Are Your Notes Like Are Your Notes Like Swiss Cheese?Swiss Cheese?Too Many Holes!

A Workshop On Note Taking Skills Brought to you by the UC Clermont Learning Center

What We Will What We Will CoverCover

How To Get The Most Out Of A Lecture. Listening Skills. The Day Dreaming Trap. Tips For Taking Notes While You Listen. Successful Note Taking Methods. Reviewing Your Notes After Class. Organizing Your Notebook.

Be PreparedArrive earlyActively participateReview notes soon after classRethink all examples covered in

class

How To Get the Most How To Get the Most Out of LectureOut of Lecture

Ways to Be Ways to Be Prepared For ClassPrepared For Class

Print them out before class.

Review posted notes before class.

If possible, triple space typed notes and print PowerPoints with a notes section.

Use these to take notes on in class by filling in the missing information.

If your professor has Notes/Power Points on Blackboard…

Always read or thoroughly skim the text before class.You will be better able to follow the lecture's main points .

Do You Have Any of Do You Have Any of These Bad Listening These Bad Listening Habits?Habits? QuizQuiz

When listening in class… When listening in class… Do you call the Subject Dull? Do you criticize the Speaker? Do you tolerate distractions? Do you only listen for facts? Do you try to write down everything

the speaker says? Do you not write down anything at all

and assume you will remember it?

Listening is a Listening is a Learned Skill!Learned Skill!

People do not instinctively People do not instinctively listen well, listen well,

whether in conversations or in whether in conversations or in class!class!

It is something that we all have toIt is something that we all have to

LEARN!LEARN!

Tips On Effective Tips On Effective ListeningListening

Before class: review your notes from the previous class to

refresh and mentally prepare for what the instructor will be talking about.

Determine why what the instructor is saying is important to you.

Remember: the responsibility for interest and understanding lies with YOU, NOT with the instructor. Learning is up to the learner.

More Tips On More Tips On Effective ListeningEffective Listening

If you can't hear, arrange things so you can.

Look for the instructor’s pattern of organization.

Look for the main idea or ideas of the presentation. Facts are important only as they

support the speaker's points.

BewareBeware of Day of Day Dreaming!Dreaming!

A speaker before an audience slows down to about 100 words per minute.

We think an average of 400 to 500 words per minute as we listen.

What do you do with your extra thoughts?

Use Your Thought Power Wisely: Anticipate the next point. Identify supporting material. Recap What They Have Said So Far.

Take Notes While Take Notes While You ListenYou Listen

Condense-do not use a sentence when a phrase will do!

Leave open space to go back and fill in extra information from the text.

Focus on the things the speaker focuses on: Things written on the board. Things repeated. Facts or ideas emphasized by tone of voice or

body language. Anything included in a wrap up summary or

reviewed from the previous lecture.

Making Outline Making Outline NotesNotes*Outline notes place the general

information to the left.-Details or examples that explain the general topic are indented.

-As the details get more specific, they are further indented.

*When more general topic are introduced, return to the left.

You do not have to use letters, or You do not have to use letters, or roman numerals for an outline.roman numerals for an outline.

They are your notes: Use whatever They are your notes: Use whatever symbols work for you!symbols work for you!

Record the lecture as fully as possible in whatever note taking method you are comfortable with.

**If you miss a statement, write down key words, skip a few spaces, and get the information later from a fellow student, the text, or the professor.

RecallRecall

Column:Column:

Class Notes ColumnClass Notes Column

•Immediately, reduce information to short summaries and statements here.

•Use them for reciting, reviewing and reflecting.

Using The Cornell Using The Cornell Note FormatNote Format

Reviewing Notes Reviewing Notes Before Next ClassBefore Next Class

Read through your notes and highlight important information.

Turn the important information in your notes into note cards so that they can be carried with you and reviewed frequently.

Re-write your notes more clearly or in a different format. This is the perfect opportunity to add in

information from the text not covered in class.

Webbing As A Note Webbing As A Note ReviewReview

Instructor’s Main TopicSubtopics Explained

Details Given on Subtopics Secondary Details

Use a 3-Ring Binder instead of a Spiral Bound Notebook. Start the quarter off

with one binder and add another later on if necessary.

Use dividers to separate your various subjects.

Organizing Your Organizing Your Notebooks: Notebooks: Part 1Part 1

Take notes on loose-leaf lined paper. You can move your notes around

in your binder if more notes are given on a specific subject later on.

You can insert handouts (from class or Blackboard), quizzes or tests right along with that chapters notes. This makes studying for Mid-

term and Final Exams much simpler!

Use post-its or sticky tabs as tabs to separate each chapter.

Organizing Your Organizing Your Notebooks: Notebooks: Part 2Part 2

Visit Us on Campus Visit Us on Campus at: at:

The Learning Center The Learning Center

Room 100 Room 100 Educational Educational Services BuildingServices Buildingwww.ucclermont.edu/tlcwww.ucclermont.edu/tlc

Need More Help With Need More Help With Your Note Taking SkillsYour Note Taking Skills