AVID’s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing all students for college readiness and success in a global society. Cornell Note- Taking
AVID’s mission is to close the achievement gap by preparing
all students for college readiness and success in a global society.
Cornell Note-Taking
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The Curve of Forgetting
The Curve of Forgetting describes how we retain or get rid of information that we take in. It's based on a one-hour lecture.
On Day 1, you go in knowing nothing, or 0%. At the end of the lecture you know 100% of what you know, however well you know it (where the curve rises to its highest point).
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The Curve of Forgetting
By Day 2, if you have done nothing with the information you learned in that lecture, didn't think about it again, read it again, etc. you will have lost 50%-80% of what you learned. Our brains are constantly recording information on a temporary basis. Because the information isn't necessary, and it doesn't come up again, our brains dump it all off, along with what was learned in the lecture that you actually do want to hold on to!
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The Curve of Forgetting
By Day 7, we remember even less, and by Day 30 we retain only about 2%-3% of the original hour! This may account for feeling as if you've never seen this before in your life when you're studying for exams - you may need to actually re-learn it from scratch.
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The Curve of Forgetting
Good news - You can change the shape of the curve! A big signal to your brain to hold onto a specific chunk of information is if that information comes up again. When the same thing is repeated, your brain says, "Oh-there it is again, I better keep that." When you are exposed to the same information repeatedly, it takes less and less time to "activate" the information in your long term memory and it becomes easier for you to retrieve the information when you need it.
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The Curve of Forgetting
• Here's the case for making time to review material: Within 24 hours of getting the information - spend 10 minutes reviewing and you will raise the curve almost to 100% again. A week later (Day 7), it only takes 5 minutes to "reactivate" the same material, and again raise the curve. By Day 30, your brain will only need 24 minutes to give you the feedback, "Yup, I know that. Got it.”
New Curve!
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The Curve of Forgetting
• Often students feel they can't possibly make time for a review session every day in their schedules. However, this review is an excellent investment of time.
• If they don't review, they will need to spend 40-50 minutes re-learning each hour of material later – do they have that kind of time?– Cramming rarely plants the information into long term
memory where they can access it to do assignments throughout the term as well as be ready for exams.
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Why Take Cornell Notes?
Cornell Notes are an excellent tool to take focused notes, use inquiry to highlight the main ideas, and to summarize knowledge learned.The idea is to emphasize not just taking notes, but also the importance
of refining and using the notes as a study aid.They were developed at Cornell University in the 1950s by a
frustrated professor who wanted to help his students learn to retain information better.
They have become a cornerstone of the AVID program because of their usefulness in all content areas and for all students.
Three advantages of CN: It is a method for mastering information, not just recording facts. It is efficient.Each step prepares the way for the next part of the learning process.
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Why Take Cornell Notes?
• Long story short:When you write down even brief notes about
what you are hearing/ experiencing, you keep 60% of what you hear/learn.
When you take thorough, organized notes and review them, you keep 90-100% of what you hear/learn.
• Cornell Notes is a process to cover all of these steps.
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The Curve of Forgetting
• Depending on the course load, the general recommendation is to spend about 30 minutes every weekday, and 1.5 - 2 hours every weekend in review activity. – Perhaps you only have time to review 4 or 5 days of the
week, and the curve stays at about the mid range. That's OK, it's a lot better than the 2%-3% you would have retained if you hadn’t reviewed at all.
• Many students are amazed at the difference reviewing regularly makes in how much they understand and how well they retain material. It's worth experimenting for a couple weeks, just to see what a difference it makes!
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Some Basics
• Advantages– Method for mastering information– Efficient– Sequential
• Materials– Cornell note paper– Basic loose-leaf paper
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C-Note Paper Samples
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Let’s Practice…
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Heading…
Learning to
Take Cornell Notes
Name
AVID/ Per.
September
How are taking Cornell Notes different from how I have taken Notes
in the past?
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During the Lecture
During Lecture Write In This Section
Only
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• Help you work on assignments and study for tests outside of class
• Stimulates Critical Thinking skills• Helps organize and process
information• Help you recall information and use
your notes multiple times
Why Take Cornell Notes?
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First & Last NameClass Title
PeriodDate
TopicEssential Question
Questions,Subtitles,Headings,Etc.
Class Notes
2 1/2”
3 to 4 sentence summary across the bottom of the last page of the day’s notes, which answers the Essential Question
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Before the Lecture Fill in Heading
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When there is no Essential QuestionsStandard/Objective (ELA) 3.6-Identify significant literary devices (e.g., metaphor,
symbolism, dialect, irony) that define a writer’s style.
Essential Question How do literary devices such as metaphor, symbolism, dialect, and irony define the writer’s style?
Standard/Objective (Math) Alg. 9.0- Students use substitution to solve a system oftwo linear equations in two variables algebraically.
Essential Question How is a system of two linear equations solved bysubstitution?
Standard/Objective (SS) 10.5.2- Understand the role of Appeasement, nonintervention (isolationism), and the domestic distractions in Europe and the United States prior to the outbreak of World War II.
Essential Question Why is Appeasement a contributing factor to the startof World War II?
Topic (Science) Diffusion and Osmosis
Essential Question • What is the process of diffusion and osmosis in amembrane system?
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During the Lecture• From “lecture”, text, video, projects, etc.• Paraphrasing• Skip lines between ideas• Abbreviate• Use phrases• Use bullets/lists• Recognize cues from teachers• Use outline style, diagrams, pictures, graphs
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After the Lesson…
• Highlight important information• Cross out non-essential information• Star (*) any information that might show up
on a test/quiz.
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After the Lesson…Compare your notes with a partner!
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What type of question should I write?
• Your questions should reflect:– Information on the right
side– Questions that help you
study– Info that might appear on
a test– Info you don’t understand– Gaps in your notes
Generate Good Study Questions
Phrase the Question on the left so that it helps you recall
the information on the right
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• Look over that page of notes (1-3 mins.)• Write a 3 or 4 sentence summary• Identify the most important pieces of
information.• Answer the Essential Question and your
questions on the left side in that summary.
At home that night…
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Using your notes to Study
Cover the notes on the right
Rework/Answer questions on
the left
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• Look over your notes – Underline/highlight important
information– Cross out unnecessary information
• Review with a Partner – Fill in missed information– Generate two good study question in
the left column
Let’s Focus on your Notes
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• Insure you have 2 good study questions on the left
• Set a timer for 3 minutes (or watch the clock), and do a Quickwrite summary answering:– How are taking Cornell Notes different
from how I have taken Notes
Tonight’s homework