{"id":76016,"date":"2025-02-26T20:59:26","date_gmt":"2025-02-27T01:59:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=76016"},"modified":"2025-02-26T20:59:26","modified_gmt":"2025-02-27T01:59:26","slug":"which-type-of-note-taking-is-better-for-learning-laptop-or-pen-and-paper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/which-type-of-note-taking-is-better-for-learning-laptop-or-pen-and-paper\/","title":{"rendered":"Which type of note-taking is better for learning: laptop or pen and paper?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, university lectures were accompanied by the sound of pens scribbling on paper. But if you go into a lecture hall today, you will hear students tapping on laptops.<\/p>\n

Devices are now an accepted and important\u00a0part of modern learning<\/a>. But this does not necessarily mean students should forget the old-fashioned ways of taking notes.<\/p>\n

Research shows pen and paper can help students learn and remember more from class.<\/p>\n

The benefits of note-taking<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Studies have\u00a0long shown<\/a>\u00a0students who take notes during a lecture, class, or while reading are able to remember more of that content later.<\/p>\n

One reason is note-taking is\u00a0more active<\/a>\u00a0than listening or reading, which helps us maintain attention.<\/p>\n

And students often go beyond just recording the information being said.<\/p>\n

Note-taking means students are trying to understand their teacher by\u00a0making assessments about what is important<\/a>\u00a0in real time. They might also\u00a0organise the content<\/a>\u00a0into themes and sub-themes or highlight things that stand out.<\/p>\n

These activities are examples of active engagement which strengthens the \u201cencoding process<\/a>\u201d: the way new knowledge moves into long-term memory and forms memory pathways.<\/p>\n

Strong memory pathways enable knowledge to be more easily accessed later, such as when problem solving in class or doing an exam.<\/p>\n

Note-taking on a laptop<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Research shows the kinds of notes students take when typing on a laptop differ from those taken with traditional pen and paper.<\/p>\n

A\u00a02018 study in the United States<\/a>\u00a0found college students took longer lecture notes (both in word count and quantity of ideas) when typing on a laptop than when writing by hand. They also recorded longer sections verbatim from the lecture. This might occur because students\u00a0typically type faster<\/a>\u00a0than they handwrite.<\/p>\n

However, while students are faster on a laptop, they are also likely to become distracted.<\/p>\n

A\u00a02021 study<\/a>\u00a0of US college students used tracking software and found the average student was distracted for about half their lecture by social media, assignments, shopping and other off-task internet activities.<\/p>\n

Note-taking with a pen<\/strong><\/h4>\n

So how do pen and paper compare?<\/p>\n

A\u00a02024 meta-analysis<\/a>\u00a0of 24 international studies showed taking lecture notes by hand resulted in stronger overall test performance and course grades for undergraduate students.<\/p>\n

This is because handwriting engages the brain in a\u00a0more active way<\/a>\u00a0than typing, which is better for learning.<\/p>\n

Students who\u00a0take notes by hand<\/a>\u00a0use more shorthand, visual signals (for example, bolding, underlining, arrows and stars) and images (diagrams, graphs and tables) than those who type.<\/p>\n

Taking notes by hand is particularly helpful if a lecturer or teacher pauses during a lecture or lesson, so students can revise or add to their notes in real time. In\u00a0one US study<\/a>, students using longhand added three times as many new ideas to their notes during lecture pauses as laptop users did.<\/p>\n

Are there times laptops might be better?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Despite the benefits of handwriting, there are some situations where laptops may be more appropriate for note-taking.<\/p>\n

Students who struggle with slow handwriting or spelling may find pen and paper note-taking interferes with their learning. This is because they need to focus more on the physical act of writing so it becomes harder to process new knowledge.<\/p>\n

Some neurodivergent students may also find handwriting challenging. For instance,\u00a0autistic students<\/a>\u00a0often experience difficulties with fine motor skills like handwriting. Similarly, students with\u00a0dyslexia<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0dysgraphia<\/a>\u00a0may struggle with handwriting tasks.<\/p>\n

For these students,\u00a0typing<\/a>\u00a0with features like spell-check and auto-correction can allow them to focus on understanding and fully participating in class.<\/p>\n

But for those who find both handwriting and typing equally comfortable, the research shows using a pen and paper are more effective for learning.<\/p>\n

Author Bios:<\/strong> Penny Van Bergen is Associate Professor in the Psychology of Education, Emma Burns is a ARC DECRA Fellow and Senior Lecturer, School of Education and Hua-Chen Wang is Senior Lecturer, School of Education all at Macquarie University<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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