Note taking and skimming and scanning Skimming Quickly

Note taking and skimming and scanning

Skimming • Quickly go through the page to get the gist of what it is about Scanning • Searching to find specific information – Eg: Play cast list, train timetable

How to do it: Books • It’s not a novel, don’t read cover to cover • Read the introduction • Look for key words in the contents page and index • Read the beginnings of chapters • Read headings within chapters • Text in boxes can contain key points

How to do it: Journal articles • Read the abstract (paragraph at the beginning of the article). • Is it relevant? • Do you need to read the whole thing? • Read the first sentence of each paragraph • Read the discussion/summary at the end • Visual clues: – charts/images • Ctrl-F (allows you to find specific text in document)

Skimming and scanning exercise (Note-taking Resource 1) • What grade did Trump award himself? – A+ • Were his tax reforms good for the poor? – Critics say they were good for the super-rich • What does Trump call the media? – The enemy of the people • How many attended the Women’s March after his inauguration? – 725, 000 • How did Jjana Valentiner respond to his presidency? – Hand deliver boxes of cupcakes to those who save democracy

Why take notes? Some points from Note-taking: A Research Roundup (2018) from: https: //www. cultofpedagogy. com/note-taking • Note-taking improves your learning (Rahmani & Sadeghi, 2011; Chang & Ku, 2014) • Adding drawings to notes to help explain ideas/terms can help memory and learning (Wammes, Meade, & Fernandes, 2016). • Some studies show that students learn more from handwritten notes (Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014; Carter, Greenberg, & Walker, 2017), some find no difference (Artz, Johnson, Robson, & Taengnoi, 2017). • The amount of information you remember is linked to the quality of your notes (Nye, Crooks, Powley, & Tripp, 1984).

Critical note-taking questions • • What does this really mean? Do the reasons support the argument? Is there supporting evidence? Does this match what I know already? Does it fit what others say about this? Is this relevant and useful for my EPQ? Are there any flaws? From: Cottrell (2011). Critical thinking skills

Highlighting is note-taking • Read it BEFORE highlighting (don’t ‘Panic Highlight’) • On its own it is not enough • Have a system! – Use different colours – Underline/circle Taken from: https: //medium. goodnotes. com/three-pitfalls-to-avoid-whenstudying-with-a-highlighter-2 aa 345 e 1 e 6 eb

Highlighting Article notes Essay plan point Taken from: http: //www. raulpacheco. org/2015/08/highlighting-and-note-takingon-journal-articles-%20 as-engagement/ ; https: //paperfreeclass. net/essaywriting/ This step is key. Your article notes are NOT an essay plan

Method 1: Outline Taken from: https: //images. app. goo. gl/t. TSYJ 8 E 8 bss. Wov. V 29 https: //images. app. goo. gl/P 6 m. Zym 9 Tq. Tfjn. DVx 7

Method 2: Cornell Method • Physically fold your paper into 3 sections: • This becomes: From: https: //medium. goodnotes. com/study-with-ease-the-best-way-totake-notes-2749 a 3 e 8297 b Or, more simply: From: http: //www. easybib. com/guides/students/writing-guide/ii-research/e-taking-notes/ From: https: //collegeinfogeek. com/how-totake-notes-in-college/

Method 3: Sketchnoting • Sketchnotes are rich visual notes created from a mix of handwriting, drawings, hand-drawn typography, shapes, and visual elements like arrows, boxes, and lines. – (Mike Rhode: The Sketchnote Handbook) • Why? Including drawings can help you remember more and understand concepts better – https: //www. edweek. org/tm/articles/2016/01/04/thebenefits-of-using-doodling-and-sketchnotes. html) • You DON’T need to be a great artist: it’s about ideas, not art!

Examples Taken from: https: //www. flickr. com/photos/rohdesign/22957307946/in/album-72157661077275626/ ; https: //mslwheeler. wordpress. com/2018/01/05/sketchnoting/ https: //nerdletestuary. wordpress. com/tag/sketchnotes/ ; https: //www. flickr. com/photos/dimeophotos/34610123700

Pitfalls • Stay focused! What is your topic? Is this relevant? • Don’t write everything down: selection, selection! • What are the key points? Critical analysis. • Keep track of where your notes come from – you need to reference it later (don’t plagiarize!) • You must revisit and organise your notes before you write your essay • Don’t always take notes. Sometimes you need to read, absorb the information and think first

Failure to engage – “a set of photocopies can become an alibi. A student makes hundreds of pages of photocopies and takes them home, and the manual labour he (sic) exercises in doing so gives him the impression that he possesses the work. Owning the photocopies exempts the student from actually reading them. …Defend yourself from this trap; as soon as you have the photocopy, read it and annotate it immediately. … There are many things I do not know because I photocopied a text and then relaxed as if I had read it. ” (Umberto Eco)

Further Resources • • How to take Cornell notes – https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Wt. W 9 Iy. E 04 OQ Mike Rohde’s You. Tube channel (Sketchnote teacher and author) – https: //www. youtube. com/channel/UCe 1 elri 6 WQz. EOc 7 t. D 18 EZOg Improving Cornell Notes With Sketchnoting Techniques – https: //youtu. be/p. Zg. Mpjjg. CRA Sketchnoting Resources for Teachers – https: //docs. google. com/document/d/1 OZNkvgo 7 z 6 RYz. Bj. Tc_Fng. Je. Xt 9 v. CIGeou. Lfi. XHv 5 Zpk/edit • How to Highlight / Efficient Highlighting – https: //youtu. be/V 3 t. JTIRCF 6 M

Note-taking exercise Trump’s effectiveness in 1 st two years as President • Use Note-taking resource 1 • Make notes on this source using Cornell/Outline/Sketchnoting

Homework • Make notes on two resources using Outline/Cornell/Sketchnoting method