www.dcu.ie/studentlearning

Note Taking

‘To Take Or Not To Take’

Student Learning

1) Understand why note taking is actually important

2) Explore what to do before, during and after a lecture

3) Learn different methods of note-taking

4) Try it out!

Learning objectives

• Turn to person next to you - what do you find difficult about note taking?

What are the issues?

After

During

Before

The key to note taking success

• Group brainstorm! What could you do before a lecture to get the most out of your note-taking?

Before the lecture

1) Read previous lecture notes

2) Download & read new lecture notes from Loop.

3) Formulate questions to answer

4) Prepare your note-taking material e.g. use a separate notebook for each module.

5) Arrive 3-5 mins before the lecture.

Before the lecture – top 5 tips

• Several methods of note-taking frequently used;– Annotating powerpoint– Linear/prose style– Mind map– Cornell notes

During the lecture

Add detail

Highlight important slides

Annotating powerpoint

Linear/prose style

Mind map

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtW9IyE04OQ

Cornell style

Dedicated notebook

Date, module etc listed

During the lecture – be organised

Group brainstorm

How can we get the most out of the notes we’ve just taken?

After the lecture

• Review your notes

• Look for the emergence of themes, main concepts over several lectures

• Look up previous exam questions and see whether you can apply your learning to them.

• Make up and answer possible exam questions

Periodically

Symbols

Increase / goes up / rises

Decrease / lowering

leads to, produces,

causes, makes comes from, is the result of

Abbreviations

experiment expt

Education ed

Curriculum curr

Probably prob

support supp

exercise exer

strategy strat

Important NB

• Only in notes, not assignments / exams

Abbreviations & Symbols

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVshm-xKsVo

• Select your method of note taking and try it out on the following video!

Let’s try it out!

Understanding Global Warming

Further resources

Access these slides through loop

After

During

Before

The key to note taking success (2)

• Desrochers, J. 2012. How to take Cornell notes [Online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtW9IyE04OQ [Accessed 28 August 2014].

• Skills4Study Campus 2014. Reading and note-making [Online]. Available from: http://www.skills4studycampus.com/StudentHome.aspx [Accessed 28 August 2014].

• Ward, S. 2009. Why we need global journalism ethics [Online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y82J2thzcEU&list=PL282BE1BDE789E82A&index=17 [Accessed 28 August 2014].

References