Note-Taking Presentation Lesson

1

Note-Taking Strategies

Faculty Presentation Topic: Taking and utilizing class notes (30 Minutes not including lecture time)

Shorter Version (30 Minutes)

  1. Note-Taking Explanation (5 Minutes)
  2. Lecture Activity Script (or Professor Lecture) (10 Minutes)
  3. Questions in the Margin Activity (7 Minutes)
  4. Self-Quizzing (3 Minutes)

Materials

Note-Taking Packet including:

  • Lecture Page
  • Exam Questions
  • Checklist for Note-Taking

Longer Version (50-60 Minutes)

  1. Note-Taking Explanation (5 Minutes)
  2. Lecture Activity Script (or Professor Lecture) (10 Minutes)
  3. Questions in the Margin Activity (+Checklist & Summary Question) (20-30 Minutes)
  4. Self-Quizzing (+Common Concerns) (10 Minutes)
  5. Review note taking skills (5 Minutes)

Materials

Note-Taking Packet including:

  • Lecture Page
  • Exam Questions
  • Checklist for Note-Taking

Follow-Up Lesson

  1. Follow-up Note-Taking Activity

*Students need to bring a copy of their own notes to class

*Note:

The professor can decide if they would like to give a short lecture or if you are going to give a lecture. It works well if you give the Note-Taking explanation (5 minutes), then allow the class to takes notes (10 minutes), and then review the strategies.

Activity 1: Note-Taking Explanation(5 minutes)

Purpose:

  • To teach students an effective way to take notes
  • To help students become active listeners
  • To help students increase the amount of information they can recall and utilize from lectures
  1. Note-Taking Explanation (5 Minutes)
  2. Tell the students that you are going to teach them an active and effective note-taking strategy.
  3. The students will be taking notes on the Note-Taking Lecture Activity sheet that you handed out. Explain that there is a 3” margin on the left-side of the page and that they should leave that side blank as they takes notes on the right side.
  4. Write the following three tips on the board:
  5. Be a recorder
  6. Generate Questions
  7. Self-Quizzing
  8. The students will take notes either during a short lecture that you give or that the professor gives. During the lecture, students are going to take notes as a recorder, writing down as much information as possible. For now, tell them to write as much as they can. As they get better at taking notes they will record fewer words.
  9. Another direction for students “If you fall behind, draw a blank line for the missed information. You can fill it in later. If something sounds confusing, put an asterisk (*) in the margin.”
  10. Students should abbreviate whenever they can. Share some examples of common abbreviations (shortening words and using symbols are easy ways). It would be helpful for students to develop their own system of abbreviations to refer to.

Common Abbreviations Example

Advantage= adv / And= & / Percent= %
Question= ? / Regarding= re / Maximum= max
Department= dept / Number= #
  1. Ask the students if they have any questions and if they are ready. Then begin the lecture.

Activity 3: Lecture Activity Script(10 Minutes)

*You can either read the lecture script OR the professor can give the students some notes for about ten minutes.

  1. Read the script aloud (10 Minutes)
  2. This script has to do with research from the University of Michigan about how students learn.
  3. (Read the following lecture SLOWLY word for word. Make notes on the board as you lecture. The underlined words are key words that could be written on the board.)

“In the 1960’s, a group of graduate students from the University of Michigan decided to research how successful students learn. Previous research about learning had focused on poor learners and what they were doing wrong. The U of M researchers interviewed over 1,000 successful students and found that they all utilized four key strategies as they learned.

  1. They programmed their own learning, breaking down complex ideas and tasks to make them manageable and understandable.
  2. They asked questions about new information; constantly carrying on an internal dialogue about what they already knew and how it related to the new information they were learning.
  3. They tested themselves to see how well they were learning to make sure they understood the new material.
  4. As they studied, they focused on the learning objectives of the class. They zeroed in on what the professor emphasized was important and what was relevant to the course objectives in their notes and their reading.

Students can use these findings to take the internal thinking process of successful students and use concrete tasks to develop thinking skills. More brain research verifies that learning is a skill and, therefore, can be learned.

There are 3 basic stages in the learning process: INPUT, ORGANIZATION, and OUTPUT.

The INPUT stage involves taking information in from external stimuli (lectures, textbooks, research).

The ORGANIZATION stage is the memory stage. This involves arranging material to see how it all fits together, practicing, moving it into short-term memory and then to storage in long-term memory.

The OUTPUT stage is the retrieval of information from long-term memory to take an exam, write a paper, give a speech or a presentation, or participate in a class discussion.

STOP

Activity 4: Questions in the Margin Activity(20-30 Minutes)

Purpose:To practice generating questions from lectures

  1. Generating Questions Overview (5 Minutes)
  2. Tell the students they will be generating some questions based on the notes they took
  3. Explain that generating questions is the second step of note-taking
  4. The students will be using their notes to come up with questions
  5. Tell the students to write the questions in the wide margin on the left side of the paper
  6. Direct the students to the page in their packet titled “Common Terms Used on Exam Questions”
  7. Explain that these are common words used on college exams. The words require application of knowledge and are answered in different ways.
  8. (Share some examples of what kind of question might be asked)
  9. The students should use these terms when writing their questions.
  10. The students should write Full and Complete questions, including part of the “answer” in the question.
  11. The questions should reflect the information they have in their notes. Clarify that they are writing a question that they should know the answer to.
  12. Give an example “If you wrote “in the 1960’s, U of M students studied how successful students learn,” your question might be, “what did U of M students study in the 1960’s?”
  1. Working with a Partner (10 Minutes)
  2. Tell the students to find a partner to work with to help them fill in any gaps
  3. They should come up with at least five questions based on their notes
  4. (Walk around and monitor their progress. You can give direction as they go if they need more clarification. Make sure you keep track of time and let them know when there is only a minute left. You have an example of what types of questions student might generate, see the example at the end of this packet)
  1. Sharing Questions (5 Minutes)
  2. Tell the partners that they are going to each by sharing one question.
  3. (Record the questions on the board)
  4. Ask the students to raise their hand if they have similar questions (a lot of them will have similar questions)
  5. Question: A lot of you have similar questions, what benefits do you think there are to creating questions from your notes?(Direct them to the following benefits)

BENEFITS:

  • Predicts exam questions
  • Creating questions reviews material from class – it’s like continually studying which will move the information from short term to long term.
  • Notes can be used to study from right before an exam.
  • Helps you to focus on the main points of a lecture. You are most likely not going to create a question from a chunk of unimportant information
  1. Checklist for Note-Taking Strategy (5 Minutes)
  1. Have the students review the Checklist for the Note Taking Strategy to determine what they did this time (and remind them that these are important steps to take in the future)

For this time:

Do you have a question in the margin for all the information you have in your notes?

Do the questions in the margins ask you to recall the information right next to the question?

Do your questions reflect the material in your notes?

Did you make note of information you did not understand, or that was confusing to you during the lecture with a star or by highlighting?

Did you leave blank space when you missed information so that you could fill it in later?

Were you able to generate a summary question for the lecture or for appropriate “chunks” of information?

For the future:

Did you quiz yourself with your questions and answer them out loud or by writing the answer down?

Did you visit your professors, talk to classmates, or look in your texts to clarify information you may have found confusing?

Did you apply the note-taking strategy consistently?

Did you generate questions and quiz yourself prior to attending the next lecture?

Tips for Note-Taking

  • Neat, readable, white space, organized, don’t write everything the professor says
  • Use your own words
  • Use pictures/visuals
  • Use standard abbreviations
  • Keep going if you fall behind or miss something
  • Fill in any missing information after class
  • If distracted-draw a picture of something in class

1)Math Notes

  • Write in words, steps
  • Have an example problem
  • Let them know that #’s change

5.Summary Question Activity (5 Minutes)

  1. Have the students work with a partner to answer the question at the bottom of the Checklist for Note-Taking Worksheet.
  2. See the following box for the question prompt:

Write a summary question below. Write your summary question as an essay question that a professor
might write using this material. Look at the “Common Terms Used on Exam Questions” handout for ideas.
  1. Have some partners share the essay questions they generated.
  2. Discussion: “You should write at least one summary question for each lecture. The summary question requires you to look for the big picture in the lecture. It may be the hardest one to write. If you write a summary question for each lecture, you will begin to see the patterns in the course. This is particularly valuable if you will be tested in essay format. You may be using your summary questions as mock exam questions later. If you know you will have essay questions, practice making summary questions as your “quiz.”
  1. Tell the students “As you practice this strategy, your notes will begin to take on more organization. Soon you will be generating questions in the margins as the lecture goes along. It is really important for you to draw a 3” margin in your own notebooks before you take notes for your courses. The margin will give you the room you need to generate questions.” (Some students do not like losing 3 inches of space in their notes for the margins. These students may want to consider leaving the left page of their notebook blank for questions and taking notes on the right page.)

Modification Option

To Lengthen: Have the partners come up with ten questions from their notes. Have the partners share more than one question.

To Shorten: Refer to the Checklist for Note-Taking Strategy Worksheet but do not complete as a class (do not do activities Checklist for Note-Taking Strategy or Summary Question Activity)

Activity 5: Self-quizzing (3 Minutes)

Purpose:To help student learn how to understand their notes in order to move information into long-term memory

  1. Self-Quizzing Overview (3 Minutes)
  2. “Self-quizzing is the third and final note taking step. When you are working alone with this strategy, cover your notes and JOT DOWN the answers to your questions or ANSWER OUT LOUD. You should generate your questions and quiz yourself shortly after each lecture, and definitely before you go to the next lecture. This will build your knowledge as you go along in the course and help you with your reading and studying. If you can’t generate a question for a chunk of information, it’s a sign that you don’t understand it. You should make a point to visit your professor for clarification when this occurs. Remember to get information you missed from a classmate or your professor to clarify anything you don’t understand and to make a habit of using your notes as soon as possible after each lecture. With time, you will be thinking like your professor and predicting most of his/her exam questions. Like any skill, this takes practice and coaching. This is an ACTIVE learning strategy. You are actively working with your notes and the information from class, which helps with memory and learning.”
  3. Tell the students they can ask themselves the questions they generated on the side of their notes. They can cover their notes when they ask the question and try to remember the answer (this is helpful when using memory strategies)
  4. If time, have the students practice this skill by covering the notes they took and asking themselves the questions. They can also ask the partner the question. (5 Minutes)
  5. Ask the students if they have any questions about what was covered today. Remind them of the importance of using this valuable study strategy for college success.If you have time, review some Common Concerns that students have about note taking (see chart on last page of this lesson plan)

Example of Self-Quizzing

QuestionNotes

How do students program their own learning? / They programmed their own learning, breaking down complex ideas and tasks to make them manageable and understandable.
Why did successful students ask questions? / They asked questions about new information; constantly carrying on an internal dialogue about what they already knew and how it related to the new information they were learning.
What was the third step that successful students did? / They tested themselves to see how well they were learning to make sure they understood the new material.
Why would a successful student focus on the learning objectives of a class? / As they studied, they focused on the learning objectives of the class. They zeroed in on what the professor emphasized was important and what was relevant to the course objectives in their notes and their reading.

Activity 6: Review Note-Taking and In-Class Skills (5 Minutes)

*If you have extra time, review some Note-Taking and In-Class Skills

Note Taking and In-Class Skills

Adequate notes are a necessary adjunct to efficient study and learning in college. Think over the following suggestions and improve your note- taking system where needed.
  • Listen actively - if possible think before you write - but don't get behind.
  • Be open-minded about points you disagree on. Don't let arguing interfere with your note-taking.
  • Raise questions if appropriate.
  • Develop and use a standard method of note-taking including punctuation, abbreviations, margins, etc.
  • Take and keep notes in a large notebook. The only merit to a small notebook is ease of carrying and that is not your main objective. A large notebook allows you to adequately indent and use an outline form.
  • Leave a few spaces blank as you move from one point to the next so that you can fill in additional points later if necessary. Your objective is to take helpful notes, not to save paper!
  • Do not try to take down everything that the lecturer says. It is impossible in the first place and unnecessary in the second place because not everything is of equal importance. Spend more time listening and attempt to take down the main points. If you are writing as fast as you can, you cannot be as discriminating a listener. There may be some times, however, when it is more important to write than to think.
  • Listen for cues as to important points, transition form one point to the next, repetition of points for emphasis, changes in voice inflections, enumeration of a series of points, etc.
  • Many lecturers attempt to present a few major points and several minor points in a lecture. The rest is explanatory material and samples. Try to see the main points and do not get lost in a barrage of minor points which do not seem related to each other. The relationship is there if you will listen for it. Be alert to cues about what the professor thinks is important.
  • Make your original notes legible enough for your own reading, but use abbreviations of your own invention when possible. The effort required to recopy notes can be better spent in rereading them and thinking about them. Although neatness is a virtue in some respect, it does not necessarily increase your learning.
  • Copy down everything on the board, regardless. Did you ever stop to think that every blackboard scribble may be a clue to an exam item? You may not be able to integrate what is on the board into your lecture notes, but if you copy it, it may serve as a useful clue for you later. If not, what the heck -- you haven't wasted anything. You were in the classroom anyway.
  • Sit as close to the front of the class, there are fewer distractions and it is easier to hear, see and attend to important material.
  • Get assignments and suggestions precisely - ask questions if you're not sure.

Follow-Up Note-Taking Activity (15 Minutes)