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STUDENT HANDOUT

Notes | Flickr - Photo Sharing! (n.d.).Retrieved February 22, 2011, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/english106/4357529719/

BASIC TIPS:

□ Attend all the lectures or discussion groups

□ Date the first page of all of your notes (all the time!)

□ Use a topic heading or sub-heading to label your notes – this makes it easier to tell where

discussions start and end and new ideas/thoughts come into play

□ Use phrases/point form not sentences

□ Create your own symbols and abbreviations

□ Write down all material that the instructor emphasizes (i.e. writes down, repeats)

□ Write down main ideas, a few supporting details and one example

□ Look for and mark relationships between ideas, concepts or thoughts

□ Summarize and review material prior to next class

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DIFFERENT LECTURES, DIFFERENT NOTES

LECTURE-BASED COURSES: CORNELL METHOD

Subject: Notetaking_________________ Date: 09/14/2005_____

Main Ideas Details

Cornell

Title and date each lecture

Best for orderly lectures

This column is to be filled in after the lecture with headings, sub-headings, cues and key words.

Cornell MethodBefore class, draw a vertical line1 ½ inches from left edge of the paper. Write notes to the right of line. Reserve the left column for key word summaries (cues), headings and titles and sample questions. Fill in this left hand column when you reviewing notes after class.

Make sure each page includes a date and title of lecture (even if instructor does not have title). Make title meaningful.

Cornell method is best when the information is given in a sequential, orderly fashion

This style of note taking requires you to go back and review your notes promptly to fill in the left hand column with cues pertaining to the concepts described in the note taking column.

Why should use the Cornell Method?

1. Encourages organization of class notes.2. Results in polished set of notes to study from.3. Aids in getting information into both short- and long-term memory.4. Saves time when studying for periodic, mid-term, or final examinations.

Summary: This section of the page is dedicated to providing a summary of the material which has been described and written in the note taking column on this page. This is a great way to review your class notes and provides an excellent study aid for future tests and exams.

Please see the Cornell Method templates attached on p.9-10 of your hand-out.

Check here for more options to create your own note-taking templates.

http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/get-teched-up/getting-your-study-on/note-taking-templates/

OTHER LECTURE-BASED NOTE TAKING STRATEGIES

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Note taking area

Cue Column

Summary

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There are many other note taking methods and strategies out there which might be better suited to meet

your individual needs. It may be beneficial to research a few more note taking strategies to try out which

one is best for you! Here is another note taking strategy that can be useful in lecture based courses:

OUTLINE METHOD

The main advantages of this specific note taking strategy are outlined below:

Illustrates major points and supporting ideas

Requires critical thinking throughout the lecture in order to organize ideas

Bones – living organs; 206 in body, 13% of weight

A. Marrow – in center of bones, contains nerves and blood vessels

1. Red

a. In flat bones (ribs) & ends of long bones

b. Produces red blood cells in adults

2. Yellow – mostly flat tissue

a. In center of long bones

b. Might make red blood cells if great blood loss or with certain blood

diseases

B. Haversian canals – carry blood thru bones (of oxygen, food and wastes)

C. Periostium – protective membrane covers bone

Helpful for a lecture that may be presented in a disorganized way

Example:

PROBLEM-SOLVING COURSES (MATH, ECONOMICS, ACCOUNTING): T – NOTES

A variation of the Cornell Method can be used in problem-solving based courses such as mathematics or

economics.

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Lecture Title or Topic: T Notes Date: _____________

Another example of “T – Notes” specifically in a mathematics class looks like this:

DISCUSSION- BASED COURSES:

MIND MAPS1

Advantages for this type of note taking strategy:

Shows the structure of the subject and linkages between points1 Tony Buzan, Use Both Sides of Your Brain (New York, NY: Dutton, 1991).

divide the two columns into either:

Terms Concepts/IdeasVisual DiagramsTheoriesEquations/Formula

Definitions ExamplesExplanations Evidence/Proof/ExplanationsProof/Explanations/Examples

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May be used on their own or in conjunction with Cornell Method

Useful for:

o Summarizing information

o Consolidating information from different research sources

o Thinking through complex problems

o Presenting information that shows the overall structure of your subject

Sample mind map from Becoming a Master Student 2

EFFECTIVELY USING AND REVIEWING YOUR NOTES: The 5R METHOD

1. RECORD

Find a way to arrange your page that is comfortable for you (Cornell, outline, mind maps)

Review readings in advance. Doing so means you have a better chance of understanding what the

professor is talking about and helps you pick out important points

Learn your professor’s verbal and non verbal cues

2. REDUCE

80% of material is lost with a 24-hour period if you don’t review2 Ellis, 149.

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Doing reduction quickly after class (10-15 minutes) allows you to:

o identify the key point while they are still fresh

o identify concepts you didn’t understand fully (or can’t remember)

o come up with questions to resolve by consulting your textbook/professor or TA

o summarize key points

3. RECITE

Studies show that saying material aloud helps with information retention

4. REFLECT

Where does this lecture fit into the objectives of the course?

What does this information tell you about the larger world? What does it connect to?

Why is this information important? How can it be used?

What kind of exam questions could be extracted from this material?

5. REVIEW

Short, sharp reviews work best

Review 1: Same day as class

Review 2: At the end of the week, compile all of your notes onto one sheet

Review 3 & on: Each weekend, review that sheet and ask yourself if anything has changed, or if

you see the links between the 13 sheets of paper!

Before your exam, review your 13 sheets. Due to your ongoing review, studying will be much less

onerous.

E- STRATEGIES

1. Visit the Learning Commons website for more note-taking resources

http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/get-started/study-toolkits/notetaking-toolkit/ or for info about peer

tutoring (in-person and online), other learning skills toolkits and workshops, study groups and a wealth

of learning and research resources.

2. Free online Mind Mapping tools:

Bubbl. Us https://bubbl.us/

Text 2 Mindmap http://www.text2mindmap.com/

3. Other online resources (suggested by students) include:

www.utexas.edu/student/utlc/learning_resources/

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> University of Texas at Austin

http://www.yorku.ca/cdc/lsp/skillbuilding/notetaking.html

> York University’s workshop on note taking

http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/assistance/learning_services/fastfacts/

> Helpful info on “Learning from Lectures”/Learning from Textbooks from the U of Guelph.

http://www.englishcompanion.com/Tools/notemaking.html

4. For additional online learning skills workshops visit the UBC Library Events Calendar at

http://elred.library.ubc.ca/libs/series/54 or check out Student Services in-person workshops at

https://secure.students.ubc.ca/workshops/study.cfm

New Technology and Note Taking:o Laptops or paper and pen? A study that compared conventional note taking to note

taking on a PC found that students handwriting notes took more notes and more compact notes than did those working on a computer. There was not significant difference between the two groups on multiple choice and free-recall texts given one week later.3

o Keep in mind when choosing to take notes with a laptop over paper and pen: lecture notes tend to be full of little diagrams, sketches, circles, arrows, wavy lines and so on. Either have a laptop equipped with a drawing tool, or bring a pen and paper along for back-up.

o Instructor’s lecture notes: A 2002 study found that biology students who used instructor’s lecture notes performed worse on exams than student who avoided using notes.4 These notes need to be used to improve clarity of lecture or encourage advanced preparation—not as a replacement for your own notes.

3 H. Van Oostendorp, “Studying and annotating electronic text,” in J.F. Rouet, J. Levonen, A. Dillon & R.J. Spiro (eds.), Hypertext and Cognition, (Hillsdale, NJ:Erlbaum).4 Terence M. Murphy and Victoria Cross, “Should students get the instructor’s lecture notes?” Journal of Biological Education 36, no. 2 (2002): 72.

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REFERENCES

“10 ‘Worthwhile consideration’ for improving lectures.” The Teaching Professor 18, no. 1 (2004): 3.

Buzan, Tony. Use Both Sides of Your Brain. New York, NY: Dutton, 1991.

Burke, R. et. al.. Educating for change. Toronto: Between the Lines & Doris Marshal Institute for Education and Action, 1991.

Dochen, Carol and Hodges, Russ. Academic Transformation: The Road to Success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc., 2005.

Ellis, Dave. Becoming a Master Student. St. Charles, IL: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.

Fleet, Joan, Fiona Goodchild and Richard Zajchowski, Learning for success: Effective strategies for students, 3rd ed. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Thomson Learning, 1999.

Gaylin, Willard. “Faulty Diagnosis.” Harper’s (October 1993): 57-64.

Giltrow, Janet. Academic Writing: Writing and Reading Across the Disciplines, 2nd ed. Peterborough, ON: Broadview, 1995.

Hartly, James. “Studying for the future.” Journal of Further and Higher Education 26, no. 3 (2002): 215.

Hull, Jillian and Modahl, Amy. (Eds.). Student Success: Introduction to College Studies (2nd Ed.). Dubuque, IO: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2004.

Murphy, Terence M. and Victoria Cross. “Should students get the instructor’s lecture notes?” Journal of Biological Education 36, no. 2 (2002): 72.

Nielsen, Jakob. “How Users Read on the Web,” Jakob Nielsen’s Alertbox for October 1, 1997, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html, (14 April 2004).

Robinson, F.P. Effective Study. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1970.

Van Oostendorp, H. “Studying and annotating electronic text.” In J.F. Rouet, J. Levonen, A. Dillon & R.J. Spiro (eds.). Hypertext and Cognition. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1996.

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