how to be a successful student and note taking skills

How to be a successful student and note taking skills

A presentation for LSC by Sarah Gibbons

There are many advantages that come from having a university degree

• Think of 5 ways that a university degree can improve your life.

• Discuss with a partner..

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Here are some advantages of a university degree..

@Copyrights All Rights Reserved. The LSC Group. Credits: Mrs. Sarah Gibbons - Lecturer

1. Better career opportunities

2. More employable

3. Salaries are higher

4. Learn to be independent

5. Cultural and social experiences

6. Develop transferrable skills

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Let's look at these in more detail..

• Better career opportunities

• What is the difference between a career and a job?


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A career

1. Something to earn money AND offers employment opportunities

2. Provides training and opportunity for professional growth

3. Networking possibilities

4. A fulfilling long-term journey

5. Gain valuable experiences

6. Feel satisfied

7. Moving up the career ladder

A job

1. Something to earn money

2. Little training or opportunity for professional growth

3. Less networking opportunities

4. Satisfies short-term goals

5. Limited experiences

6. Can feel frustrated

7. Less potential to develop

More employable

• 1. Graduates are more likely to be employed than non-graduates and more likely to work in high-skilled posts. (according to statistics in 2017 by Office for National Statistics – the UK's largest independent producer of official statistics:

• 2. You can get more specialist jobs – specialist means you can become more of an expert in the field.

• Tell your partner your job/ career plans..

Clegg, R. 2017. Graduates in the UK labour market: 2017. Office for National Statistics. [Online]. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/graduatesintheuklabourmarket/2017 [Accessed 27 March 2020].


https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/graduatesintheuklabourmarket/2017

Salaries are higher

• Do you agree with the following statements?

1. A graduate usually earns more than someone without a college or university degree.

2. The starting salary of a professional job is higher than a non-professional job.

3. You are more likely to become a billionaire with a degree than without one!

@Copyrights All Rights Reserved. The LSC Group. Credits: Mrs . Sarah Gibbons -Lecturer

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Billionaire statistics!

• 'An analysis of the educational background of the top tier of dollar billionaires shows that they are much more likely than average to have gone to university. And they are more likely to have a postgraduate degree than no degree at all'.

• 'It shows that 76% of these billionaires have a degree. This breaks down to 47% having a bachelor's degree, 23% a master's degree and 6% a doctorate'.

• Coughlan, S. (2016) Are billionaires more likely to be graduates? Education correspondent [online], BBC, London, Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35631029 [Assessed 30 January 2020].

@Copyrights All Rights Reserved. The LSC Group. Credits: Mrs. Sarah Gibbons - Lecturer 9

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35631029

Learn to be more independent

• For some people it is the first time living away from home.

• You will be responsible for your own progress.

• This includes getting to class on time, doing the necessary reading, managing work and family commitments, budgeting your finances and handing in assignments.

• You will need to handle stress and failure and keep yourself motivated.

• How do you keep yourself motivated?

Cultural and social experience

You will meet people from many different cultural backgrounds.

You will meet people of different ages and who have different life experiences.

You will have the chance to broaden your horizons. Have you heard this expression before? What does it mean?


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To broaden your horizons..

• Meaning: To expand your knowledge, experience and perspective. To open your mind to new ways of thinking..

12 @Copyrights All Rights Reserved. The LSC Group. Credits: Mrs. Sarah Gibbons - Lecturer

How to be a successful student

• Success is not just about intelligence it is also about attitude.

• What characteristics does a student need to be successful?



How to be a successful student - answers

• Work hard

• Be disciplined

• Ask questions

• Be organised

• Develop resilience

• Learn from failure

• Reflect on feedback

• Set achievable goals

• Work-life balance

• Stay motivated


Note taking skills

• Today's lesson will focus on note taking.

1. When will you need to take notes?

2. Is it important to take notes?


1. When will you need to take notes?

a. In lectures

b. To prepare for exams and assignments

c. In meetings and seminars

Can you think of any other examples?

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2. Is it important to take notes?

• Yes

• Helps you focus in class

• Trying to decide the key points increases understanding

• Improves cognitive processing, retention and recall

• Helps organise information into future study material


Handwritten or typed?

• Do you prefer to write notes by hand or on the computer?

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

• Discuss in small groups..


Notes by hand

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Advantages

Good for visual learners

Easy to organise and link ideas

Suitable for all types of class including those with diagrams and formulas

Easy to personalise and be creative

Cheap and transportable

Disadvantages

Possible spelling and grammar mistakes

Easy to lose

Bad handwriting will look messy

Can be more time consuming

Notes by computer• Advantages

• Easy to store, edit and share

• Unlimited pages

• Can be faster to type

• Neat

• Autocorrect spelling and grammar and dictionary available

• Disadvantages

• Tend to be verbatim which can mean less cognitive processing

• Tricky for certain types of material for example diagrams

• Computers are expensive and heavy to carry

• Technical issues

• Battery and electricity source are required


Active listening

• What does this mean?



Active listening continued

• Reduce distractions for example turn off your phone.

• Face the speaker and maintain eye contact.

• Identify the key information and take notes.

• Prepare for class by doing relevant reading and rereading your previous notes – it is easier to understand information within a context.

• Focus, don’t let your mind wander – don't think about what you are having for dinner!

• Remember, there is something valuable to learn in every lecture.

Clues to understanding content:


Introductory phrases and concluding remarks

Words that are repeated regularly

Signposting words – an important issue is, this is

the main reason that, there are

two influential theories on

Non-verbal cues –intonation, pauses,

volume and gestures

Improve your note taking with these tips!


Before – Do background reading on lecture topic, bring a pen and paper or computer,

prepare the environment -phone on silent, some

refreshments

During – write the date and the subject, focus on the main

ideas and concepts, use a suitable note taking method, use abbreviations and bullet

points, listen actively

After – check after the class, review and edit where

necessary, address any questions or doubts

Reread your notes and test yourself regularly to improve short and long term memory

Here are some of the popular methods to take notes..1. The Outline Method

2. The Sentence Method

3. The Mapping Method

4. The Charting Method

5. The Cornell Method

6. The SQ3R Method

• Have you heard of these? Take 10 minutes to search online. Discuss with a partner..


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1. The Outline method

• What is it?

• Organises topics using headings and bullet points

• Bullet points or numbers indicate each new idea.

• Starts on the left of the page with the main ideas

• Topics and subtopics indented on the right.

• Advantages: Clear connection between ideas, easy to identify main ideas, organised, can be done by hand or computer, easy to review, flexible, provides a structure

• Disadvantages: Difficult with some lectures for example if not clearly organised or involves mathematical formulas and diagrams


Outline method example

• A main topic

A sub-topic

Supporting idea/ key point


• A main topic

A sub-topic




2. The Sentence method

• What is it?

• Lists each new idea or topic as a new sentence

• Organises main ideas with headings

• Effective when the lesson covers a lot of information quickly

• Advantages: very simple, records a lot of information quickly, more organised than paragraphs, notes are simplified

• Disadvantages: Hard to edit and review without rewriting, difficult to differentiate between main and supporting ideas


The Sentence method example

• Sentence 1. Key details of the topic




3. The Mapping method

• What is it?

• Represents information visually

• Organised with a main topic in the centre and subtopics branching off

• Effective for demonstrating relationships between ideas

• Advantages: Appeals to visual learners, shows clear connection between ideas, easy to identify main concepts

• Disadvantages: Can be messy, difficult to continue over the page, limited space to add details


The Mapping method example


4. The Charting method

• What is it?

• Uses columns to organise information

• Each column has a category and information is added under the relevant category

• Advantages: information is clearly organised, highlights key information for each category, easy to review, easy to study comparisons and relationships

• Disadvantages: lecture needs a clear outline, identifying relevant categories can be difficult


The Charting method example

Main topic

Topic 1 Topic 2 Topic 3

Point 1 Point 1 Point 1

Details Details Details

Point 2 Point 2 Point 2

Details Details Details


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5. The Cornell method

• What is it?

• Divide the page into three parts, a middle section, a 2.5" column on the left and a 2" section at the bottom.

• On the left is the 'Cue' column for questions, comments and prompts about the main ideas in your notes section.

• The middle is your notes.

• At the bottom is the 'Summary' section which summarize the main points from the notes.

• You can test yourself later by trying to answer the questions without checking your notes.

• Advantages: organized and efficient, clear main points and summary, easy to review, writing questions clarifies meaning and improves memory

• Disadvantages: time consuming, requires planning


Cornell method example

Cues Notes

After class During class

Main ideas and Main points from class

questions

Summary

After class

Summary of the class


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6. The SQ3R Method - A strategy for academic reading

• SURVEY: Get an idea of purpose and main ideas. Identify titles, headings, pictures, introduction and conclusion, topic sentences and last paragraph sentences

• QUESTION: Think of relevant questions based on the title to have a reading purpose. Promotes active reading and engagement with the material.

• If the title of the article was 'SQ3R promotes active reading'. What questions might you ask?

• READ: Read the text to answer your questions, note the relevant ideas and concepts. Look for other interesting information. Reading with a purpose means you engage more with the text.

• RECALL: When you finish reading try and answer your questions without looking back at the text. Identify the important concepts and ideas and say these out loud.

• REVIEW: Think back over the main points at later stages to test what you remember. This transfers material into your long-term memory. Putting the information in your own words ensures deeper understanding.


The SQ3R method example


Survey

Question

Read

Recall

Review

Practice time!

• Work in small groups.

• Find an article online that is related to your assignment topic.

• One person reads the article out loud whilst the others take notes.

• Experiment with the different methods.

• Discuss which you found more effective.


Let's watch a video to recap note taking skills

• Take notes about the main points and the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

• 1: The Outline Method

• 2: The Sentence Method

• 3: SQ3R

• 4: The Mapping Method

• 5: The Charting Method

• 6: The Cornell Method

• What can you remember?

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryTYn12g--0


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryTYn12g--0

1. Outlining method

• What is it? Structure notes under bullet points about main topics, subtopics and examples

• Advantages: Easy to structure notes, logical, easy to identify key points and relationships between ideas

• Disadvantages: Difficult if lecture isn't structured or for lectures with a lot of diagrams


2. The sentence method

• What is it? Write down the exact words of the lecturer in short sentences

• Advantages: Good for fast lessons which cover a lot of material, useful if lecture isn't well organised

• Disadvantages: Can be difficult to record everything, may miss key points


3. The SQ3R method

• What is it? Abbreviation for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review –take notes from written material

• Advantages: Helps focus on key ideas, builds retention skills, encourages critical thinking

• Disadvantages: Time consuming


4. The Mapping Method

• What is it? Organise notes in a diagram form with main idea in the centre and other ideas coming from it

• Advantages: Helps show relationships between ideas, visually appealing, easy to organise complex concepts

• Disadvantages: Can be confusing, difficult to extend ideas onto a second page


5. The Charting Method

• What is it? Organise information in tables, useful for highlighting key information that you want to review

• Advantages: Clear structure, easy to memorise, shows relationships between ideas for example similarities and differences

• Disadvantages: Time consuming, needs information that is easy to categorise


6. The Cornell Method

• What is it? Divide the page and separate notes into 3 categories – Key words and questions, a section for notes and a section for summary

• Advantages: Easy to organise and summarise material, identifies the key concepts, encourages critical thinking

• Disadvantages: Requires time to organise the information, difficult if the lecture is fast or unstructured


Let's recap today's lesson..


We looked at some of the advantages of a

university degree.

These include progressing in your

career and earning a better salary!

We looked at note taking skills. These will help you

to be more focused in class and to improve your retention of information.

how to be a successful student and note taking skills

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