| Author: | Poon, Kit-wei |
| Title: | The effect of an interactive computerized handwriting training program to improve Chinese handwriting of children : a pilot study |
| Degree: | M.Sc. |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Subject: | Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations. Learning disabled children -- Computer-assisted instruction. Chinese language -- Writing. |
| Department: | Department of Rehabilitation Sciences |
| Pages: | xi, 113 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm. |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an Interactive Computerized Handwriting Training Program (ICHTP) to enhance the handwriting performance among children with handwriting difficulties. This was achieved by comparing children's handwriting performance (legibility, "On Paper" tune, and "In Air" time), their visual perception skills and visual-motor integration skills before and after the intervention program. 26 Primary-One children with handwriting problems, referred by occupational therapists or school teachers, were recruited for the study. Their age ranged from 6.00 to 7.25 years, with a mean of 6.62 years. 13 children were put into the experimental group while the other 13 were placed in the control group with their age matched and through convenience sampling. Children in the experimental group were given eight sessions of ICHTP training together with home program while children in the control group would only attend regular school-based handwriting training. The results of this study showed that children who had undergone the training (ICHTP) exhibited significant improvement in their visual perception skills from pre-training (mean=24.69) to post one-month training (mean=28.08) with a within group difference of [F = 8.58, df = 2 (p=.001)] while control group did not have significant improvement in the Motor-free Visual Perception Test (MVPT) mean score. There was also a significant difference hi visual perception skills between subjects in the experimental group and the control group [F = 957.45, df = 1 (p<.001)]. For "On Paper" time, the control group was found to be significantly different from the experimental group [F = 451.50, df = 1 (p=.000)]. The experimental group showed a significant decrease hi "On Paper" time from pre-training (mean= 68.62) to post one-month training (mean=51.06) with a within group difference of [F = 9.98, df=1.58(p=001)]. In addition, "In Air" time of the control group was found to be significantly different from that of the experimental group [F = 5.09, df = 1.5 (p=.018)]. And the experimental group showed a significant decrease in "In Air" time from pre-training (mean= 130.67) to post one-month training (mean=95.64) with a within group difference of [F = 5.76, df = 1.50 (p=.012)]. However, no significant improvements were observed in visual-motor integration skills and handwriting legibility for both groups. This might suggest that the children acquired the improvement hi speed with the sacrifice of legibility. Therefore, the training program should be further modified to train the VMI skills of children. In conclusion, the ICHTP was effective in training visual perception skills of children which leaded to improvement in "On Paper" time and "In Air" time during writing Chinese characters among children. The findings affirmed the needs of developing systematic IT training program to strengthen the handwriting skills of children. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b22328385.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 11.61 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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