What About Cursive--and WHAT are HAPTICS?

hap·tics

  noun pl but singular in constr \-tiks\

: a science concerned with the sense of touch, hand movements, and brain function

In an age where corporate America (aka, money machines) are selling electronic devices to babies, most everyone is thinking about the effects of raising "plugged in" children.  A great debate occurred in my state recently, when politicians (and the general public) noticed that "cursive handwriting" had essentially been removed from (or, at least not included in) the Common Core curriculum.

Does that matter?

We are in a transition; right now, most people in our population are literate in cursive (most can read it, even if they struggle with writing it).  We are decreasing the emphasis on being able to fluently write in cursive while at least trying to toe the line on being able to read it.

Cursive writing is still a part of reality, but for how long?

Whether cursive handwriting is important to brain development remains to be researched more deeply, particularly its effect (if any) on literacy acquisition (particularly in reading).

However, perhaps the power lies in the fact that "writing, itself, is a multi-modal act that involves sensory input...and motor execution."  (Kersey and James, 2013)  Handwriting involves thinking, movement control, and sensation; this is likely that "something special" that we talk about as writers--that tactile act of touching a pen to paper that seems irreplaceable.  

Some researchers believe that haptics" involved are even comparable to the benefits of playing a musical instrument! 

William Klemm, Ph.D, says, "Not everybody can afford music lessons, but everyone has access to pencil and paper.  Not everybody can afford a computer for their kids--maybe such kids are not as deprived as we would think."

THEORIES on Cursive Handwriting

Remember, these are in need of more research and this list is a summary of my current understanding of the research, which is far from "light reading."  I welcome other interpretations and love a healthy debate!

1.  One theory out there is that the act of physically gripping a writing tool and practicing the swirls, curls, and connections of cursive handwriting activates parts of the brain that lead to increased language fluency. Some people believe that this is why boys respond well to learning cursive--it uses both sides of the brain, helping to build connections between the verbal and nonverbal sides--increasing linguistic skills and neuropathways needed for most beginning readers and for stabilizing knowledge.

2.  Brain imaging studies show that more areas of the brain are accessed when writing by hand than when keyboarding.  This is particularly true for printing, as everyone has actively learned to print and can generate the letters independently to produce writing.  This is true for cursive, but only when it has been actively learned (see #4 and #5, below).

3.  Some believe that since most people have acquired basic reading skills prior to learning cursive, cursive might not impact reading acquisition in the same way that printing does.  This may also be true because most everything we read is printed (vs. in cursive).

4.  What seems to matter (according to current research) is student engagement and depth of active practice in self-generating writing in cursive.  Those who have actively learned the letters did show use of the whole brain, just as when accessing accessing information about printed letters.   Active learning means that students learned to write the letters to the point of generating them independently in their own writing ("self-generated action").

5.  Unlearned cursive letters and passively learned cursive letters (such as trying to read them without writing them) did not cause the learner to access as many areas of the brain (as printed letters).  In other words, actively learning to write cursive (and to be able to self-generate letters) used more of the whole brain vs. passively learning to read the letters or never learning them at all.

6.  According to a Psychology Today report by William Klemm, Ph.D., "Cursive writing, compared to printing, is even more beneficial because the movement tasks are more demanding, the letters are less stereotypical, and the visual recognition requirements create a broader repertoire of letter representation." This may be related to the belief that writing in cursive can help those with emotional disabilities to feel calm--much like the focus of drawing often does; however, unlike drawing, cursive has a model to which self-generated writing can be compared and evaluated, encouraging students to strive to generate letters that look similar to the model, feeling successful as gains are made.

7.  Some researchers say that there is evidence that penmanship is a foundational skill in student success, pointing to studies that show cursive writing stimulates areas of the brain unaffected by keyboarding and helps children develop skills in reading, spelling, composition, memory and critical thinking.

8.One very important study that needs to be done is on the multi-modal effect of producing handwriting while composing our own stories, essays, poems, etc.  What type of output (printing, cursive, keyboarding) produces the greatest effect on the brain?  Does it vary at different ages/levels of literacy acquisition?



What we do know:  Cursive writing helps train the brain to integrate visual and tactile information along with fine motor dexterity.  Haptics.

It's about much more than the actual cursive, just as the act of getting out of bed in the morning is about a lot more than hearing the alarm.



Resources:

http://www.iub.edu/~canlab/Publications_files/Kersey%20%26%20James%20(2013).pdf
(Note:  pp. 13-15 of this article reference their wide research)

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/memory-medic/201303/what-learning-cursive-does-your-brain

http://tdn.com/news/local/cursive-giving-way-to-other-pursuits-as-educators-debate-its/article_c0302938-4f94-11e1-af3a-0019bb2963f4.html