Digital Natives, Manual Struggles: Fine Motor Skills in the Modern Classroom

Recently, I’ve become interested in how the development of fine motor skills in students has changed over recent years and the impact it is having on their academic progress. My interest in this topic can be traced back to when I observed the absolute mess my year 8 students, particularly the boys in the class, were making of their Plague Doctor masks. They could not cut a straight line or use tape to neatly connect two pieces of paper to save their lives. At the time I wondered if this was a ‘boy thing’ or if it was something else. My suspicions have only continued to grow over time.

I have noticed many students struggle with tasks requiring fine motor skills

It is not a new thing for students to complain about having to write in class - when I was a student, even I used to complain about having to write in class – but I think what has changed is that students lack the stamina to write for extended periods of time. This is obvious when you review student note books and see the quality of their handwriting decrease rapidly within a single written task. I also think the fact that so many students struggle to write in complete sentences or paragraphs is evidence of this. A 2025 study by the University of Stavanger in Norway, found that almost 40% of Generation Z have low handwriting skills. They partially attributed this to the increase in communication apps such as Instagram and WhatsApps which prioritise brief and fast communication exchanges. Obviously, the increase in the use of typing based technologies and learning tasks, also contributes to this by reducing opportunities for muscle development in the hands, and consequently, fine motor skills (2022 Department of Educational Science, University of Regensburg).

Outside of the development of fine motor skills, handwriting has been linked with improved academic outcomes through the ‘encoding effect’. Essentially, handwriting is a neurophysiological process where the physical and mental act of anticipating letter formation improves comprehension and retention. These benefits are more strongly linked with cursive handwriting rather than block-letter handwriting. Despite this being the case, and the fact that cursive writing is part of the Australian Curriculum, not very many of my students use cursive writing in their notebooks.

All of this leaves me with a couple of key questions for my teaching practice:

1. In what ways can I integrate handwriting activities to enhance cognitive engagement and memory retention among my students?

2. How can I design lessons that leverage the cognitive benefits of handwriting while still incorporating necessary typing skills?

3. What role does muscle memory play in learning in my subject area, and how might handwriting support this?

Have you observed changes in student fine motor skills in the modern classroom? How are you addressing this in your classes?

References

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (n.d.). Australian Curriculum: English. https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/

Mangen, A., Anda, L. G., Oxborough, G. H., & Brønnick, K. (2025). Handwriting skills among Generation Z students and the impact of digital communication practices. Journal of Writing Research.

Suggate, S., & Stoeger, H. (2022). Fine motor skills and early literacy development in the digital age. Department of Educational Science, University of Regensburg.