Wed Feb 26

Laptop or pen and paper?

Written by Penny Van Bergen, Associate Professor in the Psychology of Education, Macquarie University

Once upon a time, university lectures were accompanied by the sound of pens scribbling on paper. But if you go into a lecture hall today, you will hear students tapping on laptops.

Devices are now an accepted and important part of modern learning ^[1]. But this does not necessarily mean students should forget the old-fashioned ways of taking notes.

Research shows pen and paper can help students learn and remember more from class.

The benefits of note-taking

Studies have long shown ^[2] students who take notes during a lecture, class, or while reading are able to remember more of that content later.

One reason is note-taking is more active ^[3] than listening or reading, which helps us maintain attention.

And students often go beyond just recording the information being said.

Note-taking means students are trying to understand their teacher by making assessments about what is important ^[4] in real time. They might also organise the content ^[5] into themes and sub-themes or highlight things that stand out.

These activities are examples of active engagement which strengthens the “encoding process ^[6]”: the way new knowledge moves into long-term memory and forms memory pathways.

Strong memory pathways enable knowledge to be more easily accessed later, such as when problem solving in class or doing an exam.

Taking notes during class can help keep your focus and make it easier to retain information. Matej Kastelic/Shutterstock ^[7]

Note-taking on a laptop

Research shows the kinds of notes students take when typing on a laptop differ from those taken with traditional pen and paper.

A 2018 study in the United States ^[9] found college students took longer lecture notes (both in word count and quantity of ideas) when typing on a laptop than when writing by hand. They also recorded longer sections verbatim from the lecture. This might occur because students typically type faster ^[10] than they handwrite.

However, while students are faster on a laptop, they are also likely to become distracted.

A 2021 study ^[11] of US college students used tracking software and found the average student was distracted for about half their lecture by social media, assignments, shopping and other off-task internet activities.

Note-taking with a pen

So how do pen and paper compare?

A 2024 meta-analysis ^[12] of 24 international studies showed taking lecture notes by hand resulted in stronger overall test performance and course grades for undergraduate students.

This is because handwriting engages the brain in a more active way ^[13] than typing, which is better for learning.

Students who take notes by hand ^[14] use more shorthand, visual signals (for example, bolding, underlining, arrows and stars) and images (diagrams, graphs and tables) than those who type.

Taking notes by hand is particularly helpful if a lecturer or teacher pauses during a lecture or lesson, so students can revise or add to their notes in real time. In one US study ^[15], students using longhand added three times as many new ideas to their notes during lecture pauses as laptop users did.

Notetaking on pen and paper can help students form strong connections between ideas. ABO PHOTOGRAPHY/Shutterstock ^[16]

Are there times laptops might be better?

Despite the benefits of handwriting, there are some situations where laptops may be more appropriate for note-taking.

Students who struggle with slow handwriting or spelling may find pen and paper note-taking interferes with their learning. This is because they need to focus more on the physical act of writing so it becomes harder to process new knowledge.

Some neurodivergent students may also find handwriting challenging. For instance, autistic students ^[17] often experience difficulties with fine motor skills like handwriting. Similarly, students with dyslexia ^[18] or dysgraphia ^[19] may struggle with handwriting tasks.

For these students, typing ^[20] with features like spell-check and auto-correction can allow them to focus on understanding and fully participating in class.

But for those who find both handwriting and typing equally comfortable, the research shows using a pen and paper are more effective for learning.