Developed in 1949 at Cornell University by Walter Pauk. Designed in response to frustration over student test scores. Meant to be easily used as a test study guide. Adopted by most major law schools as the preferred note taking method.

Universities Using Cornell Note Taking Dartmouth College Duke University University of Florida Florida State University University of Alabama Auburn University Stanford University Cornell University Just to name a few….

Cornell note taking stimulates critical thinking skills through Question Writing. Note taking helps students remember what is said in class. A good set of notes can help students work on assignments and prepare for tests outside of the classroom.

Good notes allow students to help each other problem solve. Good Notes help students organize and process data and information. Good Notes help student recall by getting them to process their notes 3 times (10 –24 –7). Writing is a great tool for learning!

The Process of Forgetting and the Process of REMEMBERING! Day 1 – End of Hour Long Lecture – 100% is refreshed if information is summarized and reviewed for 10 minutes. Day 2 – If not reviewed, 50% - 80% of lecture content is lost. Day 7 – If not reviewed, even less is remembered Day 30 – By now, unless information is reviewed, only 3% remains

The 10 – 24 – 7 RULE Within 24 hours of receiving information – Summarize and Review for 10 minutes, and you raise the Curve of Forgetting almost to 100% again! Day 7 – Review for 5 minutes to “reactivate” the same material; then, review for 10 more minutes, and you raise the curve to almost 100% again! Day 30 – Your brain will only need 24 minutes to give you back 80% - 100% of the needed information!

The Curve of Forgetting Is Based upon a One-Hour Lecture

First & Last Name Class Title Period Date Topic Questions, Subtitles, Headings, Etc. Class Notes 2 1/2” 3 to 4 sentence summary across the bottom of the last page of the day’s notes

Let’s get out a sheet of Cornell note paper and get ready to practice the skill.

Compare notes with a partner. Talk about what you wrote and why. Look for gaps & missed info. Both partners should feel free to add to their notes.

With your partner, create questions in the left hand column to reflect your notes’ content. These questions should elicit critical thinking skills. –Levels 3 through 6 in Bloom’s Taxonomy begin with such verbs as: How? Why? Can you explain?, etc.

In addition to the main points in your notes, your questions should reflect: Info you don’t understand or want to discuss with your teacher/tutor. Info you think would go good on an essay test. Gaps in your notes.

On your own, in the space provided at the bottom of the page, complete a 3 or 4 sentence summary of what you wrote in your notes. (the summary…)

Summary is added at the end of ALL note pages on the subject (not at the end of each page) Summary added AFTER questions are finished

(Diagram copied during lecture ) (Questions about it ) How do the ticks find the cattle? Why don’t the ticks usually kill their host? How could tick infestations in cattle impact humans?

Basic Cornell Notes Instruction Sheet & Suggestions Cornell note samples for different subjects

Designed by Paul Bullock Senior Program Specialist & Anne Maben AP Science Coach