Lesson Plan: Note-Taking Skills
About This Skill / Although note-taking may seem like a simple task, it is cognitively complex. It presents the multi-tasking challenge of figuring out what’s important to record while writing.Many students have taught themselves how to take notes. They may not be familiar with recommended methods for taking notes during class, and reviewing and working with the notes after class.
Overview / This lesson plan suggests teaching two ways to take notes: Cornell Notes and concept mapping.
Cornell Notes is a structured way to take notes in class and actively review the notes after class.
Students can use concept mapping both to study and take notes. It is well-suited to visual learners. It has many variations. This lesson plan first teaches how to use concept mapping when studying. Students brainstorm key concepts about a topic they’re studying, and write each concept on index cards or Post-It. They organize the cards, and then prepare a visual map that shows the connections between the concepts.
After students practice this “in-depth” method, they learn a variety of ways to quickly prepare diagrams, charts and other visuals. They can use these when taking notes in class and when studying.
Learning Objectives / Students will be able to:
§ Explain why note-taking is important.
§ Listen for cues that signal key points to take notes on.
§ Take notes quickly, using abbreviations, symbols and other forms of short-hand in a way that they can understand later.
§ Use two note-taking methods: Cornell Notes and concept mapping.
§ Use recommended methods to review and work with their notes to sharpen their understanding of new material.
Materials/Equipment / 1. You will use a PowerPoint for Cornell Notes Lesson 1 and Concept Mapping Lesson 1. Put them on a thumb drive or your device. (links)
2. Print your own copy of the PPTS with speaker’s notes.
3. Bring equipment needed to show PowerPoints in class (laptop or tablet, and any power cords or cables needed to project).
4. For the first lesson on Cornell Notes, decide whether you will use a document camera to demonstrate note-taking for students, or arrange to print and show samples.
You may want to continue to use a document camera to have students share samples of their notes throughout these lessons.
5. Print copies for students:
a. Cornell Notes Handout (link)
b. Concept Mapping Handout (link)
6. For the small group practice activity in the first concept mapping lesson, you will need flipchart/butcher paper, about 20 index cards or Post-Its for each small group of 4-5 students, as well as markers and masking tape.
Estimated Time / This lesson plan suggests teaching note-taking over five class periods. You can change this as you wish.
1. Cornell Notes
a. Lesson 1 – About 60 minutes
Introduce Cornell Notes and assign homework to use Cornell Notes at least once.
b. Lesson 2 – About 15 minutes
Follow up on Cornell Notes homework and discuss questions.
2. Concept Mapping
a. Lesson 1 – About 60 minutes
Introduce concept mapping and assign homework to use it.
b. Lesson 2 – About 15 minutes
Follow up on concept mapping homework.
3. Optional Progress Check – About 5 - 20 minutes
A few weeks after the above lessons, consider having one or more progress checks. These could be as brief as assigning note-taking for homework and checking for questions, or arranging about 15-20 minutes for discussion and practice. See ideas in the Progress Check section of this lesson plan.
Preparation / 1. Read this lesson plan, the PPTs, and the handouts and decide if you want to make changes.
2. For Cornell Notes Lesson 1
§ If you wish, watch a five minute video on how to take Cornell notes. You may want to share this with students.
https://www.schooltube.com/video/d6b3c50faf82456ea173/How%20To%20Take%20Cornell%20Notes
§ Decide on a 10-minute topic to present while students practice taking Cornell notes in class.
§ If you wish, read the following short article which recommends that students take notes by hand rather than typing. Typing can encourage students to mindlessly transcribe rather than listen closely. You can use this for your own background or offer it for students to read on their own.
- http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/05/to-remember-a-lecture-better-take-notes-by-hand/361478/
3. Decide whether, when and how to arrange progress checks to see how students are doing with their note-taking.
4. Check out the Resources for Instructors.
Cornell Note-Taking
Lesson 1
Lesson Specifics
(60 minutes) / See the Cornell Notes PPT—the speaker’s notes provide detail on leading this lesson.
Keep your own copy of the Cornell Notes Handout to refer to as you teach.
Cornell Note-Taking
Lesson 2
Lesson Specifics
Homework Review
(10-15 minutes) / Options:
§ Tap two to three students to present their notes using a document camera, highlighting places they were successful in capturing main points and what methods they used to capture notes quickly.
Or
§ Make copies of two-three students’ notes and discuss them with the class.
Or
§ Have students divide into pairs or groups of 3 to compare their notes.
With the full group, discuss whether students filled out the Cues section and reviewed their notes, and wrote the summary. Was that helpful? Questions?
Emphasize that each of us develops our own note-taking systems—there isn’t one right way to take notes.
Concept Mapping
Lesson 1
Lesson Specifics(60 minutes) / See the Concept Mapping PPT—speaker’s notes provide detail on leading this lesson.
Concept Mapping
Lesson 2
Lesson SpecificsHomework Review
(10-15 minutes) / Same as for Cornell Notes, previous page.
Progress Check(s)
Lesson Specifics(20 minutes) / If you decide bring note-taking skills into ongoing coursework, here are ideas:
§ Stop class a few minutes early and ask students to retrieve things from their class notes. Have them find things from that day and from previous days. Use this as a starting point to talk about how students are using or not using Cornell Notes or concept mapping and what they are finding works well.
§ At the end of class, have students trade notes with somebody sitting near them and use their partner’s notes to review the class session. Ask them to identify what was the same and different about their notes and those of their partner.
§ Review students’ work by having students pair up, or pull a few examples to share with the class (using a document camera or making printed copies). Discuss what methods students find most helpful, and any questions
§ Emphasize to students that the more they practice, the faster their Cornell and concept mapping skills will get.
6.24.16 / 7
Note-Taking - Resources for Instructors
Title of reference / Author / Type of Reference / Citation Information and/orWeb Address / Brief Description /
How to Take Cornell Notes / Video / https://www.schooltube.com/video/d6b3c50faf82456ea173/How%20To%20Take%20Cornell%20Notes / Five minute video on how to take Cornell notes.
Louisiana State University Concept Mapping Materials / Internet / http://students.lsu.edu/academicsuccess/studying/strategies/tests/studying / Scroll down to concept mapping links.
Tips for Developing Students’ Note-taking Skills / Maryellen Weimer, PhD / Article from online publication / From Faculty Focus: Higher Ed Teaching Strategies from Magna Publication, 11/20/2013
http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-professor-blog/tips-for-developing-students-note-taking-skills/
Accessed on: April 14, 2016 / Short article with practical suggestions, including how to “cue” students on points to take notes on.
Teaching Students to Construct Graphic Representations / Beau Fly Jones, Jean Pierce and Barbara Hunter / Journal article / http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198812_jones.pdf / Offers suggestions and examples of teaching students graphic ways to organize information and take notes.
Examining the Affects of Student Multitasking With Laptops During the Lecture / James M. Kraushaar, David C. Novak / Journal article / Journal of Information Systems Education, Vol. 21 (2), 2010. / This journal article investigates the multi-tasking behavior of students in lecture classes when they are taking notes on the laptops.
The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop
Note Taking / Pam A. Mueller and Daniel M. Oppenheimer / Journal article / Psychological Science 2014, Vol. 25(6) 1159–1168 / Journal article that considers the quality of notes taking on a laptop during classes. Researchers find that students who take notes on a laptop do not process material as well as students who take notes longhand.
A note-restructuring intervention increases students’ exam scores / Cohen, D., Kim, E., Tan, J., and Winkelmes, M. / Journal article / College Teaching, 61 (Summer 2013), 95-99. / A study done in a research methods study course in which some students “restructured” and summarized lecture notes during certain weeks and were found to have higher exam scores during the weeks of the intervention. Supports teaching students how to spend “quality time” with lecture notes.
Providing the instructor’s notes: An Effective Addition to Student Notetaking / Kiewra, Kenneth / Journal article / Educational Psychologist, 1985 Vol 20 (1) 35 – 39. / Article looks at student achievement on tests by students who reviewed their own notes and the notes of their instructor. Researchers find that students who look at the instructor’s notes as well as their own perform better on tests but recall “proportionally more of their own notes than the instructor’s notes.”
Teaching Note: Taking Skills to Underachieving College Students / Arthur Robin, R. M. Foxx, John Martello and Crystal Archable / Journal article / The Journal of Educational Research Vol. 71, No. 2 (Nov. - Dec., 1977), pp. 81-85 / A study in which students were taught to “recognize and record the most important information from lectures.”
Notetaking in the 21st Century: Tips for Instructors and Students / Alison Boye / Article from university website / Texas Tech University
Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development
Center
July 2012
Accessed on April 18, 2016 from: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/tlpdc/Resources/Teaching_resources/TLPDC_teaching_resources/Documents/NotetakingWhitepaper.pdf / Provides background around “the cognitive advantages of note-taking and the struggles many
students face, offering strategies for instructors to help students take better notes.” (From the abstract).
Note-taking in the college classroom as evidence of generative learning / Stefanou, Candice; Hoffman, Lynn; Vielee, Nicolette / Journal article / Learning Environments Research (Jan 2008): 1-17. / Article provides good summary about studies of using PowerPoints in the class
Drawing in Class / Rachel Smith / 20-minute TED talk / https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tJPeumHNLY / Discusses and shows “free-form” ways to take visual notes. This lesson recommends more structured note-taking, but this video offers some additional options.