Experts say handwriting notes help students to understand the material better. In a world relying increasingly on technology, more students are moving away from handwritten to online note-taking. But some A&M experts agree
handwriting notes might still be more beneficial to students.
A study was conducted at Princeton University, which was reported on by The Atlantic, quizzing students about the lecture they had just sat through, with some taking notes by hand and some by typing. In all three parts of the study, the students watched a TED Talk, took notes, did another activity for 30 minutes and then took the quiz. The students who wrote their notes by hand performed better on questions which tested a student’s understanding of applying the subject they’d just been taught.
“Recent research is showing that taking notes by hand helps people retain information better; they remember it better than by typing it,” said Valerie Balester, executive director of the Academic Student Success Center. “That could be partly because they are using more of their brain just dealing with the computer and typing. It is slower when you go by hand, but it makes you remember it better.”
Sanam Maredia, a biomedical sciences freshman, said she always writes out her notes because it helps her memorise them and keep them organised.
“Honestly I write out my notes because I feel like they are more organised that way,” Maredia said. “I have heard that when you write them out by hand it is supposed to help you remember because you are seeing visually, so usually when I go back home I rewrite them or highlight them to see them multiple times and it is not just me typing it, which helps me more in the future.”