23  January 2015

National Handwriting Day: „It is necessary to practise motor skills“

News4teachers focuses on the growing problems with learning to write on the National Handwriting Day: Motor skill expert Dr. Christian Marquardt gives an interview.

Tag der Handschrift: „Es muss mehr Motorik geübt werden“(i.e. National Handwriting Day: „It is necessary to practise motor skills“) (Article in German)

Summary: How do children preferably learn how to write with their hand? This question is a key issue for Dr. Christian Marquardt. He has been researching for more than 25 years on this topic. His realisation: We could do a lot better. But what is good handwriting? Dr. Christian Marquardt: “You have to distinguish between the result – what is written on the paper – and the motor skill actions which are necessary for that. The curricula for primary schools define a fluent and very legible handwriting as the goal of writing lessons at primary schools. If every pupil reached this point, we wouldn't have a problem.”

For a complete translation of the interview see our press release “Understanding how writing works”.