STRUCTURED NOTE- TAKING FOR ALL STUDENTS The Cornell Way.

Structured Note-Taking For All Students

The Cornell Way

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).


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!


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.


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.


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!


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.


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!

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.

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.

How To Take Cornell Notes

There are four parts to the CORNELL WAY:1.Note-taking: capturing complete notes in any

situation2.Note-making: creating meaning and revising

the notes taken3.Note-interacting: using the notes as a

learning tool to increase achievement4.Note-reflecting: reflecting on learning and

utilizing feedback to improve future note-taking effort

1. Note-taking

C – Create FormatComplete headingThis includes the day’s objective or essential question

Any Paper can be Cornell Note Paper!

All you have to do is add lines!

Blank paper for Thinking Maps, drawings, etc.

Dot paper Graph paper

1. Note-taking

O - Organize Notes•Right side•See your packet for student tips on HOW to take notes.

• This is also a skill they need to be taught.

2. Note-making

R – Review & ReviseTip – ask students to use a different colored pen

2. Note-making

N – Note Key IdeasUse key ideas to create questions (see your packet)Encourage students to use higher-level questionsConsider, “How might this be asked on the test?” (think like the teacher)

Ppts can be turned into CN!

2. Note-making

E – Exchange IdeasCollaborate with others

This can be done periodically throughout your delivery of material, at the end of class, or at the beginning if they took notes for HW.

Encourage use of a different colored penList key vocab from lessonThe idea is for them to begin taking ownership of the content in their notes, both what is there and what is not there (until a partner helps them).

3. Note-interacting

L – Link LearningCreate a summaryGoes at the END of the notes (not one for each page of notes)See your packet for a summary-writing template to help teach this skill.

3. Note-interacting

L – Learning ToolStudy from notesFold the notes over and quiz over the questions on the left while hiding the material on the rightSee your packet for more ways to help students study from their notes.

4. Note-reflecting

W – Written FeedbackTeacher provides written feedbackIt takes time to assess notes, but the rubrics provided allow you to assess one step at a time. You can even provide students a simple checklist to assess themselves. Otherwise, how will students know how to improve?

4. Note-reflecting

A – Address FeedbackMake goals for improvement

4. Note-reflecting

Y – Your ReflectionReflect on the learning by looking at all notes taken over a topic.

“Before” & “After”

Notes on Fancy Paper Cornell Notes

Sample Cornell Notes

English Math


Science Social Studies


Band/Choir


Yes, even PE! Coaches can even use CN to diagram plays.


Cornell Notes work for ANY content.

Think about it: If it’s content worth writing down, isn’t it also worth processing, critical thinking, and reflecting?

Ways to Begin Cornell Note-taking

Start by training students one piece of the process at a time (learning to take good notes is a marathon, not a sprint) Practice the format Take existing notes and draw in the lines of the CN format

Move onto what is written down Teach students common abbreviations for your content area

or academic abbreviations (expl, comp/cont, etc)

Use the templates, checklists, and rubrics to help Post relevant aids in your classroom

Discuss with your grade level/department ways to scaffold expectations appropriately for your students.


When you create student notes or handouts, format them as CN Can scaffold by providing some of the pieces and

having students do the rest Give students partial notes and help them with the gaps Have students generate the questions and write a

summary over the notes provided

Model the process Write questions and summaries as a class first after

providing examples and explaining the process


Turn chapter questions into CN, put dates in the left-hand column, or elements such as plot, setting, conflict for students to keep track of during note-taking

Draw Thinking Maps on the right and generate critical thinking questions on the left. Summarize the learning at the bottom.

Connect what is in the notes to what was on the test as a reflection over the efficiency of students’ notes

Encourage review of notes, questions, and summaries


Assess the notes You may use the rubrics or grading slips provided Have students attach them to their test or turn them

in at the end of a unit You might let them use their notes for a portion of the

test once in a while (that’s up to you!) Give extra credit for good student-generated

questions that you use on the test

Thank you!

We hope this session will inspire you to begin using Cornell Notes with your classes!

If you have any questions or would like more content-specific information, please feel free to ask any member of the AVID Site Team here on campus.

www.avid.orgKristen CavinGCISD AVID Coordinator

[email protected]

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STRUCTURED NOTE- TAKING FOR ALL STUDENTS The Cornell Way.

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