Via @WDuyck I found this interesting blog post about fine motor skills as a robust predictor for learning. Even more, this knowledge can be used for education:

“Intervention work has been conducted that focuses on improving fine motor skills as a way to boost children’s achievement (Murrah, 2013). In this work, the researchers incorporated a number of tasks that required fine motor movements (e.g., beads, Legos) into an after-school program for disadvantaged children four days per week. Their results were encouraging in that these activities use everyday materials. This is exciting work because it could allow educators to deliver targeted interventions to children focusing on their fine motor skills. Evidence suggests that these types of interventions should focus on developing and improving children’s visual-spatial integration skills to have the greatest impact.

Additionally, with more research into which areas of academics see the most benefits from enhanced fine motor skills, such interventions could become even more specific. If fine motor skills have the greatest impact on math achievement, then children struggling with early math skills may benefit from a fine motor intervention. These findings also suggest that early childhood programs that incorporate fine motor skill development may be setting their children up for longer-term academic success.”