The pen is mightier than the keyboard

The use of laptops for note-taking in classrooms has become increasingly common. Many teachers believe laptops are distracting and detract from learning, while students tend to believe they are beneficial. Prior research has focused on the tendency for laptop use to enable multitasking and distraction. However, even when laptops are used solely for note-taking, they may impair learning, leading to shallower processing compared to writing notes by hand.

The paper “The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking” presents three studies examining differences in laptop versus longhand note-taking.

• Students who took notes on laptops performed worse on conceptual application questions compared to those who took notes by hand. There was no difference in performance on factual recall questions (Study 1).
• Laptop note-takers tended to transcribe lectures verbatim, while longhand note-takers engaged in more processing by rephrasing content in their own words (Studies 1-3).
• Instructing students not to take verbatim notes did not improve the performance of laptop note-takers (Study 2).
• When students did not review notes, laptop and longhand performed similarly. When able to study notes, longhand note-takers outperformed laptop note-takers (Study 3).

• Laptop notes contained more words than handwritten notes (Studies 1-3).
• Laptop notes had greater verbatim overlap with lecture content compared to handwritten notes (Studies 1-3).
• The number of notes taken positively predicted performance, but higher verbatim overlap in notes negatively predicted performance, especially on conceptual questions (Studies 1-3).

• In Study 1, students watched a TED talk lecture and took notes on a laptop or by hand. Those who took longhand notes performed significantly better on conceptual application questions.
• In Study 2, students watched a lecture and were assigned to take laptop, handwritten, or laptop notes with instructions not to transcribe verbatim. The laptop intervention group did not perform better than regular laptop note-takers.
• In Study 3, students watched lectures and took notes. Some had the opportunity to review notes before the test, while others took it immediately. The longhand-review group outperformed all others.

Although laptop users take more notes, they tend to transcribe content verbatim, representing shallow processing. Longhand note-takers rephrase information, engaging in deeper processing that supports learning, especially conceptual understanding. Instructing students to avoid verbatim notes is ineffective. Laptops may impair academic performance, even when used for their intended purpose of facilitating note-taking.

1. Do you typically take notes on a laptop or by hand? Why do you prefer that method? Would you consider changing your approach based on this research?
2. In your experience, how does the way you take notes influence your understanding and retention of information? Do you see any differences in learning outcomes when you take notes differently?
3. Given students ‘ widespread preferences for using laptops, how could teachers encourage more effective note-taking practices?