BY Rachel Cagle
Paper is the preferred learning tool in today's fast-paced, highly competitive classrooms, according to students, teachers and parents surveyed for the recently released Paper and Productive Learning: The Fourth Annual Back-to-School Report from the Paper and Packaging Board (P+PB). The report, which examines paper's enduring and vital role in productive learning, found that 94% of college students and 89% of students in grades 7–12 say paper is essential to helping them achieve their academic goals.
The Paper and Productive Learning report exclusively shares the results of a survey conducted by IPSOS, which surveyed over 1,800 students, parents and educators in the United States. Surprisingly, results show that students continue to take notes by hand or prepare for exams with paper, despite digital technology's prominence in the classroom. In fact, 45% of college students agree that they learn best when they write notes by hand, a practice that 85% of college educators encourage. When it comes to preparing for exams, 81% of college students report using paper materials such as flash cards, printouts, study sheets and printed lecture notes to facilitate learning and retention. Younger students also report improved learning with paper; 45% of students in grades 7–12 say they learn best handwriting notes.
Parents of Teenagers make up 13.6% of U.S. adults, according to AudienceSCAN. Roughly 8% of these parents pay private school tuition and 12% pay college tuition for either themselves or a family member. They're likely also buying their student school supplies.
While working with paper helps improve learning, reading on paper helps the reader physically destress. Penny Kittle, teacher, advocate and author of Book Love, says, "Reading is the antidote for lives lived at top speed because reading lowers your heart rate. After an hour of deep reading, a person is less tired and less neuro-chemically depleted." Reading, physically feeling the pages of a book, helps individuals relax and break away from the constant attention that digital devices demand. "Reading can reduce stress," Kittle says. "We need it; our children and co-workers need it."
Last summer, P+PB launched 15 Pages a Day, a sustained reading program to promote increased learning, mental development and memory. Of the parents and teachers surveyed, an overwhelming 90% say reading 15 pages on paper a day can help improve a student's language and memory. To reap the benefits of learning on paper, students and parents are encouraged to take the pledge to read 15 pages a day in print.
Last year, TV was the most effective medium with which to reach Parents of Teenagers, according to AudienceSCAN. Within that time period, 66.4% of the Parents of Teenagers took action after seeing a TV commercial. Direct mail ads/coupons also influenced 61.8% of these parents to take action last year and they’re 41% more likely than other adults to be driven to action by pre-roll video ads.
AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.