Handwriting vs Typing: What the Research Shows

Every few months a headline announces that handwriting is better for the brain than typing. Parents then wonder whether a typing course is a mistake. The reality is more modest than the headlines, and it is worth looking at what the research actually did before changing anything at home.

What did the 2024 study find?

A team in Norway recorded brain activity from 36 university students using a cap with 256 sensors. Each student was repeatedly shown a word and asked to write it in cursive with a digital pen on a touchscreen, or to type it with one finger on a keyboard. According to the Frontiers summary, connectivity between brain regions increased during handwriting but not during typing. The researchers link this to the visual and movement information that comes from controlled hand movements with a pen.

Several features of the design matter for parents:

• The participants were university students, not children.
• Handwriting was done with a digital pen, not on paper. The authors expect paper to give the same result, but they did not test it.
• Typing meant one finger, which is quite different from using all ten.
• The study measured brain activity, not memory or marks.

The researchers suggest pupils ought to get some handwriting teaching, with chances to use pens at school. They also note that a keyboard may be more practical for long texts such as essays.

What about the study on children?

A 2020 paper looked at 12 children with an average age of about 12 and 12 young adults. All were recorded with high-density EEG while they wrote in cursive, typed or drew words. In the published paper, handwriting and drawing engaged more similar brain networks than typing did. Children showed the same general patterns as adults, but less strongly.

The authors are clear about the limits. The sample is small, and fewer usable recordings were available from children. Weaker patterns in children may simply reflect brains that are still developing. No learning or memory outcome was measured, so the link between the brain patterns and actual learning is inferred. They also state that the relevance of the typing-related patterns to learning is unclear. They argue for keeping handwriting and drawing in classrooms, and they do not call for banning digital devices.

So is handwriting better?

For some purposes, probably yes, and it deserves proper time at home and at school. But "handwriting engages more of the brain in a lab task" is a long way from "typing harms learning". Neither study followed children over time, compared exam results or tested trained touch typists. Anyone who tells you the question is settled is going beyond the evidence.

It helps to separate three different things:

1. Learning to form letters. Handwriting is the tool for this, and early practice matters.
2. Taking notes or remembering ideas. This is the claim many headlines make, but the two studies we opened here do not measure it.
3. Producing longer pieces of writing. A keyboard is faster and easier to edit once the child can use it without strain.

What does NSW teach?

Both. The Stage 1 outcome pairs a fluent, automatic and legible handwriting style with digital technology, when creating texts. By Stage 3, the syllabus asks students to navigate the keyboard efficiently and accurately and to reflect on typing accuracy and rate. The curriculum does not ask a child to choose.

There is another point worth noting. The Aalto University study of 30 adult typists identified three predictors of high typing performance, including a letter always being pressed by the same finger and preparing upcoming keystrokes. A child who types with a deliberate method is doing something quite unlike the one-finger task in the brain study.

Why the wording of headlines matters

Press coverage often compresses a careful paper into a single line, such as "handwriting makes you smarter". The scientific papers themselves are more cautious. The 2024 summary describes brain connectivity, and the 2020 paper describes brain rhythms. Neither claims that a child who handwrites more will earn better marks. When you see a headline, look for three things: who took part, what was measured, and whether anyone was followed over time. If the answers are "a small group", "electrical activity" and "no", treat the finding as an interesting lead, not as advice for your child's homework routine.

It is also fair to say that this is an active research area, and results may shift as larger studies appear. For now, the most defensible position is the one the authors themselves take: protect handwriting time, and do not panic about keyboards. The skills are covered side by side in typing in the NSW syllabus.

How to keep both skills healthy at home

• Keep a daily moment for pen and paper: a diary line, a shopping list, a thank-you note.
• Let early writers form letters by hand before spending long on the keyboard.
• Use the keyboard for drafting longer pieces and for editing.
• Avoid framing it as a contest. Children need both.

A calm next step

A typing course is meant to sit beside handwriting, not replace it. XType teaches touch typing in short staged lessons, finger by finger, and has a separate track for the youngest children. Here is the offer plainly: 7-day free trial, then A$9.99 a month or A$99.90 a year, cancel any time. Try the 30-second test first if you like. For more, see how to teach a child to touch type.