The Influence of Digital and Paper-Based Homework-Solving Methods on Students’ Academic Performance and Attitude Towards Physics

Teachers of physics continually try to keep up with the development of technology and the opportunities such developments present to make their classes as interesting and effective as possible. But should we always discard well-proven methods in favour of digitalised solutions? Our research investigates the long-term effectiveness of digital and handwritten homework assignments submitted by seventh grade pupils. The study discusses the effect of digitalized education on students’ academic performance and cognitive development, investigates the role of handwriting in education—focused on homework solving—and compares it with the opportunities given by using digital methods, and supports physics teachers in choosing appropriate teaching methods based on the results of the research, which was carried out in Budapest among 7th graders—test and control group. The results indicate a significant decline in students’ digitally acquired long-term knowledge.