From Note Taking to Note

Making Fall 2013 ASPSA Learning Services Training

Bradley Bethel August 15, 2013

Objectives • Explain the types of memory and learning strategies

and how those concepts relate to taking and making notes.

• Identify the steps to effective note taking and note-making.

• Practice note-taking and note making on a short lecture.

Source Dembo, M. H. & Seli, H. (2013). Motivation and learning strategies for college success: A focus on self-regulated learning (4th ed.). New York: Routledge.

Memory • Working memory: the active part of the memory system

that contains the information one is presently thinking about

• Long-term memory: the part of the memory system that stores all the information one is not presently thinking about

• Meaningful learning involves connecting information within the working memory to information in long-term memory.

• Information must be rehearsed to stay in one’s working memory, but it must be elaborated on and organized in order to be effectively retrieved at a later time

Types of Learning Strategies

• Rehearsal strategies: strategies that involve repeating information within one’s working memory, in an effort to memorize it o Copying material o Taking verbatim notes o Underlining material

• Elaboration strategies: strategies that involve adding meaning to information by connecting it to other information already in one’s long-term memory o Creating analogies o Re-phrasing information in one’s own words o Generating questions and answers

• Organizational strategies: strategies that involve imposing a structure on material by identifying the relationships among the material’s parts o Outlines o Concept/mind maps

How do memory and learning

strategies relate to note taking

and note making?

• Writing notes verbatim from a lecture is a rehearsal strategy.

• Actively engaging with notes after lecture, by creating questions and underlining the answers, is an elaboration strategy.

Research shows that students who elaborate on or re-organize their notes shortly after class learn

better than students who do not.

Steps to Effective Note Taking and Note Making

Before, During, and After a Lecture

Before a Lecture 1. Complete assigned readings. 2. Review notes from previous class. 3. Bring all necessary materials to class. 4. Sit toward the front. 5. Turn off cell phone before class. 6. Date and number each day’s notes.

During Lecture 1. Listen carefully and write down main ideas and

supporting details. o Copy whatever the instructor writes and/or projects on the board. o Underline or highlight any points the instructor repeats. o Always write down definitions and listings. o Listen for comments like, “This is an important reason . . .” and “Pay attention

to . . .” and write down those comments. o If distinguishing among important and un-important points is difficult, write

down everything possible each lecture until becoming accustomed to the instructor’s style.

2. Condense main ideas and supporting details into short phrases, and use abbreviations when possible.

3. Use indenting to distinguish between main ideas and supporting details/secondary ideas.

4. When the instructor moves to a new idea/topic, skip a couple lines or draw a line across the page.

After the Lecture 1. Add any important information you recall but did not

write down. 2. Clarify information you wrote down but did not

understand, by consulting the textbook, a tutor, or the instructor.

3. Generate mirror questions and record them along the left-hand column.

4. Underline key terms or phrases that can trigger the answers to the questions.

5. Test yourself by covering up the notes and attempting to answer the questions.

6. If appropriate, construct a graphic representation of the material, on a separate piece of paper.

7. Generate a summary question and record it at the end of the notes.

Practice Watch this YouTube video, titled “Learning Styles Don’t Exist”, and listen to the NPR story on the same topic and practice the note-taking steps we just discussed.

Questions/Comments?

Conclusion During this workshop, we accomplished the following objectives: • Explain the types of memory and learning strategies

and how those concepts relate to taking and making notes.

• Identify the steps to effective note taking and note making.

• Practice note taking and note making on a short lecture.

Next Workshop: “Social-Emotional Learning and

Other Non-Cognitive Factors” presented by Dr.

Steve Knotek