18 September 2016

FOUR YEARS OF SCHREIBMOTORIK INSTITUT

It’s all about motor skills! For 4 years, the independent Schreibmotorik Institut, founded in September 2012, has promoted this principle. The aim: legible, flowing and efficient handwriting without tiring. The institute has therefore pooled the special knowledge of leading experts in the motor skills, ergonomics and education fields..

A lot achieved within a short time: Surveys confirm the relevance of research

Over the last four years, the Schreibmotorik Institut has not only established important contacts in education policy, trusts, educational institutions and interlinked relevant writing institutions, but has also been successfully involved in discussions about writing by hand and learning to write.

The results of the surveys on the writing skills of pupils, completed by teachers and parents and carried out in cooperation with the Deutsche Lehrerverband [German Union of Teachers], or the Bundeselternrat [National Parents Council], underline the importance of the work of the Schreibmotorik Institut. More than 30 percent of girls and over 50 percent of boys have difficulties developing flowing and legible handwriting. All those concerned – teachers, children and parents – are looking for solutions.

The non-profit Schreibmotorik Institut conducts relevant research and develops practical methods. Several successful research projects with i.a. Saarland University and the Institut Bewegtes Lernen [Institute for Active Learning] in Vienna, as well as the exchange of ideas between international scientists from different disciplines all make it possible to gain knowledge and print it in international scientific publications.

This knowledge is readily available. This expertise is also incorporated into the development of teaching materials for teachers and primary school teachers. Publishing houses, ergotherapists, as well as ministries and institutes also value the expertise of the Schreibmotorik Institut. On the subject of handwriting, the Schreibmotorik Institut is a much sought after interview partner for journalists, and at specialist conferences, presentations on comparing graphomotor skills in Arabic, Asian and European handwriting, for example, attract a great deal of attention.

Important projects with high-profile partners

The “Handwriting 2020” campaign is a major project. It is an alliance that was launched by the Schreibmotorik Institut and the Didacta Association of the German Education Industry, and is supported by the Bundeselternrat [German Federal Parents Council]. Partners nationwide are being invited to take part. As a result of findings from teachers’ and parents’ surveys, the “Handwriting 2020” campaign aims to reduce the described problems with handwriting. The aim is to establish an extensive programme for promoting handwriting in childcare centres and schools. An initial project by the “Handwriting 2020” campaign – the “Scribble Mentor” – provides companies and their employees with the opportunity, within the framework of Corporate Social Responsibility, to get involved in projects with kindergartens, for example.

Other highlights are being planned for the upcoming didacta trade fare in February 2017 in Stuttgart, such as the “2nd International Symposium on Handwriting Skills” in November 2017 in Darmstadt, together with the Darmstadt University of Technology.