Date Presented 03/26/20
Observations were completed in six kindergarten classrooms on two separate days to determine the time kindergarten children spend on fine motor and handwriting activities. The results found that children spent 29.67% of the time engaged in fine motor activities (academic and nonacademic), of which 30.75% of the time was spent in handwriting activities. The kindergarteners spent 12.29% of the total observed time engaging in handwriting activities.
Primary Author and Speaker: Jennifer Fogo
Additional Authors and Speakers: Shannon Spangler, Melody White, Jeffrey Moore
Contributing Authors: Hanna Rose, Colleen Yeldell, Rachael Struewing
PURPOSE: Fine motor skills, including small muscle development, hand-eye coordination, the ability to form basic strokes smoothly, and the ability to hold utensils or writing tools, are prerequisite skills for handwriting (Donoghue and Lamme, 1975). Allowing sufficient time for children to engage in fine motor activities in kindergarten classrooms encourages the development of prerequisite skills for handwriting (Puranik, Al Otaiba, Sidler, & Greulich, 2013). In 1992, McHale and Cermak found that elementary students spent 30-60% of time in the classroom engaging in fine-motor activities, which included pencil and paper tasks. In 2003, Marr, Cermak, Cohn, and Henderson reported that kindergarten students spent 36-66% of their time in fine-motor activities and engaged in paper and pencil tasks for up to 42% of that time.
Teachers currently report having less time to spend on fine motor and handwriting activities in the classroom due to additional educational standards (Gallant, 2009). There has also been an increase in the use of technology within schools, with many schools adopting a 1:1 policy indicating that all students receive a tablet, or laptop (U.S. Department of Education, 2017). Therefore, one can assume the amount of time teachers allocate to fine motor tasks, specifically handwriting instruction, has decreased. However, that remains unknown (Kiefer et al., 2015). The purpose of this study is to identify how much time is spent on fine motor activities, particularly paper and pencil tasks, such as handwriting, in kindergarten classrooms today.
DESIGN: The researchers used an observational, descriptive study design to record and categorize the activities that children engaged in for two days in six kindergarten classrooms.
METHOD: Utilizing methods similar to McHale and Cermak (1992) and Marr et.al (2003) two researchers observed six kindergarten classrooms for two days, resulting in a total of 12 days of recorded observations. The researchers used a data collection sheet to record the activities the children engaged in and document the time each activity began and ended. The team of researchers then collaborated to categorize each activity as either fine motor academic (which included handwriting), fine motor non-academic, academic no fine motor, non-academic/non fine motor, structured gross motor, computer technology or transition and calculate the percent of time the children spent engaged in the activities in each category.
RESULTS: The researchers found that the kindergarten children spent 29.67% of the time engaged in fine motor activities (academic and non-academic), of which 30.75% of the time was spent in handwriting activities. The kindergarteners spent 12.29% of the total time engaging in handwriting activities. The children also spent between 13% and 28% of the school day transitioning from one activity to another. Interestingly, even though the teachers used technology, such as a smart board for instruction, the children did not spend any time participating in computer/technology activities on the days the observations took place.
CONCLUSION: According to these findings, kindergarten children may be spending less time today engaged in fine motor and handwriting activities in the classroom when compared the findings from Marr et al. (2003) which may have an impact on children’s handwriting skills. Handwriting difficulties continue to be one of the most frequent reasons teachers refer students for occupational therapy services (Benson, Szucs, & Majasic, 2016). Occupational therapists can use this information to collaborate with kindergarten teachers to provide optimal intervention to improve fine motor and handwriting skills of kindergarten children at risk for developing poor handwriting skills.
References
Benson, J. D., Szucs, K. A., & Mejasic, J. J. (2016). Teachers’ perceptions of the role of occupational therapist in schools. Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 9(3), 290-301. doi: 10.1080/19411243.2016.1183158
Marr, D., Cermak, S., Cohn, E. S., & Henderson, A. (2003). Fine motor activities in Head Start and kindergarten classrooms. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 57(5), 550–557. doi: 10.5014/ajot.57.5.550
McHale, K., & Cermak, S. A. (1992). Fine Motor Activities in Elementary School: Preliminary Findings and Provisional Implications for Children With Fine Motor Problems. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 46(10), 898–903. doi: 10.5014/ajot.46.10.898
Kiefer, M., Schuler, S., Mayer, C., Trumpp, N. M., Hille, K., & Sachse, S. (2015). Handwriting or typewriting? The Influence of pen- or keyboard-based writing training on reading and writing performance in preschool children. Advances in Cognitive Psychology, 11(4), 136-146. doi: 10.5709/acp-0178-7
