NOTETAKING STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS PRESENTED BY CATHERINE

NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS PRESENTED BY CATHERINE KNIGHT

WHY TAKE NOTES? • PROMOTES ACTIVE LISTENING • PROVIDES ACCURATE RECORD OF INFO • MAKES YOU RESTRUCTURE INFORMATION • INTERPRET (GIVE MEANING) • CONDENSE • ORGANIZE • PROVIDES REPETITION ABOUT 60% IS FORGOTTEN AFTER ONLY 9 HOURS & AFTER 2 DAYS ABOUT 75% OF INFORMATION GONE

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD NOTES • ARE ORGANIZED • DISTINGUISH MAIN POINTS FROM DETAILS • INCLUDE EXAMPLES • INDICATE LECTURE PATTERNS • ALLOW FOR SELF-TESTING • STAND THE TEST OF TIME • USE ABBREVIATIONS

NOTE-TAKING SYSTEMS/FORMATS • ALL SHOULD INCLUDE: • COURSE NAME • DATE • PAGE NUMBER • SECTION FOR NOTES • SECTION SUMMARY • SECTION FOR SELF-TEST

NOTE-TAKING TOOLS • LAPTOP • USE A NOTE-TAKING PROGRAM SUCH AS EVERNOTE OR ONENOTE • LEARN TO TYPE (FASTER) • BECOME FAMILIAR WITH KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS • USE TEXT EXPANDER PROGRAMS • PEN AND PAPER • NOTEBOOK FOR EACH CLASS • WRITE CLEARLY

BEFORE THE LECTURE: PREPARE FOR EFFECTIVE NOTE-TAKING • DO THE ASSIGNED READING • ARRIVE 10 MINUTES BEFORE CLASS AND REVIEW THE ASSIGNED READING AND NOTES FROM THE PREVIOUS CLASS • TURN OFF WI-FI CARD OR BLOCK THE INTERNET • SILENCE YOUR PHONE AND PUT AWAY OUT OF SIGHT

DURING THE LECTURE: WHAT TO WRITE DOWN • ONLY WRITE DOWN THE MAIN POINTS OF THE LECTURE • WRITE THE PROFESSOR’S SUMMARY AT THE END OF CLASS AND HIS REVIEW AT THE BEGINNING OF THE NEXT CLASS • WRITE DOWN ANY EXAMPLES OR HYPOTHETICALS THE PROFESSOR GIVES DURING CLASS • IF YOU DIDN’T GET A POINT, MAKE A NOTE OF IT, AND WAIT UNTIL AFTER CLASS TO ASK

AFTER THE LECTURE: REVIEW, CLARIFY, AND SYNTHESIZE • REVIEW AND CLARIFY NOTES RIGHT AFTER CLASS • SYNTHESIZE NOTES INTO A MASTER OUTLINE

NOTE-TAKING STYLES • ROUGH OUTLINE METHOD • CORNELL STYLE NOTES • MIND MAPPING • BRANCH MAPPING • COMPARISON MAPPING • CHARTING METHOD

REMEMBER: NOTETAKING, LISTENING, & PARTICIPATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS INFORMATION PRESENTED IN CLASS OFTEN CONTAINS THE CENTRAL CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE AND THE MATERIAL MOST LIKELY TO BE INCLUDED ON EXAMS. YET, STUDENTS FREQUENTLY DO NOT REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF NOTETAKING AND LISTENING. MORE ESSENTIAL THAN ANY NOTE-TAKING STRATEGY IS PAYING ATTENTION. A LOT OF STUDENTS MAKE THE MISTAKE OF TAKING SO MANY NOTES THAT THEY'RE NOT IN THE HERE-AND-NOW OF THE CLASS. OTHERS ARE SURFING THE NET, FACEBOOKING, TEXTING, OR TWEETING. FOCUS ON WHAT THE INSTRUCTOR IS PRESENTING, AND MAKE AN EFFORT TO LEARN THE MATERIAL RIGHT THEN AND THERE: • SIT IN A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN SEE AND HEAR THE PROFESSOR CLEARLY - THE FRONT OF CLASS IS USUALLY BEST (IT'S OKAY TO BE A NERD!) • CLEAR YOUR SPACE OF ANY DISTRACTIONS THAT COULD PREVENT YOU FROM FOCUSING ON THE CLASS • IF YOU'RE TAKING NOTES ON A COMPUTER, TURN OFF YOUR WIRELESS CONNECTION SO YOU'RE NOT TEMPTED TO GO ONLINE • THE KEY IS TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM THAT ENABLES YOU TO : • REVIEW REGULARLY • RECITE (REPEATING KEY CONCEPTS FROM CLASS) • REFLECT (CONNECTING CLASS IDEAS TO OTHER NOTES AND READINGS)