The Benefits of Teaching Cursive in Montessori by Jason Phillips M ontessori continues to teach finger; that is, the activity incorporates a The relationship between kinesthetic cursive handwriting, even in kinesthetic quality that provides a multi- activity and learning is reinforced by this digital age, and discus- sensory dimension to learning. Children Anne Mangen and Jean-Luc Velay in sions about the best ways to integrate are learning the beginning elements of “Digitizing Literacy: Reflections on the technology (or not) into Montessori writing before (or at the same time) as Haptics of Writing” (haptics involves are ongoing. The question of teaching they are approaching rudimentary read- communication by touch). Mangen and cursive writing comes up a lot, from ing levels, and the tactile component Valey say, “Perception and motor action parents, other educators, and within the provides a strong learning benefit. are closely connected and, indeed, reciprocally dependent...Research in Montessori community itself. I thought I’d take a look at what Maria Montes- In The Formation of Man, Maria Montes- experimental psychology, evolutionary sori, some brain and learning research sori discusses the kinesthetic preparation psychology, and cognitive anthropol- experts, and some of Dundas Valley for writing provided by Casa materials: ogy...has convincingly demonstrated Montessori School’s guides have to say “The hand can be prepared directly to the vital role of haptic exploration of on the subject. trace the signs of the alphabet by the help tangible objects in human learning and of the tactile and muscular senses, not by cognitive development.” In “Hardwired for Writing: The Intelligence that of sight.” It is important to experi- of the Hand,” DeeDee Hughes, Manag- ence the physical act of forming letters by Using the hand to form cursive letters ing Editor of Living Education, refer- writing them, not just by seeing them. and words addresses the need to both see ences a number of experts (two of whom She discusses the benefit of such learning and physically experience writing. “Var- were featured in an earlier Toronto Star in Montessori’s Own Handbook, where ious data converge to indicate that the article by Andrea Gordon) and a 2009 she says, “We have already seen that the cerebral representation of letters might study from the University of Washing- purpose of the word is to fix ideas and to not be strictly visual,” say Mangen and ton, “Comparison of Pen and Keyboard facilitate the elementary comprehension Velay, echoing Montessori’s Forma- Transcription Modes in Children With and of things.” The physical act of forming tion of Man, “but might be based on Without Learning Disabilities.” Hughes words on the page helps us to not only a complex neural network including asks an important question relevant to develop better handwriting; it also helps a sensorimotor component acquired Montessori: “What is the difference us to develop the neural networks that while learning concomitantly to read between handwriting and typing, and how become memories and knowledge. and write.” As the authors of the University of As is often the case, contemporary research Instruction in cursive begins very early Washington study say, “Forming a evidence is supporting what Montessori for children in Montessori schools. The written word letter by letter by pen may figured out one hundred years ago. Sandpaper Letter materials, for example, leave a stronger memory trace for writ- are an integral part of teaching children ten words than does producing a word A multi-sensory approach to teach- the sounds letters make, while also letter by letter by keyboard in beginning ing and learning results in a significant providing a tactile association as each and developing writers.” amount of cognitive activity and devel- does each impact learning and memory?” cursive letter shape is traced with the 6 opment. As was pointed out in Gordon’s © MO N T E SSO R I L E A DE R SH I P | W W W. M O NTESSORI.ORG/IMC | VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 w 2013 2009 Toronto Star article, “The Death of whose studies were, “Among the first Regarding brain development, the Uni- Handwriting,” Dr. Norman Doidge of of their kind, [and] show that while versity of Washington researchers note: the University of Toronto’s Department the left visual word form area perceives of Psychiatry, and the Research Faculty and decodes words for their meaning in “A complicating factor in com- at Columbia University’s Center for written language, the right side is where paring writing by pen and by key- Psychoanalytic Training and Research we interpret the style of writing, allow- board is the fact that we use only in New York, “Fears that if cursive ing us to identify the writer rather than one hand when writing by pen but fades away, so will cognitive skills that the word, just as neighbouring areas in two hands when writing by key- handwriting builds. If children don’t the right brain play a key role in allow- board. Only the contralateral ce- learn those movements, their brains will ing us to recognize faces. As soon as that rebral hemisphere regulates one develop in a different way that no one recognition kicks in, it activates what’s writing hand, but two contralateral cerebral hemispheres are involved The physical act of forming words on the page helps us to not only develop better handwriting; it also helps us to develop the neural networks that become memories and knowledge. when writing by two hands; coordinating the two hemispheres requires a white fiber tract commissure (corpus callosum), which may not be fully myelinated until the middle school years or later (age 11 and above).” Trying to make young children type has really thought through.” When a known as a memory trace (a biochemical before their brains are physically capa- child types or prints, he produces a letter alteration in the brain created by some- ble of accomplishing the task can be as the same way each time. In cursive, thing learned) and fans out, setting off pointless as it is frustrating for the child. however, each letter connects slightly other sensory memories. Once triggered As the evidence above shows us, though, differently to the next, which is more by perception (whether of a face, a voice, learning the cursive forms of letters and demanding on the part of the brain that or handwriting), memory reverber- words at a young age provides a multi- converts symbol sequences into motor ates through all the senses and in all the tude of benefits. movements in the hand. That is simi- corridors of your brain, bringing back lar to the way a child translates symbol emotions, knowledge, all the different At DVMS, we see a few other advan- sequences into motor movements of the facets of information and experiences tages. Throughout our language and mouth and tongue in order to talk or with that person stored from the past,” literacy education at all levels, we try to movements of the eye in order to read. Barton says. present an understanding of language as a construct – something that humans That’s why Doidge says, “Practising the complex demands of cursive also builds Cursive makes the brain work, which use to build meaningful messages. In fluency in speaking and reading.” makes the brain develop, which is a sig- this context, when kids are learning nificant part of learning. Mangen and cursive, they are learning that, in order Gordon also cites Dr. Jason Barton, Valey assure, “Studies confirmed that to make words, the sounds of each letter Director of Clinical Neuro-ophthal- letters or characters learned through need to be joined together. Writing in mology and Director of the Human typing were subsequently recognized cursive provides a visual and kinesthetic Vision and Eye Movement Laboratory less accurately than letters or characters experience of the practice of construct- at the University of British Columbia, written by hand.” ing things that mean something. VO LU ME 1 5 I SSU E 2 w 2 0 1 3 | WWW.MONTESSORI.ORG/IMC | © MONTESSORI LEADERSHIP 7 Learning cursive, it turns out, offers a REFERENCES multitude of benefits to early learners. There is, however, still room for com- Berninger, V., Abbot, R., Augsburger, A. puters and keyboarding. When humans & Garcia, N. (2009, Summer). Compari- learned to write, both our cultures and son of Pen and Keyboard Transcription the physical structures of our brains Modes in Children With and Without Pat MacIsaac, Casa South guide at changed as we shifted from using our Learning Disabilities. Learning Disability DVMS, also points out that cursive oral and aural senses to communicate Quarterly 32.3, 123-141. handwriting “best mimics what the to using our visual and tactile senses. child does naturally.” Pat notes that The steady march of technological Gordon, A. The Death of Handwrit- when children draw or act out writing, progress has brought us to a point of ing. they do not form geometric, print-like change again. Nobody really knows Star. Retrieved from Life/Parent. the- shapes; they tend to form looping, con- how our minds and cultures will change star.com. nected shapes. Pat also notes, “Cursive as we continue to develop new means parent/2009/12/10/the_death_of_hand- makes complete words, rather than sepa- and methods of communicating. For writing.html rate letters [of print].” Again, the cursive Montessori schools, it is important to writing is more visually and kinestheti- negotiate a balance between progress Hughes, D. (2012, Winter). Hardwired cally instructive. and what we know works. Cursive still for Writing: The Intelligence of the Hand. holds many advantages for learning and Living Education, vol. 100, oakmeadow. Casa East director Holly Schefold reit- development, and all we can do is look com/newsletter. Retrieved from http:// erates Pat’s thinking, and adds that with to current evidence to determine how www.oakmeadow.com/newsletter/2012- cursive, “It is harder to mix up letters our programs can best evolve. hardwired-for-writing.php issue for a lot of kids learning to write.” In that spirit, a final word from DVMS’s Mangen, A. & Velay, J. (2010, April). Zadeh Another significant advantage of writ- Upper Elementary Director Kathleen M. (Ed.). Digitizing Literacy: Reflections ing in cursive has to do with quality and MacKinnon: on the Haptics of Writing. Advances in (2009, December 10).Toronto http://www.thestar.com/life/ such as b and d, and p and q, which is an Haptics. New York: Intech. www.inte- quantity of work. This point is highlighted in the University of Washington “Cursive is something that has to chopen.com. www.intechopen.com/ study: be learned. Print is everywhere, books/advances-in-haptics. and they are exposed to it all the from http://www.intechopen.com/books/ “The relative advantage of the pen time. Cursive has to be taught, so advances-in-haptics/digitizing-literacy- over the keyboard has been found it is a great opportunity for learn- reflections-on-the-haptics-of-writing for three different outcomes at the ing. Although sometimes at the text level of production in ele- Upper Elementary level, you do Montessori, M. The Formation of Man mentary-school children: (a) essay get chances to teach kids to form (1955). Oxford, UK: Clio Press Ltd., 1996. writing for amount written and print letters properly, and if you Montessori, M. Dr. Montessori’s Own rate of word production in second, walk into the adolescent rooms, Handbook (1914). New York: Shocken fourth, and sixth grade (first re- you see how they gravitate to com- Books, 1965. search aim of current study); (b) puters.” number of complete sentences in essays (second research aim of current study); and (c) number of ideas expressed in essays.” 8 © MO N T E SSO R I L E A DE R SH I P | W W W. M O NTESSORI.ORG/IMC | VOLUME 15 ISSUE 2 w 2013 Retrieved