Writing an essay under time constraints is certainly not a pleasant experience. Neither is writing a five-page long homework packet that requires one to trawl through textbooks and notes. For many students, these experiences seem all too familiar and tedious.
Although these experiences may be difficult at the moment, the long-term benefits of writing essays and assignments on paper are crucial for education. These include benefits in retaining knowledge written down and improving one’s thought process, skills which facilitate learning beyond the assignment. As such, recent shifts toward fully digitizing the classroom should be taken more gradually and even reconsidered in some aspects.
In 2023, the College Board made the decision to begin administering AP exams via the computer, using their Bluebook application. As a result, classes at McLean High School began relying on the computer more frequently for assignments. Tests and homework, which were previously done on paper, were now to be completed online.
While it is true that using digital platforms for assessments and assignments make it easier to grade and compile, the potential impact on the student learning experience should not be ignored. Although writing down information on paper is slower and more tedious than on a computer, it is better for information retention in the long-term. The skills that one learns and acquires through writing on paper are crucial, even more so in the context of higher-level classes.
According to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, when comparing groups using paper to record information to those who used a tablet or a phone, the group that used paper could respond to questions about the information with higher accuracy. This is especially important for students who may be facing large amounts of information that they must memorize for tests and quizzes. While it may seem that taking the notes on paper takes more time, there is a more positive effect in the long term.
At the same time, the slower speed in which paper note-taking happens can be beneficial.
Research published by the Association for Psychological Science found that individuals who took notes by hand wrote down significantly fewer words than those using laptops, writing 158 words less on average for a given period of time. However, these notes tended to reflect one’s own thinking, being much more in-depth. Notes taken by hand were found to have 57% less overlap with the content that participants were to take notes on. This was in contrast to those who used laptops, with notes that reflected lecture material verbatim rather than original thought and comprehension.
Even as technologies such as artificial intelligence reach an unprecedented level of development, it is unlikely that paper will disappear any time soon. This means that students will very likely have to write down their thoughts and record information on paper even after graduating from high school. Skills such as summarization and conciseness are especially important to learn early on as the ability to efficiently and accurately understand information will be crucial regardless of one’s career.
The difficulty that comes with writing on paper could be considered part of courses such as AP classes. After all, these classes are made to be more challenging than regular courses. That means summarizing information and giving responses to prompts in a clear and concise manner that is well thought out. Erasing information on paper is much more difficult than pressing the Backspace key on a keyboard.
This is not to say that technology should not have a role in the classroom. Technology is much more flexible in some regards and more compact. Instead of hastily trying to transition everything over to the computer, much like the pandemic era, educators need to consider balancing the presence of paper and technology so that students get the best educational experience possible.
Students should be encouraged to think quickly and react to information; This purpose is fulfilled in the classroom through the use of paper.
