Children learn Maths better if they do it on paper rather than computers

[IntotheNittyGritty]

I read this on a website that I was looking at recently. All the questions are printable sheets and then you input the answers. On the site it says that children remember more long term if they have worked out the solution on paper rather than the computer.

And then today there is an article in a British paper saying the same thing.

What do teachers think? Is this true? Is it a waste of time doing computer learning if children will forget it all anyway?

dO you find that children remember more if you have given them paper solutions to work out?

I am really curious about this because I am all for computerised learning

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1349090/Why-pen-mightier-keyboard-Children-write-hand-learn-better-type.html

Why are you all for computerised learning?
Do you mean that you would prefer it to replace more traditional pencil and paper methods, or that it should be the main method used, or that it should be one of several ways that children are taught?

I suppose because I cant get my own child to write anything, she learns everything (at home) via computers. School books are a disaster and totally illegible so not sure if they could be used for revision.

I have always believed that children learn through computer programmes, but these comments, to be honest, surprised me.

article link is here
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1349090/Why-pen-mightier-keyboard-Children-write-hand-learn-better-type.html

Fascinating subject. I am not a teacher, but I think it is definitely true that writing with pen and paper helps learning. It aids memorisation, it embeds it in the brain, because it is more real as it uses more senses. It's similar to the way that saying a poem out loud helps memorisation. It's to do with the rhythm, the feel, the concretisation.

Computers are good for certain things, for practice and backup, but they can't take the place of pen and paper.

perhaps schools should also use methods that parents are used to or at least show parents the new methods so they can help their kids at home.

But that might involve explaining onety, twoty, tweety to parents as opposed to ten, twenty, thirty etc. I'd be ok, because that's the way I've done it all my life. But for some parents, it could be a bridge too far.

My ds2 used to spend ages playing computerised learning games before he started school. He loved computers & still does BUT although he had a lot of knowledge + was well ahead when he started school, he literally couldn't hold his pencil and just wouldn't write on paper. He has really struggled with writing & only now in Y3 is he making any effort to write.

I truly wish he had spent less time learning via computer in the early years because every time he got a question right, for example, he would get stars, marbles or some other such reward. Unfortunately, just writing on a piece of paper was never going to equate. He is very good at Maths though & still far ahead of his age, it is literacy he finds difficult.

When I'm writing mathematical working out on paper, my thoughts just flow and writing helps my thinking.

When I'm typing it on a computer, I'm trying to hold in my head what I need to write and trying to figure out how to type the maths into the computer - typing equations etc is tricky.

So if I have to do an online worksheet, I grab a bit of paper and do my working out by hand.

As a maths teacher, I set a mix of online homework (useful for instant feedback) and written homework - to make sure that they can show their working out properly.

In the classroom though - written all the way. Maths just doesn't translate well onto a computer.

Your child may be an exception to the rule though, Gritty. If using the computer seems to work better for her, then it might be counterproductive to discourage it.

My mathematical thoughts flow better on a computer, but I write software so that's a bit different. Writing code to multiply matrices is easy, buggered if I could do it on paper!

I think you still need a mixture of learning approaches to cover all children's learning styles. Paper may well bebest for a lot of children, but you need to cover all children, and you need a range of techniques too. The research doesn't really explain all factors, so is not entirely useful.