I produce.”
A variety of respondents wrote that reading physical books and writing by hand one way or the other felt more “real” than engaging with their digital counterparts. One student commented on “the reality of the book.” Another reported: “It feels more real than typing on the computer, the words seem to have more meaning.”
The studies also asked what participants liked most about reading digitally and writing on a pc keyboard. Out of greater than 600 responses, just one mentioned the role of touch in what they enjoyed most about using these technologies to read and write. As they read, students praised the convenience and access to the Internet. Higher speed and web access were often mentioned when writing.
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What science tells us
What students say in regards to the importance of touch reflects what researchers have found: Touch is an efficient option to construct early reading And Writing skillsin addition to to support more developed readers and writers interact with the written word.
Psychologists and reading specialists proceed to report higher understanding in children and young adults when reading in print in comparison with reading digitally, for each academic and non-academic purposes Leisure reading. There is evidence that experienced writers spend more time writing by hand than using a pc keyboard correlates with higher positive motor skills. A recent study in Norway compared brain images of university students taking notes and located that those that wrote by hand – quite than typing – showed higher electrical connectivity within the parts of the brain that process latest information and support memory formation.
Strategies for the longer term
The challenge for teachers and fogeys is determining easy methods to incorporate touch into literacy activities in a world that relies so heavily on digital tools. Here are three suggestions to resolve this paradox.
• Parents and teachers can start by listening to students themselves. Despite on a regular basis they spend on digital devices, many young people clearly see how touch contributes to their literacy experiences. Expand the conversation by talking together in regards to the differences between digital and practical reading and writing.
• Next, parents can find opportunities for his or her children to read and write by hand outside of college, comparable to taking their children to the library to envision out printed books and inspiring them to jot down a story at home or to maintain a diary. It's even higher when adults model these practices in their very own lives.
• Finally, educators must make extra space within the curriculum for printed reading and handwritten assignments. Some teachers are already considering the important thing advantages of handwriting, including as a memory aid and considering aid – each qualities that participants mentioned in my writing survey.
Digital reading materials and keyboards will undoubtedly live on in schools and houses. But this reality must not exclude the facility of touch.
image credit : theconversation.com