Note-taking and Note-making. Materials developed by the Learner Development Unit at the University of Bradford.

Note-taking and Note-making.

Materials developed by the Learner Development Unit

at the University of Bradford

Questions:

• Why it is important to have note-taking skills?

• What is the difference between note-taking and note-making?

• What are the different ways of taking effective notes?

The Plan:

• Why take notes?

• Active listening and active reading mean Active Learning.

• Note-taking versus Note-making

• Linear, visual or voiced notes?

Why Take Notes? The Magic 4:

1. Summary.2. Memory.3. Revision.4. Concentration

• These four elements together = Active learning

Why Take Notes? The Magic Four revealed…1. Summary – helps you to see an overview of an entire topic by the

end of it.

2. Memory – aids retention of the information. – If you have to double process something i.e. not only listen or read but

listen/read and record you are more likely to remember.

3. Revision – gives you the material to pin your revision on or to guide further reading.

4. Concentration –means you have to concentrate on what is being said or read, and you are being active, rather than passive. If you are not actively engaged you can be easily distracted.

Active Listening and Reading.

• Active listening and reading means that you are doing something with the information you are receiving.

• It involves sitting in a good posture: slouching makes your brain slouch!

• It involves making decisions and engaging in thought processes…

Active Listening and Reading Tips.• Importance = motivation. If you know something

important is being imparted it makes you more motivated to record the essence of it. (see also “Getting the Most Out of Your Lectures” materials.)

• Responsibility. It is your responsibility to do the listening. Why rely on the materials being available electronically? If you are there, make the effort.

• Hear. You need to be able to hear the lecture – not your mates chatting about last night’s telly. Sit somewhere you can hear the information, not somewhere you feel popular with your mates.

Active Listening and Reading Tips continued…• Listen not LIKE. It is also for you to listen rather

than rely on the lecturer being entertaining! It makes no difference whether it’s your favourite lecturer. Just get the information you need from the session and move on.

• Patterns. Speakers have a certain pattern they tend to follow. Use it. If you know that a speaker points to possible exam topics throughout their lecturers then pay close attention to these. If a book you are taking notes from has a habit of summarising the key points at the end of each chapter, use these first to take your notes.

Active Listening and Reading Tips continued…

• Important vs. trivial. You should be constantly assessing what you are listening or reading and deciding whether it is important enough to be noted down.

• Wandering. Letting your mind wander could mean– you’ve been working too long and need a break– you’re dehydrated - grab a drink!– your motivation is poor. Refocus and start again.

Active Listening and Reading Top Tip!

• JOT IT DOWN. Some people make copious notes, others merely need a few key phrases. Even strong auditory learners need something to aid their memory. The message is, don’t just sit there reading or listening – record something.

Note-taking versus Note-making.

It’s simple!• Note-taking is when you are reading or hearing

something for the first time and you are trying to jot down the key information so you can use it later.

• Note-making is when you return to those notes and make notes on them. This means you annotate them, put things into your own words or summarise them and highlight key points.

Linear, Visual or Voiced?

• First of all, think about the title of this slide. What does it mean when you consider note-taking?

• How do you currently note-take?

• Is it effective?

• Could it be improved?

Linear Notes.

• These are the notes most people are used to taking even if it does not appeal to their learning style. (for more information on learning styles see the “What Type of Learner Are You” materials)

• Linear notes tend to look like this. They may be less neat and have bullets and relevant symbols but they use lots of words and are often done in phrases or sometimes in sentences.

Linear Notes 1. • Try having a specific template which you follow for all of your

notes. It should include:

1. Module lecturer or text and date.2. Preparation (a brief statement on what you want to get out of

this lecture/text?)3. Main theme of lecture or text.4. Overview of lecture (maybe the lecturer provides this) or

overview of text (a rough outline of the contents you are using.)

5. Main points made in lecture or text and any examples or evidence given.

6. Questions raised by lecture or text.7. References to sources.

Linear Notes 2.• You could try the Cornell note-taking system (a handout is available

to download).• This template sections your page into four• Each section is used for something different:

1. This records the module lecturer, lecture or text and the date.

2. This is where you make the bulk of your notes.

3. This is for going through, after reading or the lecture and making key points or questions that have arisen. They are referred to as ‘cues’.

4. This is for summarising the page of notes. This helps you flick through and find relevant pages at a later date.

Visual Notes 1.• This includes anything which appeals to more visual learners.

• Use colours and size to make things stand out.

• Rather than working in linear format you record the information on plain paper in any way that appeals to you – in bubbles, for instance.

• Use doodles and sketches to help you remember what you

have heard or read.

• Turn lengthy text explanations or arguments into diagrams and charts.

Visual Notes 2.

• MindMapping can be an extremely powerful visual tool.– Try using Mind Genius (available on the student clusters) or

CMAP to record your notes electronically

• Both techniques move beyond spider diagrams and aim to colour code and link information.

• You can include small graphics/doodles to stimulate memory.

• They can be sometimes called memory pegs.

• Have a look at the example…

© 2007 Expanding Paradigms

Voiced (or Audio) Notes 1.

• This is of enormous benefit to reinforce learning and aids auditory learners

• You can use any piece of technology that records. It can be as high-tech or as low tech as you like, it just needs to work and be unobtrusive.

Voiced (or Audio) Notes 2.Lectures and lessons.• You record the lecture you are at and play it back to

yourself. You can then record your own notes of what you remember from what you have heard. Or you could use another note-taking technique then record the final notes for you to listen to.

Texts.• You read a text and record your notes as you go

along, chapter to chapter, direct from the text. Or you could use another note-taking technique then record the final notes for you to listen to

What next?

• Check out our website for more learning materials and to contact us for 1-2-1 advice and support: http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss/learnerdevelopment

• Come along to a workshop: http://www.brad.ac.uk/lss/lssworkshops/

Workshop designed by Russell Delderfield