The educators say evidence is growing that handwriting fluency is a fundamental building block of learning.
Good hand writing is more than just a quaint skill. It is a key part of learning, a new study finds. The study to be released this month by Vanderbilt University professor Steve Graham shows that when children are taught to write, they are being taught how to learn and how to express themselves. It finds that a majority of primary school teachers believe that students with fluent handwriting produced written assignments that were superior in quality and quantity and resulted in higher grades, aside from being easier to read.
If children have to struggle to remember how to make their letters, their ability to express themselves will suffer. The motions have to be automatic, both for expressive writing and for another skill that students will need later in their life.
The college board recognized this in 2005 when it added a handwriting essay to the SAT, (the standardized test for US college admissions), an effort to reverse the de-emphasis on handwriting and composition that may be adversely affecting children’s learning all the way through high school and beyond.