Doctoral Thesis
The effects of fine motor movement exercises, component letter shape- and letter-copying drills on handwriting performance in Year 1 and Year 3 primary school students: A preliminary study into essential component skills of handwriting.
Professional Doctorate, Murdoch University
2001
Abstract
It has been shown that fluency in a component skill can lead to the more efficient acquisition of skills in a correlated complex task. Handwriting is still a fundamental skill in school performance and needs to be fluent by the time a child reaches Grade 4. This study aimed to increase rates of fine motor hand movements and copying component shapes and to assess their effects on the complex skill of handwriting. Participants were allocated to one of four groups (a) fine motor movements, (b) basic shape-copying, (c) letter-copying and (d) probe controls. The training groups, (a), (b) and (c) were exposed to two conditions: (1) rate-building training and (2) untimed repeated practice. The untimed repeated practice condition served as a control for repeated practice effects alone and the probe control condition measured the effects of simply completing test probe sheets with feedback of results. Teachers reported that participants developed more self-confidence and motivation in schoolwork. Results revealed that rate-building of fine motor movements improved target handwriting skills. However, there was little evidence that rate-building exercises for shape-copying and lettercopying were more efficient than their repeated practice counterparts in improving handwriting skills. Methodological improvements were identified and discussed.
Details
- Title
- The effects of fine motor movement exercises, component letter shape- and letter-copying drills on handwriting performance in Year 1 and Year 3 primary school students: A preliminary study into essential component skills of handwriting.
- Authors/Creators
- Lai Oon Ng
- Contributors
- David Leach (Supervisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Murdoch University; Professional Doctorate
- Identifiers
- 991005541615107891
- Murdoch Affiliation
- School of Psychology
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Doctoral Thesis
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