Presented by Study Skills Program

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Presented byStudy Skills Program
Note Taking 101
Developed by Carrie Pollard-Jarrell,
MSW Counsellor and Learning Consultant Counselling
Services
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Outline

• Note-taking is a Skill
• Note Taking Self- Assessment
• Why is Note Taking Important?
• Steps in Note Taking
• Organizing Your Notes
• Active Listening Strategies

• The Cornell System
• How to write faster
• Note Taking Abbreviations
• After the Lecture Clean-up
• Resources
• How to find us

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Note Taking is a skill

• It can be difficult to know what to write down,
  what is important information, and how to
  structure your notes so they are easy to study
  from in the future.
• By taking the time to understand why you
  take notes, how best to do so, and how to use
  them, you will be able to improve your ability to
  make them truly useful.

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Note Taking Self- Assessment

• I review the last days notes before the lecture.
• I generally know the topic being discussed in
  class beforehand.
• I know which are the most important points in a
  class.
• I look over my notes and edit them after class.

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Note Taking Self- Assessment

• If youve checked few to none of these
  statements, you are not alone. Many students
  experience the challenges of taking good notes,
  and getting the most out of their lectures. This
  workshop is designed to assist you in finding new
  ways to handle these challenges.

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Why is Note Taking Important?

• The lecture may contain material that is not
  available elsewhere.
• Notes can help you determine what the professor
  considers important.
• Class assignments are usually given in lectures.
• The organization and purpose of a lecture may
  become clearer.

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Steps in Note Taking

• 1. Before the lecture
• Know the topic.
• Skim, preview, or read related chapters.
• Make a list of questions you have about the topic
  and seek out answers in the lecture.

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Steps in Note Taking

• 2. During the lecture
• Sit near the front- less distractions!
• Stay on topic. Professors can go on tangents.
  Be aware of what is important and what is
  relevant to the topic being discussed.
• Be alert to the professors signals. What does
  he/she repeat or get excited about?

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Steps in Note Taking

• 3. After the lecture
• Studies indicate that we forget 50 to 80 of
  what we have heard within 24 hours of hearing it,
  but a 5-10 minute review can greatly increase our
  ability to remember.
• Go over notes and organize them within 24 hours
  for better retention

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Organizing Your Notes

• Keeping neat and organized notes is actually
  really simple
• Give the lecture a title.
• Date and/or number each page.
• Write on only one side of the page use the
  other side for extra information, diagrams,
  questions etc.
• Under headings, list important details with
  bullets, numbers, letters, etc.
• Make your diagrams big, and clear label them
  accurately.

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Active Listening Better Note Taking

• An essential skill for good note taking is good
  listening. Your own attitude towards learning,
  the physical factors in the room, and the content
  of the lecture can effect your listening skills.

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Active Listening in class

• Lead Think about what will be discussed in
  class.
• Ideas Look for main ideas in lecture.
• Signals Watch how a professor emphasizes a
  point.
• Take time Decide if information is important to
  write down.
• Effective listening Takes practice.
• Notes Make legible and organized.

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Active Listening Attitude

• ATTITUDE
• Motivate yourself to listen by thinking of the
  reasons you are taking the course.
• Treat listening as a challenging mental task.
  Listening to an academic lecture is not a passive
  act--at least it shouldn't be. You need to
  concentrate on what is said so that you can
  process the information.

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Active Listening Physical Factors

• PHYSICAL FACTORS
• Be aware of what distracts you - sit in a less
  distracting space. For example, some students
  find it less distracting to sit near the front of
  the class room.
• Interact with the professor - for example, making
  eye contact with the professor will keep you
  focused and involved in the lecture.
• We hear faster than we speak - that's one reason
  your mind may tend to wander in class. Use the
  time to visualize or process information

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Active Listening Content

• CONTENT
• Pick out emphasized ideas or examples.
• Listen for transition words signaling a new
  topic.
• Make associations between what you hear in class,
  and the course as a whole, or even with your own
  life.
• Take time to decide whether information is worth
  writing down. You do not need to write down
  everything your professor says!

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Active Listening Final Tips

• Focus on content, not delivery. Have you ever
  counted the number of times a teacher clears
  his/her throat in a 15 minute period? If so, you
  weren't focusing on content.
• Avoid emotional involvement. When you are too
  emotionally involved in listening, you tend to
  hear what you want to hear--not what is actually
  being said. Try to remain objective and
  open-minded.
• Stay active by asking mental questions. Active
  listening keeps you on your toes. What key point
  is the professor making? How does this fit with
  what I know from previous lectures?

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The Cornell System

• A special system of note-taking was developed at
  Cornell University. It can be applied to almost
  all lecture situations.
• What makes the Cornell System different? It is a
  way to master the ideas put forth in a lecture.
  It avoids the common error of being complicated
  and formal. Its very easy to use and efficient.

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The Cornell System Key to success

• The key to the Cornell System is to draw a
  vertical line about 2 ½ inches from the left
  edge of the paper. This is the recall column. Key
  words and phrases to help you recall the notes
  will be written in the recall column. Your actual
  notes will be recorded in the space to the right
  of the line.

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The Cornell System

• In this column, write your in-class notes
• Underline the subject, write the date and make a
  title for the lecture
• Record lecture content and ideas

• RECALL
• Reduce ideas to summaries and key words in this
  column.

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Example of Cornell System Notes
Recall Column also known as the Keyword Column
Notes Column
Summary Column
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Cornell System Built in Study Plan

• Cover up the wide column, refer to only the
  recall column and try to remember the ideas in
  your notes.
• After completing a topic area, put several
  columns side by side to view in summary form.
  Test yourself and see how much you remember
• To prepare for exams, test yourself with summary
  before you review material

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How to write faster

• Practice! Try writing out information from
  your text book for 10 to 15 minutes. Try it again
  and see if you can write more pages.
• Improve your writing quality. For example,
  write in the same direction and remove
  unnecessary Loops . Many people also find that
  they can print faster than they write.
• Use abbreviations. The next few slides will
  give you tips.

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Note Taking Abbreviations
Often times students find that using
abbreviations when note taking helps them to
write quickly and accurately. Some
abbreviations are specific to the subject area
that you are studying but often times students
develop a shorthand writing system of their own.
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Quick Tips Abbreviations

• If you are in a hurry omit filler words a,
  and, or, the.
• Dont dot your is or cross your ts until
  later and remember that you can abbreviate any
  word by omitting vowels.

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Common Word Abbreviations
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Final thought

• Lrn 2 wrt lk ths b/4 u go bananas

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After the Lecture Clean Up

• Review notes within 24 hours.
• Re-organize (e.g. Highlight underline).
• Fill in missing information.
• Clarify questions/ misunderstandings.
• Review often!

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Resources
Where you can go Lauriers

• Study Skills Program
• The Writing Centre
• Accessible Learning Office
• Student Union Tutorial Services
• Departmental Academic
• Counselling

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How to Find Us
We are located in the Student Services Bldg.
across the hall from Health Services. Our
telephone number is 884-0710 ext.2338.