The saying “to each their own” feels especially prevalent at a liberal arts college. In a previous article, I examined how many of Kenyon’s students choose to use iPads in the classrooms — and whether they are actually helpful for students. However, there are some who consciously choose to resist technology and continue to put pen to paper, so to speak. 

One of these students is Skyler Loritz ’29. Loritz describes her gradual shift from computer notes to notebooks as a practical decision. “I would look back at it and I would be like, ‘What? I don’t remember this at all.’” The process of manually writing every letter and having the freedom to draw boxes and diagrams, she says, is helpful to her studies. 

Mallory Hobson ’27 reached the same conclusion, but from a scientific perspective. As a neuroscience major, Hobson emphasized the importance of handwritten notes, saying, “I’ve learned about the cognitive processes that go through [classroom-learning] and being able to activate more brain regions [through taking physical notes].” 

Hobson is spot on. In a study conducted by the National Library of Medicine, researchers concluded that the act of handwriting is crucial to activating a wider range of brain functions. Typing notes, on the other hand, stimulates less neural activity and is therefore much more passive. Audrey van der Meer, a professor of neuropsychology at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, examined the neural patterns associated with handwriting in a study published by the scientific journal Frontiers. In her results, van der Meer highlighted the fine motor skills that come along with writing by hand, stating, “[Handwriting] forces students to pay attention to what they are doing.” 

This sentiment is echoed by Hobson, who confessed, “When I’m on my computer … I’m not paying attention.” Loritz agrees with Hobson’s observation about laptops, saying, “I have a couple classes where a lot of students use laptops and … I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’” 

This line of thinking is not just reserved for STEM majors. Everett Lethem ’29 is a history major and he finds handwriting notes imperative for remembering information from his lectures: “For off-the-cuff memorization of dates and facts and names, it helps a lot.” Lethem stressed the importance of memory retention “for an exam or for quick recall in fast-paced situations.”

A study done by the University of California Los Angeles School of Education and Information Sciences explored discrepancies in exam results when groups of students were separated into screen-free sections or screen-use sections. The researchers found that “students who began and remained in the no-screen section  — a “never screen” group, performed best on the final exam.” 

The article illuminated the implications of distance learning during COVID-19 and the impacts that screen-based learning had on students. In the conclusion, scientists stressed the importance of using as few devices as possible during remote learning of any kind (not just during the pandemic), stating, “[Students’] exam performance will be better if they take notes by hand.” These three students mentioned feeling extremely well prepared for assignments and exams due to their note-taking skills. While personal study habits might be dependent on each individual student, there’s certainly a case here for the old-school methods.