STUDY: Students Who Take Notes by Hand Have Higher GPA

Turns out if you want to study right, you should put on music and make handwritten notes!

A recent poll asked 2,000 U.S. parents whether or not they’ve noticed a preference for digital or analog studying habits in their children between six and 18 years-old, and although typing proved slightly more popular than handwriting (34% vs. 30%), those who preferred to write things down by hand had noticeably higher grades.

The reason might be because kids who handwrite their notes seemed more capable of remembering information they have read (98% vs. 67%) and finishing assignments on time (74% vs. 55%). Not small margins.

Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Five Star, the survey also finds other interesting correlations between how students write and how they behave. According to their parents, left-handed children favored handwriting more frequently (57%) than right-handed ones (30%), who prefer to use a keyboard (46% vs 33%). Kids who preferred typing were also significantly more likely to favor the two-handed “homekey” method (46%), while kids who write by hand tend to “hunt and peck” with two fingers (60%).

Those who write longhand tended to have the following traits:

• 75% introverted
• 73% more left-brained

While those with no preference were most likely to be:

• 33% extroverted
• 21% right-brained

Regardless of personality differences, 53% of parents feel their child’s grades have improved since the 2019-2020 school year – although parents of longhand writers (87%) noticed the most improvement overall.

When asked which study aids provided their kids with the greatest benefits, parents reported that in-person study groups (33%) and handwritten notes (32%) seemed nearly as ubiquitous as more technology-heavy options like interactive quizzes (37%), video lessons (36%), and online tools (35%). Although most parents surveyed were confident in their children’s overall abilities, they were more likely to rate those abilities higher if their children preferred handwriting their notes.

“Studies show that things like flashcards, interactive games, study groups, or guided sessions help kids excel in and out of the classroom,” says Jessica Hodges, vice-president of marketing for Five Star, in a statement. “Finding a virtual study tool can be a great way to make learning fun and engaging for students today.”

Combine that with the other study about listening to music helping grades and you’ve got a recipe for improving your study habits!

Source: https://bit.ly/3QSdpIG