Cornell Note Taking Method What is it How

Cornell Note Taking Method What is it? üHow to make it ‘stick’ in your classroom üWhy teach it? üResources

Cornell Note Taking Method What is it? • One of a variety of techniques to help students better organize their notes. • Developed in 1989 by Walter Paulk @ Cornell to help students with a lot of content to learn (pre-med and pre-law) to organize their notes.

Divide notebook paper into 3 sections by drawing 2 lines. 1) Draw a horizontal line 5 -6 lines up from the bottom. 2) Draw vertical line 2 inches from the left and up to your horizontal line. Image source: http: //coe. jmu. edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes. html

ØPage Header ØThree Sections • Key Points • Notes • Summary

Getting Started! ØEnter notes in the large green box. Skip lines between ideas. Use shorthand like & for ‘and’, @ for ‘at’—no sentences!! Ø Main Ideas ØSummary

Making this ‘stick’ in your class 1. Explain format for taking 2 -colum notes 2. Do activity where you provide structured but only partially complete notes 3. Students read text and complete notes 4. Allow class time to study notes (2 days in a row) 5. Quiz on second day after studying 6. Promote the value of good notes to improve studying. 7. Model the process consistently for several weeks. 8. After a few weeks, transition students to responsibility for note-taking. 9. Don’t grade notes, but give a check for class participation. 10. On test day, collect notes. Share differing examples on the overhead.

Making this ‘stick’ in your class Differentiation 1. Create a ‘class notes’ notebook. 2. Assign students on rotation a day they are responsible for notes. 3. File in the notebook and make a copy for students with IEP plans. 4. Provide opportunity for students with IEPs to make their own notes. 5. ‘Class Notes’ notebook can be a backup source for IEP students and for any absent students.

More on Why… The 5 Rs ØRecord – all meaningful facts and ideas in the large box ØReduce – by listing the main ideas of the notes in the left column ØRecite – by covering or folding the main idea column, and practice recalling the facts you wrote down. ØReflect – by asking questions. Why is this important? How can I relate this to something I already know? What other questions does this raise for me? ØReview – by writing a short 3 -4 sentence summary of your notes in the bottom row. Summarizing in your own words helps move the information into long term memory.

Cornell Note Taking Method Why? http: //www. solida. net/notes/400. html

Resources Del. icio. us bookmarks (http: //delicious. com/itsallaboutinfo) In the search box, type: cornell Note: one of the sites bookmarked has a Cornell Note Taker ‘generator’ where you can create your own customized form and print it as a PDF file. Forget, Mark A. MAX Teaching With Reading & Writing: Classroom Activities to Help Students Learn Subject Matter while Acquiring New Skills. British Columbia, Canada: Trafford Publishing, 2004. (available in the library’s PRO collection). Library Website for MS Word versions of forms (http: //shsbtc. org/ind/Library/index. htm) Go to ‘tool box, ’ then click note-taking and/or New American Notebook). This presentation was adapted from: The Learning Tool box Home at James Madison University http: //coe. jmu. edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes. html. Accessed March 20, 2009.