Teaching highschoolers good study practices despite the school's move towards digitalization?

Parents Forum
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tl;dr: how to help kids understand the value of physical textbooks / other educational materials?

I thought about posting this in the “Class of 2025” thread, but figured folks from other years would have valuable insights to share as well.

We’re about one week in to junior year, and last night at dinner, my wife and I asked our two juniors about some of their classes. It became clear that — while they had been emailed a PDF of their course syllabus — they haven’t read the syllabus carefully and don’t know details from it (what the grading will be based off of, etc.); also, their class just has a PDF of the textbook.

This echoed something we’ve seen in past years, where — having been given a PDF of the textbook to read, they didn’t engage as deeply with the material as they would have if it had been a physical book.

I certainly understand the benefits of a digital transition — teachers don’t need to spend time making photocopies; schools don’t have to pay for as much printer paper; students don’t have to lug around heavy textbooks. But it also seems like there’s a significant loss in the students’ comprehension of the material. There’s a shallower understanding. They have a harder time retaining the information. They can recall information in chunks, but it’s harder for them to build the connective tissue between chunks, or to reformulate the information in new ways, the way they might if they could flip back a page or two in a physical book to re-read a section of the page that they now realize they didn’t get the first time.

(Further, when it comes to writing papers, they’ve seen how printing them out allows them to edit them in a more thorough way, to more easily walk around the room and read them out loud, etc., but it seems like they still balk at doing it unless we nudge them.)

We’d like to help our kids see the value of printing out the syllabus, and at least requesting a physical copy of the textbook from the school, to keep at home for the year for doing homework. Barring that, we’re not against buying a used copy of the previous edition of the textbook off eBay. I was wondering … have any of you done things to “embrace materiality” vis-à-vis schoolwork? How do you help your students understand that — even if none of their friends bothers to print stuff (syllabus, course readings) out, and even if it’s a hassle, there’s still a benefit to it?

Something hasn’t clicked for our kids with the significance of physically having the work in-hand to engage with it. (At least, not so they take the initiative on making it happen.) Have any of you seen success in helping your kids understand that concept?

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IMO, it’s all about finding what works for the individual student.

My D did fine with digital text books and syllabi but, she found she retained information better if she put pencil to paper (or stylus to 2 in 1) when studying and note taking, and she carried around an old fashioned planner. She found a disconnect in typing over handwriting in terms of retention. She also transferred everything in the syllabus into her planner on day one. She was very particular for how she wanted said planner to be laid out as well. Some were easier to visualize for her than others. (Pro tip, college bookstores have an awesome selection of planners, even if you have a kid in still in HS).

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I disagree with your premise that having something physical is important. There is nothing magic about having paper. Even in college my son would have online textbooks and syllabi. He never prints anything out. Papers are turned in online. When I worked (recently retired) I never printed anything unless it needed a physical signature and then I was annoyed that I had to deal with paper. The world is changing.

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I like books, but I do wonder if it is our generation. I have purchased hard copies of the AP Physics book and maybe one other, but what I have found is the online books are typically the newest edition (ie super expensive) or even a slightly different edition than the hard copy. So the 14th edition book I buy on Amazon or eBay may have a few different problems than the online 15th edition.

We have to pay for our high schooler’s books and it was crazy expensive for his senior year - I think it was close to $400. All the AP classes were online textbooks so we are billed except for Calc BC which is a reasonably priced workbook and then AP English which for the first time in a zillion years had the boys buy a $110 textbook. Ugh.

A boys school near us uses Ipads for everything. All textbooks and homework are done on the Ipad. I really would not like math homework being done on an Ipad. My younger son went to a private middle school that used that practice, and I found it cumbersome.

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FWIW, my D had almost no physical text books in college. At most there was an online code for an e book, or the prof used their own materials that they made digitally available for free. We grossly overestimated book costs when doing our college budgeting.

In HS, it was hybrid. They had physical text books to keep at home and digital copies on their iPads. But, that was 6 years ago now and I believe her HS moved to all digital books. My D would have thought it a waste of paper/resources to print out digital copies.

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I absolutely agree with you that having a physical textbook is important. Research has shown that the experience of reading a physical book (holding it, turning pages, highlighting, and other sensory experiences attached to reading) helps students remember more of what they read than if they do it online. We buy our kids used editions of most textbooks that the school doesn’t provide for them in physical copy (the school does provide most of them, though, in both electronic and hard copy). My daughter prints out all of her readings that are only available as pdfs or links, because she learns better when she has paper in front of her. We’ll encourage my son to do the same. I agree with you that reading the syllabus closely is an educational life skill – in my intro-level classes (college-level), I’ve started giving syllabus quizzes to make sure people read it! (Because they weren’t doing it – I routinely got questions from students who were surprised that we had required books, because the books were not in the Canvas modules like online readings). So please do anything you can to make sure your kids read the syllabus, at least – it’s a key college survival skill (and a life skill, really) that they’ll be glad to have later.

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Same. I thought we’d be spending a lot on textbooks, but it has been pretty minimal. S22 actually rented a couple of on-line text books in lieu of buying and re-selling the hard copy which was pretty cheap. Several professors didn’t use a traditional textbook - using on-line readings etc which kids could print out or not at their choice.

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I love a good book I can hold in my hand to read as much as the next person, and am a voracious reader of many paper pages of novels, but I think your premise is 100% flawed.

We really need to teach our kids how to deal with the digital world. They are digital natives. They are not growing up in a world where everything is on paper like we did. They need to be able to cope with the next step which for many is college. By trying to take them back to the 1990s you are doing them a disservice for college.

My D22 is a sophomore in college and definitely does not print out syllabi or print her papers to edit them. She writes her papers online and turns them in online. She is an excellent writer who regularly gets As on all her papers, too. Some of her classes have physical books and many have PDFs or online books with additional features (links to other sites or videos, quizzes, etc). For this semester I bought her one book so far. Classes start next week so she might need some books for assigned reading, but they have not been announced so she may get PDFs to read. She has a PDF textbook for one class. She also has the option of having that as a paperback, but she chose the PDF.

I happen to be friends with a college English professor (not at my daughter’s school) and she told me in a conversation recently that she likes to print out the papers her students turn in to grade them, but that’s because she’s old like I am and did not grow up thinking digitally. She does not require the students to print them out to turn them in. They turn them in digitally and receive their grades and feedback online too. She prefers pen on paper to do the grading, but then she writes up her feedback online.

Similarly, I have a friend who loves paper calendars and keeps track of all that she has going on there on her paper calendar by her desk in her kitchen. I use Google Calendar which I can share with my husband and kids as needed. If I ask her if she can do something in the future she says “let me check my calendar” and she means her actual physical calendar at home. I just check mine on my phone and I get pop up reminders when the events get close, etc. Honestly I think her addiction to paper holds her back.

And this – totally happens All The Time with papers shoved into the bottom of the backpack to be ignored. This has nothing to do with it being online and everything to do with kids not RTFM (reading the f-ing manual).

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I teach engineering at a University, so my comments relate to college students, not high school students. At least one of the courses I teach has a significant amount of required reading.

When I order “textbooks” for a class, the only option that is available these days tends to be electronic versions. The nice things about these are that the cost tends to be pretty reasonable, and many of these have animated examples that I think are useful beyond what can be done on a hardcopy. The downsides to electronic versions are that students might prefer a hardcopy, and in most cases the electronic version goes away, so students don’t have the textbook as a reference. I tell the students they can find used copies of older versions online pretty cheaply if they want a hard copy. When I give reading assignments, I give the chapter and section titles instead of just page numbers so students can map the reading assignment into their text. I don’t think many students take me up on this.

Personally, I have found my ability to work electronically has increased over the years. When I read journal articles I still like a hardcopy. I find it easier to skim and to go back and forth from section to section when I am reading (and this is how I tend to read journal articles) and I mark them up with a pen/pencil as I read. This is just about the only time I read hardcopies now. There was a time that I liked to edit writing on paper and then translate things to the electronic version after the fact, but I prefer comments directly on the electronic version now. I assume that students who grew up reading, writing and editing on electronic documents have no need for hardcopies.

The biggest problem that I see with electronic textbooks (and access to the internet) is that students have become accustomed to being able to access information immediately. By itself, this is really great. For example, one can easily search online and find out how to convert joules to BTU. Previously, I had to pull out a thermodynamics textbook and find the appendix on unit conversions. However, many students have extended this expectation to being able to get solutions to problems instantly. And in many cases, they can. Homework assignments almost always come in with perfect answers. The problem with this is that the learning comes from the struggle to get the answer, not the answer. When I give problems similar to the homework to the students on an exam, they can’t recognize the problem because they haven’t struggled with it.

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D24’s all girls private high school has almost all textbooks physically still and requires a surprising amount of handwritten work. (incidentally, I also had quite a chiropractic bill based on what she hauls around in her backpack )

S24’s all boys private high school has everything digital. S24 has found that the way that works best for him to engage in the digital material online and in class is to take physical notes by writing as opposed to typing. He figured this out on his own, as he said “the hard way”. It doesn’t seem to phase him that the material is online, but helps to cement it in his brain when learning it if he engages in it by physically writing. He didn’t figure this out until end of junior year, of course. I don’t know if this would help your kids, as each kid learns best in different way.

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My daughter, who just started grad school, was a student who liked paper when she started college. She bought physical textbooks, wanted a printer for her room, had a paper calendar, etc. Then covid happened and so much happened online out of necessity and she became used to working that way. Her last 2 years of college she rarely bought a physical book. She spent WAY less on her textbooks than I did 30 years ago. The printer wasn’t connected her senior year and she didn’t want it in her apartment this year. Funny enough, when she reads for pleasure she reads physical books.

Half way through college she started using an Ipad with an Apple pencil to take notes and it loves it. She still gets to “write” which she prefers over typing but she can copy diagrams and information from digital textbooks and other materials into her notes which makes them more thorough. She can markup the digital text with her stylus. She has a calendar app on it where she still writes her appointments/schedules. She even has a screen protector that makes the screen feel more like paper. She likes things organized and this system works for her. These are her “good study practices” that she’s developed.

Honestly I think students need to develop a system that works for them. If they prefer paper, then great, buy the book. But if they don’t, I wouldn’t waste the money. We have nagged our daughter to read the syllabus since she was much younger, even back in the day when she did get paper versions. I know kids who never opened their physical textbook. While I think some prefer paper I don’t think having things digitalized equates to not being able to develop good habits.

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Same - she had rented, bought used books, etc. I think our cost was <$200 for all 4 years (assuming I had made her “return” the funds she got by reselling them after the semester).

A few weeks ago, she proudly told me that she won’t ask me for a (big) text book reimbursement after all, because she’s now figured out how to use the county’s public library exchange system to her advantage - and was able to get the needed book loaned from there, returning the one she had originally ordered. (Quite a few universities in her current city).

She said, would invest into them, if they were the kind of books she could see herself add to her “professional library”.

(She very much does prefer hard-copy books, but absolutely will do with online versions.)

However, all her essay writing/editing has always been done strictly via keyboard, as early as primary schools would permit/require it - and in college, all the note-taking (as permitted).

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I think kids are the ones who need to get used to digital (and I have some old school college students with wall calendars, daily planners, paper novels even though we have 3 kindles. My 22 year old loves using her iPad/pen for notes to compliment her MacBook. Me, I’m trying, I actually love digital books (can adjust the font :rofl:), but I finally stopped making my kids print out papers they wanted me to proofread, that was tough on me and sometimes I made them print. I have a giant desk calendar on my kitchen wall to this day.

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I agree with those who say the world is changing.

My spouse is a lawyer and somewhat of a Luddite. He is the least technologically savvy in the family, no social media presence, doesn’t carry his phone at all times or scroll anything, etc.

He started his career using a dictaphone to “write” and editing printed documents. When Covid hit, he was forced to go 100% digital. Documents could not be printed at home for security reasons. He now has two large screens on his desk to help with flipping back and forth between documents, etc., and does all review and drafting online.

D22 does the same. She has found it helps to have a second screen at times, too (often her phone or an ipad). But she has no problem with digital textbooks or writing and editing on a screen.

Both prefer to do note-taking (from texts or lecture/discussion) with pen and paper.

I still like to print to do edits, personally. I prefer physical books only when I want to tab pages or write in margins; otherwise, digital is fine. My daughter accomplishes the same thing with her note-taking system, so she doesn’t need to mark books. She wishes she could keep texts, though. In many classes, you just rent the digital version for the term and then it goes poof. But she says she can usually look up the info somewhere else if she ever wants to refresh her memory on something.

Like many things, I think using digital materials effectively is a skill that can be learned. And if you grew up with it, it is easier. For instance, I grew up writing on a computer instead of paper starting as a teen. I automatically cut and paste and move text around over and over. I could NEVER use a dictaphone because I don’t write that linearly and trying to do it on paper results in a mess of scribbles and confusing arrows.

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Thank you all, for your thoughts!

I think the critical pieces that I’m taking away from your comments …

  1. Regardless of the preference for digital/physical delivery, effectively approaching your work requires intentionality — both in terms of learning the material and in terms of learning how you learn the material. Students aren’t born knowing how to use these tools (the tool being, say, “the syllabus”, not “the computer”), so it can be helpful to review it with them.
  2. As times change, standards and tools will change. For students to effectively function in their world, they need to be conversant with the primary tools their peers / instructors / bosses are using. The new ways won’t necessarily cover all the same benefits as the “old” ways, though, so being conversant with other approaches is important as well. There are reasons we don’t use card catalogs any longer, but there are also reasons why we still go to libraries.
  3. Despite new tools being available, students should understand the limitations of those tools, should know their own personal strengths/weaknesses in terms of how they engage with the tools, and should treat the default approach/tool as a “floor”, not a “ceiling”. If they need to read a document in paper form, they should print it out. If writing an essay by hand will yield a better result than on a computer, they should do that. And vice versa.
  4. What works for us and what works for our kids won’t be the same, and that’s okay. And, at the same time, we both have things we can probably learn from the other, so it’s probably good for both parties to approach the conversation with an open mind, curiosity, and an exploring spirit. We might also find that different situations (even within our own work) call for different approaches.
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I appreciate this thread. Physical books and sources have great value.

If power sources are not working, we are back to square one - more primitive times.

Knowing how to write (and read!) cursive is an important means of communication. Remembering and reciting certain knowledge is powerful. My kid’s French Immersion grade school taught both handwriting and memorization of passages from a young age. I’m glad they did.

A lot of digital learning seems to disappear in the ether fairly quickly for some students. Digital tools are ones that need to be used judiciously with growing brains. We are still discovering the impact of digital learning on the amount of patience students can have with regards to solving a learning problem, for example.

For my kid in particular, the old school learning experience was a healthier one than the overwhelmingly online one that has been high school.

One’s miles may vary.

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I have not written anything in cursive other than my signature since elementary school. Cursive is completely unnecessary and I think a lot of schools don’t even bother teaching it anymore.

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I don’t know if you are young, old or in between, but that is fascinating to me.

How do we communicate with each other when power is out? Block letter writing is one way. Cursive is faster.

Definitely agree that many schools don’t teach cursive any more.

For my kid’s AP Psychology class, an online course through a computer program, extra credit could be had by taking notes (by hand or on computer). My kid wrote out notes by hand; it seemed to help with retention of the course (an A in the class, a 5 in the AP test).

I use cursive all the time. I write so much, every day. To-do lists, grocery lists. Admittedly, my kid writes less at the moment. Does most school work online.

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I’m almost 60 and rarely write anything by hand other than my signature once in awhile.

We usually talk when the power is out? We keep our devices charged too and use them. What do you need to write when the power is out?

I keep my grocery list as a shared list on my phone. It’s organized by the aisle at the store. I use the radio buttons so I can check off each list as I find the item. My husband can add things to the list while I’m at the store. Next week I can look through my list and uncheck any items I need to replenish. If I have a to do list (not my fave) I use my phone or computer for that too.

I really don’t write by hand a lot any more. I type many many words every day.

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I once knew someone who worked at a National archives like place. She was having trouble hiring people, because nobody could read cursive and that was a major part of the job. And this was a good 10-15 years ago. I’m sure it’s harder now.

It’s also sad to think the ability to read your parents, grandparents, etc letters to each other (once they’re deceased) would be gone.

We talk about this at work from time to time, and the consensus is. We are glad our kids learned how to read and write in cursive. I think it’s a good skill to have, even if you don’t use it every day.

I handwrite stuff all the time, but all of us admit to using some combo of cursive and printing. Who really makes those cursive capital Zs and Qs? But I even switch back and forth even mid word. Whatever’s easier.

One cool example - my sister recently came across a letter from our grandpa to his brother. He was serving in the Navy during WWII. At the end he talked about his fellow soldiers hearing about some bomb to end all wars. Can you imagine, he wrote. The date of the letter? The day the first bomb was dropped. Glad we were able to read that letter.

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