Uppeldi og menntun - 01.01.2014, Page 75

Uppeldi og menntUn/icelandic JoUrnal of edUcation 23(1) 2014 75
ragnHeiðUr karLsDÓTTir og ÞÓrarinn sTefánsson
Þórarinn Stefánsson (thorarinn.stefansson@simnet.is) var dósent í eðlisverkfræði við
Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet í Þrándheimi. Hann lauk prófi í
eðlisverkfræði árið 1966 frá Norges tekniske høgskole í Þrándheimi og doktorsprófi
þaðan í tilraunalegri eðlisfræði árið 1976. Aðalrannsóknarsvið hans var tilraunalegar
rannsóknir á eðli jónaðra gasa. Hann hefur einnig þróað aðferðir fyrir verklega raun-
vísindakennslu, rannsakað myndun dumbrar þekkingar og þróun rithandar hjá börn-
um. Hann fæst nú við rannsóknir og kennslu í námssálarfræði.
Development of handwriting proficiency in compulsory
school children: A longitudinal study 1999–2005
abstract
In an attempt to reduce an alleged growing handwriting dysfunction among chil-
dren in Icelandic schools an un-looped cursive style replaced a looped cursive style
as a model alphabet for handwriting instruction in the period 1984–1990. This study
surveys the results of this exchange and its influence on handwriting dysfunction.
The progress in handwriting proficiency of 160 children from ten school classes in
Reykjavík was monitored in a longitudinal experimental design over a period of six
years. To estimate the children’s readiness for learning handwriting a test of visual
motor integration was given at the beginning of Grade 1. The handwriting quality for
each child was measured at the end of each grade from Grades 1–6 and the handwrit-
ing speed at the end of each grade in Grades 3–6. Handwriting quality was measured
by analysing handwriting samples where the quality of each individual letter form was
judged as correctly or incorrectly written in comparison to the corresponding letter
form as given by the model alphabet. The quality score for a handwriting sample
was given as the fraction of correctly written letter forms in the sample. Handwriting
speed was measured by counting the number of letters written over a period of two
minutes. By averaging the quality and speed scores for individual handwriting sam-
ples at each grade, average developmental profiles for handwriting quality and speed
were established. By averaging the quality scores given for each letter form the results
of the teaching of each individual letter form could be established.
The average developmental profile for handwriting quality showed that progress
is fast during the first year of cursive handwriting instruction in Grade 2 when the
children on the average learned to write 17.4 letterforms correctly out of the 28 letter-
forms tested. During the next three years only about two correctly written letters were
added each year. The reason for this difference in progression is believed to be the
difference in emphasis on teaching letter forms in Grade 3 and the subsequent grades.
The average developmental profile for handwriting speed shows a steady increase in
speed through the grades in Grades 3–6. Thus, it appears that handwriting exercise
improves the speed but does not influence the quality in the same way. The average