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Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

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Page 1: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Take The University Challenge

Listening, Notetaking, and

Reading Critically

The Academic Skills CentreTrent University

Page 2: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

For Both Reading and Listening…

• Avoid Being Passive!

• Listen actively at lectures

• Read your texts actively

• For both, this means thinking about the material and taking notes for understanding (what is this about?) and analysis (why does this matter?)

Page 3: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

For Both Reading and Listening…

The best results come from working through three steps:

1.Prepare a. Reading: survey readingb. Lecture: finish week’s readings beforehand

2.Be an active learnera. Thinkb. Take notesc. Ask questions

3.Reviewa. Summarizeb. Check your understandingc. Ask questions

Page 4: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

STRATEGIES FOR READING

Page 5: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Reading Critically• Read Actively and Engage with the Text

– for regular course readings and for essay research– this process facilitates critical thinking and participation in

academic discussion

• Understand Context– refer to the syllabus – course objectives & themes,

schedule & workload– make connections – relationship between readings,

lectures, tutorials, & assignments

Page 6: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Reading Process

1. Skim or pre-read

2. Read for understanding

3. Read actively and analytically

4. Take notes

5. Reflect on what you have read

Page 7: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Types of texts

• Argumentative articles & books – present a thesis or specific argument, supported by evidence

and analysis

• Empirical articles – offer a reporting of an experiment– often following a particular structure: intro, methods, results,

discussion

• Text books – offer information rather than argument– give a broader sense of the field (e.g., theoretical concepts,

terminology, applied frameworks)

Page 8: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Reading Process, Step 1

Pre-Reading: Mapping the Text1. Read the title carefully

2. Read the abstract and/or intro (preface)

3. Read the summary, conclusion or discussion

4. Skim through looking for main ideas: note headings, illustrations, tables, graphs, etc.

a. articles: headers in articles, paragraphs following headers, topic sentences of each paragraph,

b. books: intro and concluding paragraphs of each chapter, also check book cover

Page 9: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Reading Process, Step 2

Read for UnderstandingReading for Understanding means making sure that you understand•Key words:•Key ideas: the thesis or main argument, research question and findings

It also means, making sure you understand and note•How is the thesis, main argument is supported? What evidence is used?Or, for empirical articles,•What methods were used? What was found? What are the implications?

Page 10: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Reading Process, Step 3

Read Actively and Analytically• Read critically – Ask questions! • Ask questions of what you are reading: Is the reading

factual or interpretative or a combination? What is the relationship between fact and interpretation?

• Ask questions about how an argument is developed, if evidence is valid, why particular methods were selected, how data were analyzed.

• Ask questions about how the information fits with the lecture, how it could be applied, your opinion about how it works/doesn’t work.

Page 11: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Reading Process, Step 4

Take Notes• Consider the purpose

– Consider course themes, reading objective (e.g., lecture, paper, seminar)

– Adjust strategies to work best for you

• Be selective– Set yourself a limit and don’t recopy the reading

• Take notes by section– Use headings made from your first survey of the reading– Ask yourself, “What is the most important thing to remember from this

paragraph? Or this section, or this chapter? What is its main idea?”- Show how main ideas are illustrated or shown in examples, applied, or developed• When finished reading, put away and write short response to it, one or

two sentences

Page 12: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Reading Process, Step 5

Review Your Reading Notes

• Before class, whether lecture, workshop, seminar, briefly look over notes to prepare for upcoming class.

• If you have time, go back over notes from previous reading as well, so you can keep in mind the big picture

Page 13: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

LEARNING FROM LECTURES

How to take meaningful notes, not just a transcription of the entire lecture.

Page 14: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Why Take Notes?

• Good lecture notes can end up being more practical, meaningful and up-to-date than a textbook.

• Taking and reviewing notes forces you to listen carefully, test your understanding, and determine what is important

• Note-taking helps your memory

Page 15: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Prepare to Listen

1. Read the syllabus and your notes from previous lecture: think about where the lecture fits into the course.

2. Read assigned chapters or articles.

3. If PowerPoint slides are posted before, look them over and print them for the lecture to simplify your note taking.

4. Note how readings and slides relate to the lecture ahead: don’t write the same thing down twice.

Page 16: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Be an Active Listener

• Go to lectures & be prepared

• Sit where you can hear & avoid distractions

• Don’t multi-task & try to concentrate

Page 17: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Be Methodical and Organized

• Date your notes. Keep notes for one class together (folder, binder, notebook).

• Don’t write what you already know and what is elsewhere: fill in outlines or add to info on slides.

• Listen as much as write. Remember your goal is not to transcribe the lecture. Strive for 50/50 and don’t be distracted by writing/keying around you.

• Don’t write in sentences. Be brief.

Page 18: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Try the Cornell System

• This system advises using a two-column note sheet, one column much wider than the other

• In wide column, write lecture notes

• In narrow column, write key words and questions or thoughts as you take the notes and as you review them

• In space at bottom, summarize your notes on the page in one or two lines right after lecture when you first review the notes

Page 19: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

sample

Page 20: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

What’s Important? Pay attention to these cues.

Material that is•repeated – the same idea, topic or theme is presented several times•emphasized by tone and gesture, by the amount of time spent on a point or examples•listed or described in a process•included in the end-of-lecture summary•written on the blackboard

Page 21: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Make Use of Power Point Slides

• Available before lecture: Review and print. Add your own notes to printed slides during lecture.

• Available after lecture: Review slides after lecture. Compare your notes to slides, and see how they complement each other.

• Don’t rely on slides alone – they are a tool to support a lecture, but they do not cover all of the material in a lecture.

Note: Not every professor will use PowerPoint slides in a lecture.

Page 22: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

The Value of Webcasts: Review and Reinforcement

• Research has shown that lectures that have been posted afterwards as webcasts are useful as a way to reinforce or clarify information.

• Webcast software allows you to skip from one section to another, so you don’t have to listen to the lecture again in its entirety.

• Webcasts take the pressure of you as a notetaker.

• Lectures and webcast work best as complements to each other.

Page 23: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

10 minutes well spent

Take 10 minutes to go over your notes after lecture while the info in still fresh in your mind.

Studies show that without review 47% of what is learned is forgotten within 20 minutes.

Page 24: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Review

1. Clarify information. Compare your notes to PowerPoint slides.

2. Write a two-line summary of the lecture.

3. Reflect and respond to lecture by asking: How does it fit with readings & general course themes?

4. Give your notes a title. It means you have understood them.

Prepare for Next Lecture by Completing the Assigned Readings

Page 25: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Active Learning

• Fire up your brain!

• Be engaged with your classes.

• Prepare. Think. Ask questions. Write.

Page 26: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Come Talk to Us!• Do you want to ask questions about something you heard today?

• Do you want an instructor to look at work you did during these sessions (sample thesis, lecture notes, paraphrase)?

Come see us at the Academic Skills Centre!

• We have in-person and online appointments

• Book an appointment through the Online Appointment Booking System: www.trentu.ca/sep OR visit us during our Library Drop-In Hours!

The Academic Skills Centrewww.trentu.ca/academicskills

Check out our online resources.

Page 27: Take The University Challenge Listening, Notetaking, and Reading Critically The Academic Skills Centre Trent University

Give Notetaking a Try

Prof. Steve Joordens, U of T Psychology: "Critical Thinking”

(video clip)