Development of early handwriting

Visual-motor control during letter copying

Bibliographic Data

ID9792176
AuthorsJennifer E Maldarelli (0009-0008-0278-2364, Tulane University, corresponding author), Björn Alexander Kahrs (Tulane University), Sarah C Hunt (0000-0003-3010-5877, Tulane University), Jeffrey J Lockman (0000-0002-3584-1921, Tulane University)
Year2015
Volume51
Issue7
Pages879-888
Publication date2015-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/a0039424
PMID26029821
PMCIDPMC4478098
OpenAlexW2185715191
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited7

Despite the importance of handwriting for school readiness and early academic progress, prior research on the development of handwriting has focused primarily on the product rather than the process by which young children write letters. In contrast, in the present work, early handwriting is viewed as involving a suite of perceptual, motor, and cognitive abilities, which must work in unison if children are to write letters efficiently. To study such coordination, head-mounted eye-tracking technology was used to investigate the process of visual-motor coordination while kindergarten children (N = 23) and adults (N = 11) copied individual letters and strings of letters that differed in terms of their phonemic properties. Results indicated that kindergarten children were able to copy single letters efficiently, as did adults. When the cognitive demands of the task increased and children were presented with strings of letters, however, their ability to copy letters efficiently was compromised: Children frequently interrupted their writing midletter, whereas they did not do so on single letter trials. Yet, with increasing age, children became more efficient in copying letter strings, in part by using vision more prospectively when writing. Taken together, the results illustrate how the coordination of perceptual, motor, and cognitive processes contributes to advances in the development of letter writing skill

Cognition · Cognitive development · Cognitive psychology · Copying · Developmental psychology · Handwriting · Motor skill · Perception · Task (project management · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development · Tactile and Sensory Interactions · Writing and Handwriting Education

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