Strategic Note-taking, Reading, & Studying

 College is supposed to help you become independent, self-directed learners.  Employers value people who have “learned how to learn” and will be “lifelong learners”

 Supply you with strategies that make your learning  deep: not surface-level memorization  durable: long lasting  retrievable: accessible when you need it

 Build bridges between what you’re trying to learn and what you already know.  Connect new ideas to those already in your brain; transform facts into concepts.  When you engage in deep learning, the brain makes a neurological (physical) connection between nerve cells.

 Perception (sensory input)  Storage (memory formation)  Retrieval (memory recall)

 Lecture often contains test information.  Writing increases attention and concentration.  Hearing information, writing it, and seeing it after its written produces three memory tracks (traces) in the brain.

 Review the syllabus; see the big picture  Get to class early and review notes and reading assignments  Chose the best seat in class

 Give your undivided attention  Take your own notes in longhand > typing  Be alert to cues  Take notes even if you don’t immediately understand what the instructor is saying  Take organized notes

Cornell Note-Taking System Box 5.2

 Check your notes  Reflect & review notes

 Main source of test questions on exams.  Completing & comprehending readings = higher course grades & better understanding of lecture & improved participation in class.

 See how the material fits into the overall organization structure of the book & course.  Preview by reading headings, chapter outlines, objectives, summary or end-of-chapter questions.  Think about what you may already know that relates to the main topic of the chapter.

 Read selectively.  Headings & subheadings  Italicized, underlined, capitalized, or bulleted info  First & last sentences in each paragraph  Written notes.  Highlighting = passive learning process  Visual aids  Enable you to “see” the information (learning style)

 Short review  If you are still confused, go to another source  Another book  Your instructor  Learning Center

 Survey  Question  Read  Recite  Review

 Give your undivided attention  Multitasking myth  Make meaningful associations  Integrate information from lectures & readings

 Timing ; distributed study  Part-to-whole study method  Visual learning  Left: verbal learning  Right: visual-spatial learning  Dual coding

 Build variety in the process  Type of tasks  Location; environment  Include physical activity  Use your senses  Learn with emotion

 Learn collaboratively  Working interdependently > independently  advance each other’s success > competitive  Maximize collaboration

 Be a reflective learner: self-aware and mindful  Checking whether you are truly (deeply) understanding what you’re learning.  Analogy  Paraphrase  Explanation  Examples  Application