May 17th 2024. 12:00h. Online session. Language: Spanish.
Gorka Ibaibarriaga1, Joana Acha1, & Manuel Perea2
1Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU
2Universitat de València
Recent research has revealed that the substitution of handwriting practice for keyboarding may hinder reading development. Two hypotheses for this deleterious effect are (1) reduced graphomotor activity and (2) reduced variability in letter production. The present experiment investigated these hypotheses by orthogonally manipulating graphomotor action and variability of production. Furthermore, although learning orthographic word structures is essential for reading development, previous research has focused on letter learning. To explore these issues, 50 pre-readers learned nine symbols (first learning phase) and 16 words formed by these symbols (second learning phase) in four learning conditions: copying the artificial letters/words by hand, tracing the artificial letters/words, typing the letters/words into a computer with various fonts, and typing with a single font. Post-test tasks included naming, writing, and visually identifying the trained letters and words. A linear mixed models analysis showed that children in both graphomotor conditions (handwriting and tracing) showed higher rates of learning than children in both keyboard writing conditions, regardless of variability. These results illustrate the dramatic impact of the handwriting experience on learning alphabetic and orthographic representations, and suggest some caution in replacing pencil and paper with digital devices in the period of childhood reading acquisition.
Bio
Gorka Ibaibarriaga (Predoctoral Researcher FPU Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities) obtained a degree in Psychology from the UPV/EHU in 2020, has specialized in child development, and researches on contextual predictors of reading processes in collaboration with the ERI-Reading and the HAEZI group.
Joana Acha (Associate Professor, UPV/EHU) is a lecturer in the Department of Basic Psychological Processes and their Development at the UPV/EHU. She received her PhD in 2009 from the University of Valencia. She has been a researcher at the Basque Centre on Cognition Brain and Language in Donostia and is currently researching on the cognitive processes involved in the development of language and reading, exploring the role of the family context in their development. She combines her research work with transfer actions in the network of public schools in the Basque Country.
Manuel Perea (Full Professor, Universtitat de València) is PI of several projects developed in the ERI-Reading. His research focuses mainly on the experimental study of reading processes and how they are influenced by orthographic, phonological and semantic aspects. To this end, he uses a variety of techniques with both adult and young readers. He also pays special attention to special populations (Braille reading, deaf reading), as well as to the study of bilingualism.
