Typing Vs Writing Notes: The Psychology Behind It

To write or not write? To type or not type? Students now have two options of note-taking: the classic paper and pen method, and just plain typing them out on a word document, or on a note taking application, such as OneNote. Some educators swear by traditional methods of note-taking, saying that writing your notes is far better than typing them. However, what is the psychology behind it? 

     According to a study done at Princeton University, students who took notes on a notebook as opposed to a laptop while watching a TED Talk did significantly better on a quiz following. Additionally, students who wrote out their notes tended to write less, and shorthanded them. On the contrary, students who typed their notes wrote down content verbatim. Perhaps students who write out their notes have more leeway when it comes to drawing out diagrams and pictures, which enforces visual memory. The dual coding theory states that human cognition is divided into the two systems. These two systems are the non- verbal/ visual processing and the verbal processing systems. For instance, hearing the word “cat” allows a person to code for the identification of a cat, as well as a person seeing a cat or a picture of it. Using both processing systems to memorize information can be extremely useful, as the student has options of recalling. Hence why some will stress the use of hand written notes, as it allows students to write down ideas to repeat (what we call “rehearsing”!) and draw pictures to visualize certain concepts.

   However, several note taking applications allow students to “draw” with a special enabled cursor or digital pen. I myself do this very often, sometimes even writing out words with the digital pen. Most people are concerned with the broad idea of digital note-taking replacing traditional pen and paper note-taking. Yet, we still have more in regards to the differences in cognitive processes between the two to find out. Do you prefer to write your notes or type them? Ultimately, does it make a difference? Only time will tell. 

Source: The Pen Is Mightier Than The Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking