How to Take Notes for Learning: Difference between revisions

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== Introduction ==
Effective note taking encompasses summarising important concepts as precisely as possible using your own words and connecting those concepts with the lectures.  In order to take good notes, preparation is key.  The student needs to familiarise themselves with the topic and focus during the lecture.  This will ensure an active listener rather than a passive participant.<ref name=":0">Schmidt SJ. Taking Notes: [https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4329.12170 There's a Lot More to It than Meets the Eye]. Journal of Food Science Education. 2019 Jul;18(3):54-8.</ref>


There is a two-fold value in taking notes:
<div class="editorbox"> '''Original Editor '''- [[User:Robin Tacchetti|Robin Tacchetti]] based on the course by [https://members.physio-pedia.com/course_tutor/michael-rowe/ Michael Rowe]<br>
'''Top Contributors''' - {{Special:Contributors/{{FULLPAGENAME}}}}</div>


# Encoding:
#* the listener has to actively engage with the incoming information when taking notes
#* then they need to make decisions about how to encode that material
# Storing information:
#* note taking creates a record of information that be accessed at a later date
#* this stored information can be used for a multitude of assignments past the listening event<ref>Siegel J. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10904018.2022.2059484 Factors affecting notetaking performance.] International journal of Listening. 2022 Apr 15:1-3.</ref>


== Comprehension ==
Note taking is a method that is particularly effective on comprehension.  Taking notes during helps students understand what is being taught more easily.  Specifically, note taking facilitates increased comprehension in the following manners:


# the students focus their attention on the material that is lectured or read or listened
== Introduction ==
# it prevents students from missing the specific points being taught during class
We take notes for many reasons. They help us learn, improve our long-term retention of information and enable us to record specific events or moments.<ref>Friedman MC. [https://hwpi.harvard.edu/files/hilt/files/notetaking_0.pdf Notes on note-taking: review of research and insights for students and instructors]. Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching. Harvard University.</ref> Effective note-taking requires learners to summarise important concepts as precisely as possible in their own words and to connect these concepts with lecture material. During the note-taking process, learners will interpret, filter and process information. This new information will be stored and retrieved when needed.<ref name=":0">Schmidt SJ. Taking Notes: [https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4329.12170 There's a Lot More to It than Meets the Eye]. Journal of Food Science Education. 2019 Jul;18(3):54-8.</ref><ref name=":4">Siegel J. [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10904018.2022.2059484 Factors affecting notetaking performance.] International journal of Listening. 2022 Apr 15:1-3.</ref><ref name=":2">Pyörälä E, Mäenpää S, Heinonen L, Folger D, Masalin T, Hervonen H. [https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-019-1529-7 The art of note taking with mobile devices in medical education]. BMC medical education. 2019 Dec;19:1-0.</ref>
# it helps with recall of information
#


Note taking is a technique that is highly effective on comprehension. Taking notes during lesson helps students reach aim of the course more comfortably and makes them to understand what is taught easily (Kiewra, 1991). The students who take notes are advantageous in terms of getting the most important points of the course and recalling content of the course (Kiewra and Fletcher, 1984). Note taking has many advantages the foremost of which is relieving students of reading the whole book. It improves students’ comprehension skills since it attracts students’ attention to the material that is read or listened. It prevents students from missing the things taught during the lessons. Additionally, it helps students recall the important information they learnt and makes them independent (Bahrami and Nosratzadeh, 2017; Saravani, 2019; Umaadevi and Rekha, 2019). Kiewra (1991) claimed that note taking is important as it increases students’ attention during lesson and enables coding the things taught during lesson into long-term memory. It was concluded in a study conducted by Faber et al. (2000) that note takin<ref name=":1">Özçakmak H. [https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1232729.pdf Impact of Note Taking during Reading and during Listening on Comprehension.] Educational Research and Reviews. 2019 Oct;14(16):580-9.</ref>  
== Why Take Notes? ==
'''Two reasons to take notes:'''<ref>Young S. How to take notes while reading [Internet]. 2019 [cited 26 September 2023]. Available from: https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2019/01/29/take-notes-while-reading/</ref>


While taking notes, learners interpret, filter and process the information at hand, make connections between new information and their prior knowledge and produce a format that enables them to retrieve information later. The seminal work by Di Vesta and Gray [14] showed that note taking served primarily two functions: encoding and storage. In the act of note taking, students encoded information by actively transcribing, selecting and summarizing relevant information. The second function was the organising and storing of information for later retrieval. Subsequent studies [15] showed that students’ proficient self-produced note taking practices led to efficient studying, improved retention and learning outcomes.<ref name=":2">Pyörälä E, Mäenpää S, Heinonen L, Folger D, Masalin T, Hervonen H. [https://bmcmededuc.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12909-019-1529-7 The art of note taking with mobile devices in medical education]. BMC medical education. 2019 Dec;19:1-0.</ref>
* notes can extend memory<ref name=":5">Rowe M. How to Take Notes for Learning Course. Plus, 2023.</ref>
* notes can enhance focus<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":1">Özçakmak H. [https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1232729.pdf Impact of Note Taking during Reading and during Listening on Comprehension.] Educational Research and Reviews. 2019 Oct;14(16):580-9.</ref>


sketch notetaking
<blockquote>However, it is necessary to remember that a crucial element of note-taking is actually revising your notes later. "If you’re taking notes simply to capture the information that’s on the slides, or that you can read in a book, you’re not adding much value to your learning strategy because you can probably find that information somewhere else."<ref name=":5" /></blockquote>Note-taking has two main functions:<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":2" />
 
# Encoding:
One relatively new note taking method is sketch noting (also called visual note taking or graphic notes). As its name implies, sketch noting is taking notes enhanced with illustrations, symbols, and structures (or more simply put, sketches, doodles, and simple drawings), as well as text (Bell, 2015; Neill, n.d.; Sketchnoting, 2019). Besides being fun (as many of us are doodlers at heart), research has shown that drawing, compared to writing alone, has been found to be an efficacious strategy for boosting later retention and memory performance (Wammes, Meade, & Fernandes, 2016). In addition, the use of images in note taking should be a very appealing idea to the image-based Generation Z students of today (Elmore & McPeak, 2017). When done well, by students or teacher, sketch notes do not just capture ideas, they tell a story. And oh, how our brains love stories (Heick, 2015)! An example sketch note about the benefits of sketch noting, created by Heather Willems of Two Lines Studios (<nowiki>https://www.twolinestudios.com</nowiki>), is provided in Figure 1
#* the listener has to actively engage with the incoming information when taking notes
 
#* they then need to make decisions about how to encode that material
In addition to methods of note taking, there is some controversy in the literature regarding the best way for student to take notes—using a pen and paper versus using a device (that is, laptop, tablet, and cell phone). Research by Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) determined that “the pen is mightier than the keyboard,” as the participants in the longhand note taking group outperformed the laptop note taking group on conceptual questions. Though no difference in performance was found between the two note taking groups on factual questions. However, recent research by Morehead, Dunlosky, and Rawson (2019), who replicated and extended the Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) study using the same note taking methods and study materials, was not able to reproduce the original findings.3 At this point, it appears that taking notes by hand or with a laptop does not seem to matter much. However, based on the Morehead et al. (2019) study, what seems to matter is the quality of the notes. When there was high overlap between the notes and the test questions, performance was higher. This suggests that it is important for students to be able to capture in their notes ideas from the class that are later going to be asked on the test (Kuepper-Tetzel, 2019). Though this finding may have you saying, “no kidding,” it also needs to spur us on to help our students both ''identify'' and ''capture'' the important ideas, the ones they will see later on the exam.In addition to methods of note taking, there is some controversy in the literature regarding the best way for student to take notes—using a pen and paper versus using a device (that is, laptop, tablet, and cell phone). Research by Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) determined that “the pen is mightier than the keyboard,” as the participants in the longhand note taking group outperformed the laptop note taking group on conceptual questions. Though no difference in performance was found between the two note taking groups on factual questions. However, recent research by Morehead, Dunlosky, and Rawson (2019), who replicated and extended the Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) study using the same note taking methods and study materials, was not able to reproduce the original findings.3 At this point, it appears that taking notes by hand or with a laptop does not seem to matter much. However, based on the Morehead et al. (2019) study, what seems to matter is the quality of the notes. When there was high overlap between the notes and the test questions, performance was higher. This suggests that it is important for students to be able to capture in their notes ideas from the class that are later going to be asked on the test (Kuepper-Tetzel, 2019). Though this finding may have you saying, “no kidding,” it also needs to spur us on to help our students both ''identify'' and ''capture'' the important ideas, the ones they will see later on the exam.
# Storing information:
 
#* note-taking creates a record of information that can be accessed at a later date
In addition to quality, quantity of notes has also been shown to make a difference. Nye, Crooks, Powley, and Tripp (1984) reported that there was a high correlation between the quantity of notes taken and examination performance. The more notes students took, the more information the students retained. As the authors of the study pointed out, their results appear to conflict with the advice often given to students that they should be very selective and concise in their note taking. In the case of note taking, more appears to be better than less.
#* this stored information can be used for many different "post-listening activities and assignments"<ref name=":4" />
 
== Types of Notes ==
Once the in-class note taking is over, there is still more to do. Students should work with and add to their notes. Clarifying unclear concepts, tying new concepts and ideas to previous ones, and getting questions answered are some key “to do” post-note taking activities. There is some interesting research that provides insights into how to best carry out some of these postnote taking activities. A study by Luo, Kiewra, and Samuelson (2016) found that if students collaborate with a partner to revise their notes, they recorded more original notes than those who revised their notes alone. In addition, some students may rewrite their notes for better organization and legibility. However, Luo et al. (2016) found that students who revised their notes recorded more additional notes and achieved somewhat higher scores on relationship items than students who just recopied their notes.
There are many different kinds of notes, but five common types are: daily notes, temporary notes, literature notes, permanent notes and project notes.<ref name=":5" />
 
Let me end this section with one BIG caution for students about using their notes to prepare for exams (instructors please pass this on to your students): Do not rely too heavily on just rereading and highlighting your notes. Some of the most commonly used, yet least productive learning strategies are rereading the material (including notes), underlining and highlighting, massed practice (that is, cramming), and blocked practice (studying one topic at a time) (Brown, Roediger, & McDaniel, 2014). These activities generate a feeling of familiarity, but familiarity does not equal mastery; students must be fully engaged in building course content in their OWN brain to achieve mastery! If rereading, underlining, and highlight are not effective, what is? Practicing ''doing'' the actual work that you will be doing during the exam (that is, solving problems and answering questions without the help of your notes or other resources) under the same conditions that you will experience when taking the exam (quiet, no distractions, time constraints). For best practices on how to help students better prepare for exams, you will want to read “Applying the Science of Learning to Classroom Teaching: The Critical Importance of Aligning Learning with Testing” by Schell and Porter (2018). 
 
* Be present during lecture – both physically and mentally! Practice mindfulness6, which is not the same thing as having your mind full. [I show Figure 2 in class!] Lecture is the prime time for your brain to begin encoding the material we are learning – don't waste it; rather, make the most of it!”
 
I then tell the students a true story about what I often see when I do peer observations for other teachers, especially in large classes, but even in smaller ones. I see students doing lots of other things besides paying attention to what is going on in class. They are shopping online, looking at Instagram or Twitter posts on their cellphone, checking their calendars, studying for an exam in another course, just sitting there staring into space, to name just a few of the things that I have witnessed. Of course, it is true that some students are using their devices for looking at the PowerPoint slides and course outlines, but there are many activities going on that are not course-related, as well. The point is prime encoding time is being wasted! So I encourage them to…
 
* 2. “Take full advantage of this prime encoding time by making notes!”
 
My dear friend and colleague, Dr. Philip Buriak,7 first brought the important distinction between just “taking notes” and “making notes” to my attention. He would say that “taking notes” is basically writing down what the instructor says, as fast as you can without really listening or allowing the words you are writing to pass through your brain; whereas “making notes” is actively listening to the instructor, making meaning of what is being said, connecting it to what you already know, and writing the meaning and connections down in your own words. If you just “take notes,” it is possible to write things down without really understanding them; in the end, you have lots of words on the page, but not much learning in your brain. Overall, making notes leads to deeper understanding of the material, more engagement during class, and better retention.
 
.<ref name=":0" />


Cornell method
* '''Daily notes'''<ref name=":5" />
** essentially a journal, diary or calendar
** these notes are kept in date order to keep track of daily events (e.g. tasks for the day, reminders, thoughts you might want to access at a later date)
** they provide a place to record administrative aspects of learning (e.g. timetables, notes from meetings with tutors, etc)
** they can be considered an extension of your short-term, or working, memory
* '''Temporary notes'''<ref name=":5" />
** notes taken in the moment that can be deleted once the information has been dealt with (e.g. sticky notes with phone numbers, emails, etc)
* '''Literature notes'''<ref name=":5" />
** questions, comments, challenges you write to authors in the margins of books or in annotation apps when on the web, or comments on social media
** act as evidence of our critical engagement with authors and other content creators
** these notes often end up scattered everywhere
*** one solution to this problem is to use a resource manager like [https://www.zotero.org/ Zotero]
* '''Permanent notes'''<ref name=":5" />
** the final version of notes taken during your studies
** can be used at a later date for revision (potentially even years in the future)
*** they are a distillation of your cognitive effort to understand a concept deeply
*** they can be considered as an extension of your long-term memory
** these notes have certain features to help them be more useful:
*** descriptive title
*** longer notes may include a short summary
*** they include relevant quotes from original sources and a reference list
*** digital notes may include tags for filtering and searching
**note-taking apps like [https://obsidian.md/ Obsidian], [https://www.notion.so/ Notion] and [https://logseq.com/ Logseq] enable internal linking between notes
* '''Project notes'''<ref name=":5" />
** notes that are taken as part of a project/assignment
** can be archived once the project is complete
** tend to be a collection of notes, including administrative notes (e.g. meeting notes, to do lists), literature notes, annotations, permanent notes
== Taking Notes by Hand vs. Using Technology ==
Mobile devices have been incorporated into the learning environment and are now used for note-taking. As Pyörälä et al.<ref name=":2" /> note, digital note-taking enables students to retrieve information (notes / learning materials) anywhere, anytime, when studying and treating patients in clinical practice.


The Cornell Note system utilizes a unique layout in that it takes a single sheet of paper and separates it into three distinct sections.4 The sections are labeled the “cue column,” “the note-taking area,” and the “summary area.”4 In the updated edition of the Cornell Notes, Owens describes the measurements of each section as such: “To do this, draw a horizontal line two inches from the bottom of the page. Next, up at the top of the page, draw a vertical line two-and-one-half inches from the left side and extend it down to the line for the summary area. This is the cue column, a simple but powerful area upon which much of the success of the Cornell System rests.”4 This layout is shown in Figure 1 and can even be found as a premade setting in new tablets, such as the Remarkable 2.5
As mentioned above, there are a number of apps to help learners take notes (e.g. Obsidian, Notion and Logseq). Some students also use their phones to take photos of notes on classroom boards. The speed and convenience of these technologies have inversely affected the amount of time students spend writing<ref name=":1" /> and most people can type faster than they can write.<ref name=":5" /><blockquote>However, it is important to remember that taking notes "is not really about the quantity or fidelity of the information being captured. [...] Taking notes is about trying to link new, incoming information, to existing knowledge frameworks in your mind.<ref name=":5" /></blockquote>Taking notes on a laptop may mean that a student is able to record more information more accurately (i.e. verbatim).<ref name=":8">Kiewra K. A seven-step guide to taking better notes. The Conversation. Available from: https://qz.com/1701631/how-to-take-better-notes (accessed 26 September 2023).</ref> However, students with laptops in class tend to spend more time multitasking (e.g. checking email, using the Internet, playing games, etc) and, therefore, less time writing notes, which results in lower achievement.<ref name=":8" />


his method is more involved than simply taking notes. It is a system designed to master knowledge acquisition. The three sections each serve their own unique purpose. The note-taking area is reserved for note writing in the form of quick bullet points, graphs, drawings, and definitions.4 This section is reserved for what the professor says and what is put on the board, with a goal of capturing the gist of what is said along with the important details.4 The cue section is arguably the most important section of the entire system. In this section, the note writer adds a question for each note written in the note-taking area that will help them remember or organize the material.4 This concept is akin to Jeopardy, where contestants answer a question with a statement, except in this instance the note writer answers a statement by developing a question. In the final section, the summary section, the note writer encapsulates the details from the notes section into a few sentences that paint the big picture.4 The object of this section is to answer the question, “What is this page all about?”4 When the note writer finishes writing or reviewing the notes section from a lecture, the summary section helps to provide an aerial view of what this set of notes is all about. While taking facts and digesting them into knowledge can be challenging, this is a vital step in the Cornell Note system and should not be skipped.
There is also research to suggest that taking notes by hand could have certain benefits, including improved long-term recall and conceptual understanding.<ref name=":5" /> However, it is important to note that the research on adult learners is somewhat conflicting.<ref name=":9">Horbury SR, Edmonds CJ. Taking class notes by hand compared to typing: effects on children’s recall and understanding. Journal of Research in Childhood Education. 2021. 35(1):55-67.</ref>


This system is designed to allow students to reflect on the material and quiz themselves on the material both throughout the lecture and while reviewing the notes post-lecture.4 The Cornell Method provides a functional mini quiz that can be taken by placing blank sheet of paper over the note-taking area, exposing only the cues. The note writer then goes down the list of cues and quizzes themselves on the respective notes that accompany each cue. This reciting method provides instant feedback and motivation to continue. This activity allows the note writer to actively reflect on the information instead of passively reading it. The summary serves as a reflection of the key ideas for each page of the Cornell Notes.<ref>Saran M, Krentz Gober M, McCarty EB. [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01455613221146457 An introduction to the Cornell Note system.] Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. 2022 Nov;101(9_suppl):37S-41S.</ref>
* Horbury et al.<ref name=":9" /> found that while factual recall was not affected by the note-taking mode in ''children'' (e.g. handwriting vs using a computer), "children who handwrote notes had greater conceptual understanding one week after viewing their lesson, compared to those who typed notes."<ref name=":9" />
* Longchamp et al.<ref name=":10">Longcamp M, Boucard C, Gilhodes JC, Velay JL. Remembering the orientation of newly learned characters depends on the associated writing knowledge: a comparison between handwriting and typing. Hum Mov Sci. 2006 Oct;25(4-5):646-56.</ref> looked at adult learners' ability to learn new characters (i.e. letters) by copying them by hand or typing them on a computer. They found that when characters were learned by typing, "they were more frequently confused with their mirror images than when they had been written by hand."<ref name=":10" />
* Mangen et al.<ref>Mangen A., Anda LG, Oxborough GH, Brřnnick K. Handwriting versus keyboard writing: Effect on word recall. Journal of Writing Research. 2015;7(2):227-47.</ref> found that free word recall was better in adults for words that were written by hand rather than typed.
* Mueller and Oppenheimer<ref name=":11">Mueller PA, Oppenheimer DM. The pen is mightier than the keyboard: advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychol Sci. 2014 Jun;25(6):1159-68. </ref> found that students using laptops to take notes tended to perform worse on conceptual questions than students who took notes by hand.
* However, Morehead et al.<ref name=":12" /> replicated and extended Mueller and Oppenheimer's 2014 study<ref name=":11" /> and found that, at present, "concluding which method is superior for improving the functions of note-taking seems premature."<ref name=":12">Morehead K, Dunlosky J, Rawson KA. How much mightier is the pen than the keyboard for note-taking? A replication and extension of Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014). Educ Psychol Rev. 2019;31:753-80. </ref>
Please see the following tables for a list of the advantages and disadvantages of taking notes by hand and taking notes with a laptop.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 1. Taking notes by hand<ref name=":5" />
!Advantages
!Disadvantages
|-
|Better cognitive processing
|Slower
|-
|Better recall of concepts for longer periods afterwards
|Less information captured
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Table 2. Taking notes with a laptop<ref name=":5" />
!Advantages
!Disadvantages
|-
|Higher fidelity / more accurate capture of information
|More easily distracted
|-
|Ability to search digital notes more quickly and accurately
|Less cognitive processing and analysis, so possibly lower levels of understanding
|}
<blockquote>
Note-taking depends on the context and reason for taking notes. If the aim is to capture as much information as possible, it is probably best to use a laptop. If  the aim is to remember content more easily, it may be more useful to write notes by hand.<ref name=":5" /> </blockquote>Michael Rowe suggests the following tips:<ref name=":5" />
* when taking notes by hand, it can be useful to use a large format, hardcover, ring-bound notepad
* when using a laptop to take notes, it may help to use a plain text editor (e.g. Notepad on Windows) as these programs tend to have fewer distractions. For more information on this, please see: [https://plaintext-productivity.net/2-01-why-plaintext-for-notes.html Why Plaintext for Notes?]
* it might be a good idea to take initial notes in class by hand and convert them to digital notes later
** notes captured by pen and paper tend to be '''temporary notes'''
** these temporary notes can point the learner to resources that need to be elaborated on in '''literature notes''' (which also include critical thinking)
** next, integrate the temporary notes and the literature notes into '''permanent notes''', which are more fully formed and contain complete concepts and ideas from the lecture
== How To Take Notes ==
There are many different note-taking systems, but one popular method for learners in higher education is the Cornell method.


=== Cornell Method ===
This method was developed in the 1950s to help students summarise their learning.<ref>Mewburn I. The Cornell note-taking method – revisited [Internet]. The Thesis Whisperer. 2019 [cited 26 September 2023]. Available from: https://thesiswhisperer.com/2018/08/22/the-cornell-note-taking-method-revisited/</ref> This method has a distinctive layout, with a single sheet of paper divided into columns.<ref name=":5" /> Each column has a specific purpose:<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":7">Saran M, Krentz Gober M, McCarty EB. [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01455613221146457 An introduction to the Cornell Note system.] Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. 2022 Nov;101(9_suppl):37S-41S.</ref><ref name=":6">Oxford Learning. How To Take Study Notes: 5 Effective Note Taking Methods. 2017.  Available from: https://www.oxfordlearning.com/5-effective-note-taking-methods/</ref> 


Technology
# Note-taking area (i.e. the details) - right-hand side:
#* notes from the lecture (or any other source) are included in this column
#* these notes usually include the main ideas (i.e. the gist of what is said) and avoid long sentences
#* useful when reviewing notes
# Cue column (i.e. key points) - left-hand side:
#* arguably the most important section
#* relevant questions or key concepts are recorded here
# Summary - at the bottom:
#* "encapsulates the details from the notes section into a few sentences that paint the big picture"<ref name=":7" />
#* provides an overview of what this page of notes covers


Today, students can take notes through some programs installed in computers or mobile phones instead of through notebook and pencil. Even students who take a photo of the writings on the board (in other words take notes) are frequently seen (Özçakmak and Sarigöz, 2019). This proves that note taking keep up with changing technology and it still keeps its popularity. Technological advancements have provided students some conveniences and have lessened amount of time they spent for writing. Students who get accustomed to typing through keyboard rather than using pencil and notebook are able to write the same words in a shorter time and to focus on their courses in remaining tim<ref name=":1" />. 
The Cornell Method is organised and easy to review. It allows the learner to extract key ideas and concepts.<ref name=":6" /> By limiting the space available, especially in the left-hand column, the Cornell method aims to keep a learner's focus on the most important concepts.<ref name=":5" />


With the development of mobile technology and students’ self-directed study use of smart phones and tablet computers, several medical schools have incorporated mobile devices into their learning environment [1, 2]. Tablet computers, especially iPads, have been piloted and these devices have been reported to invigorate students’ information seeking, time-management and note taking [2,3,4,5]. Students have had mostly positive attitudes towards mobile learning [6]. They have benefited from using mobile devices as an online information resource [7, 8], valued having digital course materials always at hand and expressed that information technology in classes improved their learning [9]. Applications for mobile devices have been developed to assist students and clinicians in clinical decision making and have provided students with timely feedback in the workplace [10,11,12].
The following video by Cornell University highlights how students can use the Cornell Method:{{#ev:youtube|nX-xshA_0m8}}


The art of note taking is crucial in academic studies but research on how students take notes with the digital technology is scarce [13<ref name=":2" />
== Tips for Taking Better Notes ==
<blockquote>When taking notes, it might be useful to reflect on the following questions:<ref name=":5" />


ecent studies have found that 72% (Patterson & Patterson, 2017) to 79% (Carter et al., 2017) of students report using laptops in the classroom. Although some studies have described the benefits of incorporating this technology in the classroom (e.g., Bui et al., 2013; Gulek & Demirtas, 2005), such as taking more organized and comprehensive notes, other work has highlighted the negative impact that laptop use has on academic performance (e.g., Fried, 2007; Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014; Patterson & Patterson, 2017). For example, Patterson and Patterson (2017) examined laptop use at a private liberal arts college in which teachers required laptops for class, allowed laptops in class, or prohibited laptops in class. Computer use in the classroom was associated with poor academic performance, such as lower course grades and a lower grade point average (GPA). Similarly, Fried (2007) found that laptop use is distracting resulting in reduced attention during class and an increase in confusion re<ref name=":3">Crumb RM, Hildebrandt R, Sutton TM. [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0098628320979895#bibr15-0098628320979895 The value of handwritten notes: A failure to find state-dependent effects when using a laptop to take notes and complete a quiz]. Teaching of Psychology. 2022 Jan;49(1):7-13.</ref>
* What am I trying to remember or make sense of?
* How am I going to use the information contained in my notes when I am revising?
* What do I plan to do with these notes in the future?
</blockquote>Michael Rowe has the following tips to enhance note-taking:<ref name=":5" />


* Always take notes! This will help to keep your attention focused and provide a structure when you revise lectures in the future.
* You may only need to record a few of the most important points from a lecture, but actively taking notes will help you to connect new information to existing knowledge. Capturing the most important concepts means you can elaborate on them later.
* Be as detailed as necessary. You want to avoid leaving out crucial details when taking notes.
* Listen for note-taking cues from lecturers that signal important information is coming up.
* Taking notes is only the first part of the process. You also need to review your notes! It is also important to revise your notes.
* If lectures are available as a recording, make sure to go through the content again to update your notes and check you have captured the major points.
* It may be worth committing to taking handwritten notes even when you have a laptop.


comparison of paper vs mobile
== Resources ==


Mueller and Oppenheimer [18] compared longhand and laptop strategy and reported that the use of laptops led to the verbatim repetition of teachers’ speech instead of active information processing. Laptop writing advanced linearly, whereas handwriting enabled the student to make connections between sections of notes and draw. Further studies [19] claimed that the students who took notes using paper and pen performed better than those who took notes digitally. In addition, they reported that when the students were online, multitasking had a detrimental impact on learning.<ref name=":2" />
* [[How to Focus When Learning|How To Focus When Learning]]
* [[Creating New Habits for Learning|Creating New Habits For Learning]]


ook notes by hand were determined to have recorded fewer words but also take notes that contained less verbatim overlap. Similarly, the researchers found that note quantity was directly related to one’s score, while verbatim overlap between one’s notes and the video was inversely related to performance. In Experiment 2, when participants were asked not to take verbatim notes on the computer in an intervention condition, their scores did not significantly differ from those of individuals who took notes on a computer without the verbal i<ref name=":3" />
== References ==
<references />
[[Category:ReLAB-HS Course Page]]
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Latest revision as of 15:21, 19 October 2023

Original Editor - Robin Tacchetti based on the course by Michael Rowe
Top Contributors - Robin Tacchetti, Jess Bell and Kim Jackson


Introduction[edit | edit source]

We take notes for many reasons. They help us learn, improve our long-term retention of information and enable us to record specific events or moments.[1] Effective note-taking requires learners to summarise important concepts as precisely as possible in their own words and to connect these concepts with lecture material. During the note-taking process, learners will interpret, filter and process information. This new information will be stored and retrieved when needed.[2][3][4]

Why Take Notes?[edit | edit source]

Two reasons to take notes:[5]

  • notes can extend memory[6]
  • notes can enhance focus[6][7]

However, it is necessary to remember that a crucial element of note-taking is actually revising your notes later. "If you’re taking notes simply to capture the information that’s on the slides, or that you can read in a book, you’re not adding much value to your learning strategy because you can probably find that information somewhere else."[6]

Note-taking has two main functions:[3][4]

  1. Encoding:
    • the listener has to actively engage with the incoming information when taking notes
    • they then need to make decisions about how to encode that material
  2. Storing information:
    • note-taking creates a record of information that can be accessed at a later date
    • this stored information can be used for many different "post-listening activities and assignments"[3]

Types of Notes[edit | edit source]

There are many different kinds of notes, but five common types are: daily notes, temporary notes, literature notes, permanent notes and project notes.[6]

  • Daily notes[6]
    • essentially a journal, diary or calendar
    • these notes are kept in date order to keep track of daily events (e.g. tasks for the day, reminders, thoughts you might want to access at a later date)
    • they provide a place to record administrative aspects of learning (e.g. timetables, notes from meetings with tutors, etc)
    • they can be considered an extension of your short-term, or working, memory
  • Temporary notes[6]
    • notes taken in the moment that can be deleted once the information has been dealt with (e.g. sticky notes with phone numbers, emails, etc)
  • Literature notes[6]
    • questions, comments, challenges you write to authors in the margins of books or in annotation apps when on the web, or comments on social media
    • act as evidence of our critical engagement with authors and other content creators
    • these notes often end up scattered everywhere
      • one solution to this problem is to use a resource manager like Zotero
  • Permanent notes[6]
    • the final version of notes taken during your studies
    • can be used at a later date for revision (potentially even years in the future)
      • they are a distillation of your cognitive effort to understand a concept deeply
      • they can be considered as an extension of your long-term memory
    • these notes have certain features to help them be more useful:
      • descriptive title
      • longer notes may include a short summary
      • they include relevant quotes from original sources and a reference list
      • digital notes may include tags for filtering and searching
    • note-taking apps like Obsidian, Notion and Logseq enable internal linking between notes
  • Project notes[6]
    • notes that are taken as part of a project/assignment
    • can be archived once the project is complete
    • tend to be a collection of notes, including administrative notes (e.g. meeting notes, to do lists), literature notes, annotations, permanent notes

Taking Notes by Hand vs. Using Technology[edit | edit source]

Mobile devices have been incorporated into the learning environment and are now used for note-taking. As Pyörälä et al.[4] note, digital note-taking enables students to retrieve information (notes / learning materials) anywhere, anytime, when studying and treating patients in clinical practice.

As mentioned above, there are a number of apps to help learners take notes (e.g. Obsidian, Notion and Logseq). Some students also use their phones to take photos of notes on classroom boards. The speed and convenience of these technologies have inversely affected the amount of time students spend writing[7] and most people can type faster than they can write.[6]

However, it is important to remember that taking notes "is not really about the quantity or fidelity of the information being captured. [...] Taking notes is about trying to link new, incoming information, to existing knowledge frameworks in your mind.[6]

Taking notes on a laptop may mean that a student is able to record more information more accurately (i.e. verbatim).[8] However, students with laptops in class tend to spend more time multitasking (e.g. checking email, using the Internet, playing games, etc) and, therefore, less time writing notes, which results in lower achievement.[8]

There is also research to suggest that taking notes by hand could have certain benefits, including improved long-term recall and conceptual understanding.[6] However, it is important to note that the research on adult learners is somewhat conflicting.[9]

  • Horbury et al.[9] found that while factual recall was not affected by the note-taking mode in children (e.g. handwriting vs using a computer), "children who handwrote notes had greater conceptual understanding one week after viewing their lesson, compared to those who typed notes."[9]
  • Longchamp et al.[10] looked at adult learners' ability to learn new characters (i.e. letters) by copying them by hand or typing them on a computer. They found that when characters were learned by typing, "they were more frequently confused with their mirror images than when they had been written by hand."[10]
  • Mangen et al.[11] found that free word recall was better in adults for words that were written by hand rather than typed.
  • Mueller and Oppenheimer[12] found that students using laptops to take notes tended to perform worse on conceptual questions than students who took notes by hand.
  • However, Morehead et al.[13] replicated and extended Mueller and Oppenheimer's 2014 study[12] and found that, at present, "concluding which method is superior for improving the functions of note-taking seems premature."[13]

Please see the following tables for a list of the advantages and disadvantages of taking notes by hand and taking notes with a laptop.

Table 1. Taking notes by hand[6]
Advantages Disadvantages
Better cognitive processing Slower
Better recall of concepts for longer periods afterwards Less information captured
Table 2. Taking notes with a laptop[6]
Advantages Disadvantages
Higher fidelity / more accurate capture of information More easily distracted
Ability to search digital notes more quickly and accurately Less cognitive processing and analysis, so possibly lower levels of understanding

Note-taking depends on the context and reason for taking notes. If the aim is to capture as much information as possible, it is probably best to use a laptop. If the aim is to remember content more easily, it may be more useful to write notes by hand.[6]

Michael Rowe suggests the following tips:[6]

  • when taking notes by hand, it can be useful to use a large format, hardcover, ring-bound notepad
  • when using a laptop to take notes, it may help to use a plain text editor (e.g. Notepad on Windows) as these programs tend to have fewer distractions. For more information on this, please see: Why Plaintext for Notes?
  • it might be a good idea to take initial notes in class by hand and convert them to digital notes later
    • notes captured by pen and paper tend to be temporary notes
    • these temporary notes can point the learner to resources that need to be elaborated on in literature notes (which also include critical thinking)
    • next, integrate the temporary notes and the literature notes into permanent notes, which are more fully formed and contain complete concepts and ideas from the lecture

How To Take Notes[edit | edit source]

There are many different note-taking systems, but one popular method for learners in higher education is the Cornell method.

Cornell Method[edit | edit source]

This method was developed in the 1950s to help students summarise their learning.[14] This method has a distinctive layout, with a single sheet of paper divided into columns.[6] Each column has a specific purpose:[6][15][16]

  1. Note-taking area (i.e. the details) - right-hand side:
    • notes from the lecture (or any other source) are included in this column
    • these notes usually include the main ideas (i.e. the gist of what is said) and avoid long sentences
    • useful when reviewing notes
  2. Cue column (i.e. key points) - left-hand side:
    • arguably the most important section
    • relevant questions or key concepts are recorded here
  3. Summary - at the bottom:
    • "encapsulates the details from the notes section into a few sentences that paint the big picture"[15]
    • provides an overview of what this page of notes covers

The Cornell Method is organised and easy to review. It allows the learner to extract key ideas and concepts.[16] By limiting the space available, especially in the left-hand column, the Cornell method aims to keep a learner's focus on the most important concepts.[6]

The following video by Cornell University highlights how students can use the Cornell Method:

Tips for Taking Better Notes[edit | edit source]

When taking notes, it might be useful to reflect on the following questions:[6]

  • What am I trying to remember or make sense of?
  • How am I going to use the information contained in my notes when I am revising?
  • What do I plan to do with these notes in the future?

Michael Rowe has the following tips to enhance note-taking:[6]

  • Always take notes! This will help to keep your attention focused and provide a structure when you revise lectures in the future.
  • You may only need to record a few of the most important points from a lecture, but actively taking notes will help you to connect new information to existing knowledge. Capturing the most important concepts means you can elaborate on them later.
  • Be as detailed as necessary. You want to avoid leaving out crucial details when taking notes.
  • Listen for note-taking cues from lecturers that signal important information is coming up.
  • Taking notes is only the first part of the process. You also need to review your notes! It is also important to revise your notes.
  • If lectures are available as a recording, make sure to go through the content again to update your notes and check you have captured the major points.
  • It may be worth committing to taking handwritten notes even when you have a laptop.

Resources[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Friedman MC. Notes on note-taking: review of research and insights for students and instructors. Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching. Harvard University.
  2. ↑ Schmidt SJ. Taking Notes: There's a Lot More to It than Meets the Eye. Journal of Food Science Education. 2019 Jul;18(3):54-8.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Siegel J. Factors affecting notetaking performance. International journal of Listening. 2022 Apr 15:1-3.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Pyörälä E, Mäenpää S, Heinonen L, Folger D, Masalin T, Hervonen H. The art of note taking with mobile devices in medical education. BMC medical education. 2019 Dec;19:1-0.
  5. ↑ Young S. How to take notes while reading [Internet]. 2019 [cited 26 September 2023]. Available from: https://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2019/01/29/take-notes-while-reading/
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 6.20 Rowe M. How to Take Notes for Learning Course. Plus, 2023.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Özçakmak H. Impact of Note Taking during Reading and during Listening on Comprehension. Educational Research and Reviews. 2019 Oct;14(16):580-9.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Kiewra K. A seven-step guide to taking better notes. The Conversation. Available from: https://qz.com/1701631/how-to-take-better-notes (accessed 26 September 2023).
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Horbury SR, Edmonds CJ. Taking class notes by hand compared to typing: effects on children’s recall and understanding. Journal of Research in Childhood Education. 2021. 35(1):55-67.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Longcamp M, Boucard C, Gilhodes JC, Velay JL. Remembering the orientation of newly learned characters depends on the associated writing knowledge: a comparison between handwriting and typing. Hum Mov Sci. 2006 Oct;25(4-5):646-56.
  11. ↑ Mangen A., Anda LG, Oxborough GH, Brřnnick K. Handwriting versus keyboard writing: Effect on word recall. Journal of Writing Research. 2015;7(2):227-47.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mueller PA, Oppenheimer DM. The pen is mightier than the keyboard: advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychol Sci. 2014 Jun;25(6):1159-68.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Morehead K, Dunlosky J, Rawson KA. How much mightier is the pen than the keyboard for note-taking? A replication and extension of Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014). Educ Psychol Rev. 2019;31:753-80.
  14. ↑ Mewburn I. The Cornell note-taking method – revisited [Internet]. The Thesis Whisperer. 2019 [cited 26 September 2023]. Available from: https://thesiswhisperer.com/2018/08/22/the-cornell-note-taking-method-revisited/
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Saran M, Krentz Gober M, McCarty EB. An introduction to the Cornell Note system. Ear, Nose & Throat Journal. 2022 Nov;101(9_suppl):37S-41S.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Oxford Learning. How To Take Study Notes: 5 Effective Note Taking Methods. 2017. Available from: https://www.oxfordlearning.com/5-effective-note-taking-methods/
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