Note Taking

Much of your semester will involve classroom activities, such as listening to lectures, participating in seminar discussions and recording information in a way that will enable you to decode and understand it later on. In order to do this successfully, you need to develop good listening skills, appropriate classroom behaviors and an efficient method for taking notes. The important thing to focus on is getting information and understanding it. If you have a good system, attentive attitude and are willing to ask questions of your professors, you will be on your way to a successful adventure in classroom survival.

LECTURES

Be sure to obtain a syllabus and exam schedule for each of your classes so that you know what to expect in terms of assignments and deadlines. However, real academic success extends beyond this and includes an awareness of classroom behaviors by students and the impression they make on professors. The following list of behaviors can lead a professor to assume that his or her students are disinterested in learning, or at least in this particular class. Such a conclusion can have negative repercussions when the time comes to assign grades, especially if these students are straddling the line between two grade levels.

BEHAVIOR BY STUDENTS:

  • Sleeping, daydreaming.
  • Students whispering.
  • "Tape recorder" note taking.
  • Sitting at the back of the room, out of the action.
  • Writing letters, doing other things.
  • Never asking questions, just deathly silence.

Keep in mind that good lectures and lecturers are:

  • Humorous and active.
  • Contain personal stories.
  • Encourage students’ opinions. Are open-minded and supportive about new ideas.

The most engaging classes are often characterized by action and commitment on the part of both professor and students. There is a shared interest in the subject matter that often results in new insight for all involved. This is the ideal. However, not all college classes are exciting and not all professors are gifted teachers. It is your responsibility as a learner to accept the fact that some classes or instructors may not be as interesting as you would like. You still need to find your own reasons for doing well. Motivation is crucial to academic success.

The following suggestions may contribute to the development of a good academic attitude:

  • Professors will always welcome genuine interest and questions.
  • Sit in the front of the room and try to make eye contact. If you try to show an interest in the class, you might find yourself actually taking an interest.
  • Be prepared for class whether reviewing the text assignment or reviewing the professor’s notes from the last class meeting – this helps you to become an active learner = READ THE BOOK!!
  • Be open-minded, some ideas may be different from yours.
  • Be alert.

ACTIVE LISTENING

To develop good listening skills you need to be prepared to concentrate. Get a good system of taking notes if you don’t have one. This will keep you active in class. It should be your own style; the form, neatness/or lack of should please only you. More importantly, it should allow you to be able to interpret the lecture. Keep these points in mind when you are trying to decide what is important in a lecture:

  • Some professors will give you a preview of what they will cover.
  • Listen to key phrases of professors, i.e. "this is important" or "remember this" or "take note of this."
  • When a statement is repeated, this could indicate its importance.
  • Listen for voice clues, or if a professor seems excited about some topic: fast talking might indicate that something is unimportant; slow, deliberate speech might mean that the topic is important and the professor is giving you a chance to write down notes.
  • Try to identify major lecture points, take down technical definitions or statements and rewrite them later in your own words.
  • Do the best you can – it might be necessary to compare with other students later.
  • Review your notes as soon after the lecture as possible. This will enable you to fill in information still fresh in your mind; if you wait too long, you won’t be able to decipher your notes. Rewrite (not just copy) your notes if you have time –this will make them neater, more organized for later study.

SKIPPING CLASSES

You can never get real and complete information, information that is meaningful for you, if you skip classes. Your friends’ information is not yours, and their understanding of that information will be different from yours. Your absence may also adversely influence the professor’s attitude. Is there an attendance policy? Ask. If you must miss class for an athletic team event or some similar school activity, ask if you can attend another section, and let the professor know you will be absent, but will get notes from someone else.

HOW TO CODE INFORMATION

Keeping a good notebook
Have separate dividers in a looseleaf binder or use separate notebooks with pockets for each subject.
Use a large notebook with plenty of room to write and make marginal comments, etc. Don’t squish your notes onto tiny paper. If you use a legal pad or separate pieces of paper, be sure to number and date these-DATE EVERYTHING! Write down page numbers and chapter numbers for text readings.
Use abbreviations. Keep a legend if you make your own plan and shorten course definitions.
Write clearly and use visual aids, pictures if it helps.
Leave spaces between major ideas.
NOTE-TAKING FORMS

Paragraph - gets all information both important and unimportant; can be long and hard to read.
Outline - best for study because it indicates both the major and minor points of the lecture.
Phrase form - uses dashes, letters or numbers for indented sentence fragments; is fast; can be reorganized later.

HOW TO STUDY YOUR NOTES

Review your notes within 24 hrs. and definitely before the next meeting of that class. Re-read your notes from the last lecture right before class. Compare your notes with the textbook, other lecture notes, other students’ notes and any supplemental material. To maximize your remembering, try the following memory techniques or 5 R’s of note-taking:

  • Record the information.
  • Reduce the information - summarize it with key concepts and terms.
  • Recite the information - review it in your own words and out loud, which will use of your more senses to help retention.
  • Reflect on the information - think about the ideas; do you understand the information?
  • Review the information - again and again throughout the semester.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU’RE MISSING IT

No matter how diligent you are, there may be times when you are unable to take good notes, due to an absence or a lack of understanding of the lecture. There are some steps you can take to rectify the situation:

  • Try to get information from someone who takes good notes.
  • Go to the professor; ask for help, let him or her look at your notebook and give you some tips on what you seem to be missing.
  • Compare notes with others if this is not too confusing.
  • Ask permission to use a tape recorder to record your notes. The major drawback is that you must listen to the whole tape and you can’t record board work.
  • Try team note-taking; this can be useful in lectures where overheads or board work are used extensively to illustrate the lecture. One person is in charge of taking notes and the other person is in charge of overheads, charts, etc.