Problem

I am concerned with the poor quality of handwriting. Only about a half dozen students seem to be able to turn in readable work. Even though standards are set up for handwriting quality and handwriting is considered as part of the grade, it makes very little difference.

Student Name	How does this problem relate to what we know about learning?	Cite your sources.	Given what you know about learning, how might you resolve this problem?
Pat Freeze
Daphne Dildy	Handwriting can be linked back to fine motor skill development in Pre-K and Kindergarten. Proper holding of the pencil should first be addressed and particular attention to time and neatness. Students need to have a certain amount of time to turn in work and not feel hurried.	PPR.Ch.4,pg94 Handwriting without Tears, PPR Ch.4,highlight 4.1,pg91	I would try to evaluate all the students in small learning centers as to how to correctly hold the pencil and where they are with their fine motor skills. Some kids will need more assistance than others, maybe even holding small cotton ball in palm of hand with the ring and pinky finger while grasping the pencil with thumb, index and middle finger. After proper technique for holding the pencil has been established and practiced, I will encourage my students to take their time with their writing and maybe even practice at home by copying passages out of newspapers, etc.
	In order to help the students bring their handwriting skills up to par we could use Vygotsky's theory of scaffolding. This will help take steps up to gradually allow the students to work on their writing until the desired result is achieved.	The Act of Teaching, page 92, paragraph 1. Breakdown on Theorists handout from Child Growth and Development, COM, SP10	First I would take the writing samples that I have and judge the level that each child was writing on individually. From their I would begin to develop a connecting three step scaffolding plan. Each of the steps would connect with the one before, having slight changes and modifications to grow the student one more step. I would work with each student on their particular plan until they mastered the plan; which would indicate that they are on target for what is expected in their grade.
Andrew Lawrence	One way to relate to the problem of handwriting is consider the students lack of skill as a "well-structured problem or something that can be solved by applying a specific procedure" (1). We also learned in Chapter 3 of The Act of Teaching, that the children could be "field dependent" learners or students who "They 'see the forest' as opposed to seeing individual trees therein" (2). These students may be focused on the overall content of the project while not realizing they are relaying the information poorly with unreadable handwriting. The last thing that could be happening in the classroom is the students have a wide range of learning aptitudes. All but six of the students may struggle with their learning / linguistic aptitude. It states in The Act of Teaching, "we all differ in our aptitude or potential to learn and do different things. Some of us have high aptitude for language (speaking, reading, writing) or second language learning" (3). While some have this high aptitude, others struggle and develop later.	(1) PPR, Ch.4, p.93, para 3. (2) PPR, Ch.3, p.66, para 5. (3) PPR, Ch.3, p.68, para 4.	To solve the problem with the handwriting I would start by developing a clear, "well-structured" set of instructions for writing correctly. Next, I would set aside specific time for practice of these instructions. The children that struggle can use this time to improve without the pressure of the overall assignment. As the children improve, I would let the students choose their own subjects for practice. This may encourage them to focus on the task of writing.
Delores Hopper	Since handwriting is dependent on a student’s fine motor skills and coordination, the physical development of the student can play a role in the quality of the student’s work. “Fine motor development is essential as students learn to hold and manipulate small objects, a precursor to learning to write[[#_ftn1|[1]]]”. Therefore, a student who is lacking in the ability to internally process the information used to make neat pen strokes may exhibit poor penmanship. Handwriting, like reading comprehension and multiplication, is a skill that requires time and practice to be mastered. Practicing this skill can increase the likelihood that it becomes part of the student’s long term memory[[#_ftn1|[2]]]. Seeing other work that uses handwriting format may increase the skill's importance and build the student's confidence in using the skill. Realistically, the only time a student may see handwriting is in the classroom, during writing time. Books, web pages, subtitles generally use print type.	[[#_ftnref1|[1]]Child Development, Learning As We Grow, pg. 32, ¶5. [[#_ftnref1|[2]]The Act of Teaching, Ch. 4, pg. 90, Spotlight on Research.	I think modeling good handwriting skills is important for all students, regardless of the grade or subect taught. Students with inadequate fine motor skills and coordination need to spend more time on the quality of their work, rather than the quantity. These students can be given more time to finish their work or less work than the other students. These students can also be given supplemental handwriting practice sheets. Some students, however, rush through their work in order to move on to the next task, especially if that task is more desirable than writing. Teachers can remind their students that handwriting skills are being graded and may also choose to have students redo their work. This should only be the case if a teacher knows the student is not turning in his or her best work.