Notetaking: Handwriting versus Typing – Is one better than the other?

When laptop computers entered the classrooms, the art and skills of taking notes slowly disappeared, and the concept of using paper and a writing utensil became almost obsolete. Having started my teaching career before the invention of desktop computers, I have been and remain a strong advocate for the importance of making students write. And I have met with my share of resistance from students year after year. Still, I have held firm that they must write their H&P’s notes during the learning process. And I give short and long essay questions as part of exams.

So is one better than the other?  Well, it depends. Certainly, using a keyboard allows us to document things faster, and there is no argument that when it comes to having to read student papers and assignments, typed is much better, easier, and quicker. But, I am always concerned about the impact on learning. Given we cover a lot of material and content in a relatively short amount of time, the information needs to be comprehended and retained. Notetaking in class, online, or with reading is a big piece of that learning.

When it comes to taking notes, handwritten notes edge ahead. Although taking notes can be done faster on a computer, research shows that those who handwrite notes remember things better and outperform their keyboard counterparts on assessments (Aragon-Mendizabla, Delgado-Casas, Navarro-Guzman, Menacho-Jimenez & Romero-Oliva, 2016; Dnyarski, 2017; Mueller 2014; Smoker, Murphy & Rockwell, 2009). There has also been the argument that students who take notes using a laptop or tablet actually end up transcribing what the lecturer is saying rather than having to do any cognitive processing or synthesizing required when taking notes by hand, which leads to better retention (Dnyarski, 2017; Mueller 2014).  In another study by Duran and Frederick (2013), handwritten notes better-facilitated comprehension.

Even though the evidence for handwriting seems to have the upper hand, that doesn’t mean we should try to get students to abandon using computers. Honestly, I don’t think that would even be possible. The fact is both have their role in learning. Computers provide rapid access to information and the ability to create and link material quickly and efficiently and type information fast. One of the common disagreements I get from students is that I require them to handwrite their patient encounter notes during the didactic phase and for part of the clinical year. Here is one situation where having them handwrite their notes when they are learning how to document an encounter will help them remember the components and information that needs to be asked and documented. I can still recite the ROS because I had to handwrite it so many times during PA school. This kind of retention doesn’t happen with keyboarding.  Then, of course, there is the issue of what happens with the electronic medical record systems goes down. We don’t get to walk into the waiting room and send everyone home. We pull out a piece of paper and a pen and keep seeing patients. 

So it is not a question of which one is better. It is how to think about using both methods in such a way that fosters and supports learning. So when your students push back about handwriting, you can let them know there are some advantages to using this age-old process that can actually help them learn better, improve retention and perform better on assessments.

                                                                 References

Aragon-Mendizabal, E., Degado-Casas, C., Navarro-Guzman, J.I. Menacho-Jimenez, I., and Romero-Oliva, M. F. (2016). A comparative student of handwriting and computer typing in notetaking by university students. Media Education Research Journal, 48(26), 101-107.

Duran, K.S., and Frederick, C. M. (2013). Information comprehension: Handwritten vs. typed notes. Undergraduate Research Journal for the Human Sciences. 12. Retrieved from https://www.kon.org/urc/urc_research_journal12.html

Dynarski, S. M. (2017, August 10). For better learning in college lectures, lay down the laptop and pick up the pen. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/research/for-better-learning-in-college-lectures-lay-down-the-laptop-and-pick-up-a-pen/

Mueller, P. A. & Oppenheimer, D.M. (2014). The pen is mightier than the keyboard, Psychological Science, 25(6) 1159 – 1168.  doi:10.1177/0956797614524581

Smoker, T. J., Murphy, C. E., and Rockwell, A. K. (2009). Comparing memory for handwritten versus typing. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 53^rd Annual Meeting. Retrieved from https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.930.2682&rep=rep1&type=pdf