Effective Notetaking
- This takes understanding of what you're doing
- It takes practice, which involves effort
- Spoken language is more diffuse than written
- Speaker's organization is not immediately apparent
- This makes analysis difficult
- Provides a written record for review
- Forces the listener to pay attention
- Requires organization, which involves active effort on the part of
the listener
- Listener must condense and rephrase, which aids understanding
- Vision and hearing are better
- Doorways, window glare, etc.
- Peers
- Two pens
- Wide-lined, easy-eye paper
- Date and topic written on paper
- Plenty of blank paper in back
- Be sure of your purpose and the speaker's purpose
- Review your notes and other background material if available
- Increased knowledge results in increased interest
- A clear sense of purpose on your part will make the speaker's content
more relevant
- Be ready to understand and remember
- Anticipate what is to come, and evaluate how well you were able to
do this
- Don't be lulled into a sense of security by an effective presentation
- Mannerisms will give extra clues
- Looking helps focus attention
- Nothing will generate interest so much as an appropriate question
- Be selective. Some things are more important than others.
- Tone or gesture
- Repetition
- Use of cue words such as: remember, most important, etc.
- Illustration on board
- Reference to text
- Note especially new words and ideas
- "Odd" ideas are difficult to understand initially and require
extra effort
- You remember things which support your existing concepts, and forget
those things which disagree
- Glance back over material from time to time to see if a pattern is
emerging, if consistency is being maintained, etc.
- If possible, clarify points during or after the lecture
- Don't try for a verbatim transcript
- Get all of the main ideas
- Record some details, illustrations, implications, etc.
- But remember that the speaker may serve as a model
- But don't allow preconceived notions to distort what you are hearing
- Underscore or star major points
- Leave plenty of white space for later additions
- Organization aids memory
- Organization indicates gaps when they occur
- Listen carefully to what is being said
- Pay attention to qualifying words like: sometimes, usually, rarely,
etc.
- Notice signals that a change of direction is coming: but, however,
on the other hand
- Ask questions and discuss if it's permitted
- If not, jot questions in your notes
- Seek out meanings. Look for implications beyond what is being said
- Relate the material to your other classes and your life outside of
school
- Jot down words or phrases, not entire sentences
- Develop some system of shorthand and be consistent in its use
- Hr s sntnc wth vwls lft t
- Leave out small service words
- Use contractions and abbreviations
- Use symbols: +, =, &, @
- You may practice listening to the news on TV and taking notes
- Don't just recopy or type without thought
- "Reminiscencing" may provide forgotten material later
- Rewrite incomplete or skimpy parts in greater detail
- Fill in gaps as you remember points heard but not recorded
- Arrange with another student to compare notes
- Spaced effort is more effective than the same effort spent cramming
- We forget 50% of what we hear immediately; two months later, another
25% is gone. But relearning is rapid if regular review is used
- Compare the information in your notes with your own experience
- Don't swallow everything uncritically
- Don't reject what seems strange or incorrect. Check it out.
- Be willing to hold some seeming inconsistencies in your mind over a
period of time
- Make meaningful associations
- Memorize that which must be memorized
- Sharpen your notetaking technique by looking at other students' notes.
How are they better than your own? How are your notes superior?
- Practice those skills you wish to develop