{"id":14625,"date":"2023-01-20T09:17:31","date_gmt":"2023-01-20T00:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/?p=14625"},"modified":"2023-01-20T09:17:33","modified_gmt":"2023-01-20T00:17:33","slug":"note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better?"},"content":{"rendered":"

IB students are the iGen, so you probably can\u2019t imagine working without a laptop. This begs the question \u2013 is it better to take notes by hand on paper or typing on a laptop? Let’s review the research.<\/p>\n

Let’s first look at Mueller and Oppenheimer’s now famous study “the pen is mightier than the keypad:”<\/p>\n

In this quasi-experiment, 67 students from Princeton University participated and were asked to take notes on a lecture. The students were told to take notes how they normally would (typing on a laptop or by writing notes by hand). Afterwards, they were given a test on the content of the lecture. The results showed that there was not much difference in remembering facts from the lectures. However, there was a significant difference in test scores based on conceptual understanding (comprehending the meaning and significance of the facts) \u2013 those that wrote notes by hand had better scores on these questions. This suggests that using technology to take notes might affect our ability to remember and understand important ideas about what we are learning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Notes have two functions \u2013 an encoding function and a storing function. The encoding function of notes is that in the act of note-taking, you\u2019re going to process the information more deeply and this helps you to retain it. The encoding hypothesis<\/strong> can explain the above results as Mueller and Oppenheimer note that this theory \u201c\u2026suggests that the processing that occurs during the act of note taking improves learning and retention.\u201d When you type notes with a laptop you can probably type quite fast, so you might copy verbatim (word-for-word) what\u2019s being said. However, when writing by hand you have to listen carefully for the key ideas and filter out the rest. This level of processing information will improve your memory of it.<\/p>\n

The second function of notes is that they store the information for later revision. According to the external storage hypothesis<\/strong>, students who take good notes will do better in tests because they can use these notes to review. The positive effects of using notes as an external storage of information for later review \u201cis robust and uncontroversial\u201d (6).<\/p>\n

Tip: <\/em><\/strong>This material can be used for the effects of technology on the reliability <\/strong>of cognitive processes, as reliability is \u201c\u2026the quality of being trustworthy or dependable\u201d (Oxford Dictionary of Psychology). Therefore, studies on memory scores show how reliable one\u2019s memory is.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The other simple explanation is that laptops have distractions. We come back to cognitive load. One study using classroom observations found that students using laptops in class were only on task 37% of the time (the rest of the time they were doing other things like using social media) (7). Other studies have found that students do better on final tests when laptops aren\u2019t allowed in the classroom (8). Other studies have found direct effects of open tabs in browser windows and scores of attention and memory (9).<\/p>\n

If you really want to know what\u2019s happening in the mind<\/em><\/strong> it\u2019s a good idea to investigate the brain<\/em><\/strong>. The differences in effects of encoding information on memory have been studied using fMRIs. Studies on children have investigated how handwriting vs. typing involves different areas of the brain. These studies show that handwriting connects more visual and motor networks in the brain (10). A recent study in Japan showed similar results.<\/p>\n

Note taking and brain activity (Umejima et al., 2021)<\/strong>: In this experiment, 48 Japanese college students read two fictional dialogues between people, one discussing personal matters and the other academic matters. The dialogues included mentions of numerous daily scheduled appointments. The participants had to take note of these appointments. They were then were randomly allocated to one of three conditions \u2013 writing the appointments in a paper notebook (i.e. a diary), a smartphone (a Google Nexus), or a tablet (an iPad). They were then placed in an fMRI and given a distraction task \u2013 listening to a Japanese story and then answering comprehension questions. Exactly one hour after they heard the initial dialogues, they were then given a memory test of the appointments. The results showed that even though the notebook group took less time to write the details of the appointments, their memory for easier questions was greater than the other groups. The fMRI results showed all participants had activity in their hippocampi and areas of their prefrontal cortices, but this activation was higher in the notebook group. These findings suggest technology used when encoding information (i.e. taking notes) can affect memory because of differences in brain activity during retrieval.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Umejima et al. argue that the improved memory in the notebook group could be caused by the use of real paper as it provides \u201cmore concrete encoding information\u201d compared to technology like a tablet or phone where information on the same screen can be instantly erased. The actual process of writing it down on paper you can touch that can\u2019t easily be erased creates deeper encoding, engaging the brain more deeply and thus creating a stronger memory of the information. They conclude that these findings are important in the world of e-learning as \u201c\u2026the expanded use of mobile devices or computers could undercut the use of traditional textbooks and paper notebooks, which may in fact provide richer information from the perspective of memory encoding.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

However, if you like taking notes on your laptop, perhaps it\u2019s not all bad news. In a recent replication of Mueller and Oppenheimer\u2019s original study, Morehead et al. (2019) asked the question \u201cHow Much Mightier is the Pen than the Keyboard for Note-Taking?\u201d They believe that the conclusions of a superior note-taking method are premature for two reasons. Firstly, some recent studies have shown a laptop superiority effect which contradict the original study. However, these studies were not direct <\/em>replications of the original. We cannot make bold conclusions about effects without first replicating findings to establish test-retest reliability. This is the second reason Morehead and her colleagues wanted to replicate the original.<\/p>\n

How much mightier is the pen than the keypad? (Morehead et al., 2019): <\/strong>\u00a0The major aim of this study was to perform a direct replication of the original by Mueller and Oppenheimer. They followed the same methods, including using the same lectures and test questions. However, they added another two conditions – one group used eWriters for taking notes and another didn\u2019t take notes. They also did an immediate (same day) test like the original but added another test two days later. Before this second test, students were given 7 minutes to study their notes. One set of results were reversed from the original \u2013 handwritten notes were better for factual information but there were no differences in conceptual information recall. There were also no differences across the three note-taking groups when they were allowed to review their notes. Their general conclusion is that while they found some evidence to support the original study, as to which note-taking method is the best, they \u201c\u2026argue that the available evidence does not provide a definitive answer to this question.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Regardless of the technology involved, the key to effective studying is to engage your cognitive resources as much as possible on the task at hand and block out the rest. Figuring out how you can process the information deeply, making connections to your existing schema, and forming personal and relevant meaning from the content will give you a greater chance of remembering it. Perhaps then the goal isn\u2019t to think about the test if you don\u2019t really care about grades, but rather think about how you\u2019re studying might be useful in real life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

IB students are the iGen, so you probably can\u2019t imagine working without a laptop. This begs the question \u2013 is it better to take notes by hand on paper or typing on a laptop? Let’s review the research. Let’s first look at Mueller and Oppenheimer’s now famous study “the pen is mightier than the keypad:” In this quasi-experiment, 67 students … <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14628,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,103,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cognitive-psychology","category-ib-psychology-hl-extensions","category-revision-and-exam-preparation"],"yoast_head":"\nNote taking: Is typing or handwriting better? | The IB Psychology Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover the surprising effects of taking notes by hand or on a laptop, backed by research. Learn how to improve memory and comprehension for better results.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better? | The IB Psychology Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover the surprising effects of taking notes by hand or on a laptop, backed by research. Learn how to improve memory and comprehension for better results.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The IB Psychology Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/themanticeducation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-20T00:17:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-20T00:17:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Travis Dixon\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Travis Dixon\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Travis Dixon\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de20f76afd22df7d71e141ab515c0827\"},\"headline\":\"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better?\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-20T00:17:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-20T00:17:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1275,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1\",\"articleSection\":[\"Cognitive Psychology\",\"IB Psychology HL Extensions\",\"Revision and Exam Preparation\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/\",\"name\":\"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better? | The IB Psychology Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-20T00:17:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-20T00:17:33+00:00\",\"description\":\"Discover the surprising effects of taking notes by hand or on a laptop, backed by research. Learn how to improve memory and comprehension for better results.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1\",\"width\":800,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Don't let your confirmation bias affect your interpretation of the research in this blog!\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/20\\\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/\",\"name\":\"IB Psychology\",\"description\":\"by Themantic Education\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Themantic Education\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/them-ed-logo.png?fit=1465%2C1858&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2019\\\/06\\\/them-ed-logo.png?fit=1465%2C1858&ssl=1\",\"width\":1465,\"height\":1858,\"caption\":\"Themantic Education\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/facebook.com\\\/themanticeducation\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/youtube.com\\\/c\\\/themanticeducation\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/de20f76afd22df7d71e141ab515c0827\",\"name\":\"Travis Dixon\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ee7465953db9edfb653802c2423ee0be4456f3cf73a4ae4032bdda760a9a5e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ee7465953db9edfb653802c2423ee0be4456f3cf73a4ae4032bdda760a9a5e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/6ee7465953db9edfb653802c2423ee0be4456f3cf73a4ae4032bdda760a9a5e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Travis Dixon\"},\"description\":\"Travis Dixon has been teaching for over 20 years and is an experienced IB Psychology, History and English teacher, author, workshop leader and examiner\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.themantic-education.com\\\/ibpsych\\\/author\\\/tdixon\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better? | The IB Psychology Blog","description":"Discover the surprising effects of taking notes by hand or on a laptop, backed by research. Learn how to improve memory and comprehension for better results.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better? | The IB Psychology Blog","og_description":"Discover the surprising effects of taking notes by hand or on a laptop, backed by research. Learn how to improve memory and comprehension for better results.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/","og_site_name":"The IB Psychology Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/themanticeducation\/","article_published_time":"2023-01-20T00:17:31+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-20T00:17:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":800,"height":400,"url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Travis Dixon","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Travis Dixon","Estimated reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/"},"author":{"name":"Travis Dixon","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#\/schema\/person\/de20f76afd22df7d71e141ab515c0827"},"headline":"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better?","datePublished":"2023-01-20T00:17:31+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-20T00:17:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/"},"wordCount":1275,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","articleSection":["Cognitive Psychology","IB Psychology HL Extensions","Revision and Exam Preparation"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/","url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/","name":"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better? | The IB Psychology Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","datePublished":"2023-01-20T00:17:31+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-20T00:17:33+00:00","description":"Discover the surprising effects of taking notes by hand or on a laptop, backed by research. Learn how to improve memory and comprehension for better results.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","width":800,"height":400,"caption":"Don't let your confirmation bias affect your interpretation of the research in this blog!"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/01\/20\/note-taking-is-typing-or-handwriting-better\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Note taking: Is typing or handwriting better?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/","name":"IB Psychology","description":"by Themantic Education","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#organization","name":"Themantic Education","url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/06\/them-ed-logo.png?fit=1465%2C1858&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/06\/them-ed-logo.png?fit=1465%2C1858&ssl=1","width":1465,"height":1858,"caption":"Themantic Education"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/facebook.com\/themanticeducation\/","https:\/\/youtube.com\/c\/themanticeducation\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/#\/schema\/person\/de20f76afd22df7d71e141ab515c0827","name":"Travis Dixon","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ee7465953db9edfb653802c2423ee0be4456f3cf73a4ae4032bdda760a9a5e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ee7465953db9edfb653802c2423ee0be4456f3cf73a4ae4032bdda760a9a5e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6ee7465953db9edfb653802c2423ee0be4456f3cf73a4ae4032bdda760a9a5e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Travis Dixon"},"description":"Travis Dixon has been teaching for over 20 years and is an experienced IB Psychology, History and English teacher, author, workshop leader and examiner","url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/author\/tdixon\/"}]}},"yoast":{"focuskw":"note-taking methods","title":"","metadesc":"Discover the surprising effects of taking notes by hand or on a laptop, backed by research. Learn how to improve memory and comprehension for better results.","linkdex":"","metakeywords":"","meta-robots-noindex":"","meta-robots-nofollow":"","meta-robots-adv":"","canonical":"","redirect":"","opengraph-title":"","opengraph-description":"","opengraph-image":"","twitter-title":"","twitter-description":"","twitter-image":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/bigstock-Student-Desk-Top-View-Teenage-382703105.png?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11620,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2019\/01\/22\/technology-and-memory-the-negative-effects-of-digital-technology-on-memory-1-and-key-studies\/","url_meta":{"origin":14625,"position":0},"title":"Technology and Memory: The negative effects of digital technology on memory #1 (and key studies)","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"01\/22\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The following has been adapted from our exam revision book: IB Psychology: A Revision Guide (available here). This is relevant for the working memory model and also for the HL extension: the (negative) effects of technology on cognitive processes and the reliability of cognitive processes. In this post we look\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cognitive Psychology"","block_context":{"text":"Cognitive Psychology","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/cognitive-psychology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/01\/bigstock-Hands-Typing-On-The-Laptop-Key-242859022.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/01\/bigstock-Hands-Typing-On-The-Laptop-Key-242859022.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/01\/bigstock-Hands-Typing-On-The-Laptop-Key-242859022.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/01\/bigstock-Hands-Typing-On-The-Laptop-Key-242859022.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7170,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2017\/08\/22\/top-5-tips-for-ib-psych-success\/","url_meta":{"origin":14625,"position":1},"title":"Top 5 Tips for IB Psych’ Success","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"08\/22\/2017","format":false,"excerpt":"As a short review activity to begin my first Grade 12 (Year Two) class for the year I asked my students to come up with \"5 Tips for IB Psych' Success\" that I could then share with the Grade 11 (Year One) students. I thought their list was pretty spot-on,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Revision and Exam Preparation"","block_context":{"text":"Revision and Exam Preparation","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/revision-and-exam-preparation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/08\/bigstock-the-excellence-five-golden-sta-165542858.jpg?fit=900%2C543&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/08\/bigstock-the-excellence-five-golden-sta-165542858.jpg?fit=900%2C543&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/08\/bigstock-the-excellence-five-golden-sta-165542858.jpg?fit=900%2C543&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/08\/bigstock-the-excellence-five-golden-sta-165542858.jpg?fit=900%2C543&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14668,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2023\/04\/21\/1-best-study-tip-for-ib-psych-write-things-down\/","url_meta":{"origin":14625,"position":2},"title":"#1 Best Study Tip for IB Psych: Write Things Down","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"04\/21\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Only 3% of IB Psychologists will get a 7. That means if your goal is a 7, you need to be working harder than 97% of all other IB Psychologists. Are you? If you\u2019ve read the other 9 exam tips, you might be. Following this final tip could be the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Revision and Exam Preparation"","block_context":{"text":"Revision and Exam Preparation","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/revision-and-exam-preparation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/notebook-writing-blur-notepad-pattern-paper-950574-pxhere.com_.jpg?fit=1181%2C787&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/notebook-writing-blur-notepad-pattern-paper-950574-pxhere.com_.jpg?fit=1181%2C787&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/notebook-writing-blur-notepad-pattern-paper-950574-pxhere.com_.jpg?fit=1181%2C787&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/notebook-writing-blur-notepad-pattern-paper-950574-pxhere.com_.jpg?fit=1181%2C787&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/notebook-writing-blur-notepad-pattern-paper-950574-pxhere.com_.jpg?fit=1181%2C787&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15759,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2026\/02\/18\/four-practicals-one-topic\/","url_meta":{"origin":14625,"position":3},"title":"FOUR Practicals, ONE Topic","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"02\/18\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The IB's recommended a different practical for each of the four contexts. However, they recently confirmed that this is only a suggestion. There's nothing stopping us from running the four practicals on the same topic and context. In this blog post, I'll outline one potential idea for running four practicals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Assessment (IB)"","block_context":{"text":"Assessment (IB)","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/assessment-ib\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/308154d3-a5f6-4006-bb15-9251a5fde311.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/308154d3-a5f6-4006-bb15-9251a5fde311.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/308154d3-a5f6-4006-bb15-9251a5fde311.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/308154d3-a5f6-4006-bb15-9251a5fde311.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/02\/308154d3-a5f6-4006-bb15-9251a5fde311.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11829,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2019\/02\/22\/ib-psychology-grade-boundaries-new-curriculum-feb-2019\/","url_meta":{"origin":14625,"position":4},"title":"IB Psychology – Grade Boundaries New Curriculum (Feb 2019)","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"02\/22\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Are you wondering what you need to do to get a 7 in IB Psychology?It's a bit tough to say exactly because as of now (February 2019) we have not had any exams for this new curriculum. But as I'm marking my students' mock exams I have also created the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Assessment (IB)"","block_context":{"text":"Assessment (IB)","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/assessment-ib\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/bigstock-Grade-Results-Set-Hand-Drawn-281851342.jpg?fit=900%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/bigstock-Grade-Results-Set-Hand-Drawn-281851342.jpg?fit=900%2C798&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/bigstock-Grade-Results-Set-Hand-Drawn-281851342.jpg?fit=900%2C798&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2019\/02\/bigstock-Grade-Results-Set-Hand-Drawn-281851342.jpg?fit=900%2C798&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13639,"url":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/2021\/01\/06\/over-100-flashcards-for-ib-psychology-now-available\/","url_meta":{"origin":14625,"position":5},"title":"Over 100 Flashcards for IB Psychology NOW AVAILABLE!","author":"Travis Dixon","date":"01\/06\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Flashcards you can hold in your hand are infinitely better than digital ones. Now you can have over 100 flashcards specifically designed for IB Psychology students. BUY YOURS HERE! The flashcard pack contains: 72 studies 34 key terms 9 theories and models Now you don't need to spend hours and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Revision and Exam Preparation"","block_context":{"text":"Revision and Exam Preparation","link":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/category\/revision-and-exam-preparation\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/01\/Flashcards-mockup-1-1.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/01\/Flashcards-mockup-1-1.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/01\/Flashcards-mockup-1-1.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/01\/Flashcards-mockup-1-1.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/01\/Flashcards-mockup-1-1.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14625"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14630,"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14625\/revisions\/14630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.themantic-education.com\/ibpsych\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}