Note:Change in the syllabus & assignment CG 111 10/23/08 Note:Change in the syllabus & assignment Study strategies for academic disciplines Discussion & interactive chapter review p. 202 Cornell note taking system in detail (Take notes!)

Cornell Note Taking Lecture Overview Goals for taking notes Benefits of Cornell Note Taking System How to prepare Cornell Notes Skills you’ll need Benefits of each step in the system Practice: Give Cornell Notes a Try

Taking Notes From Lecture

Note taking goals Accurately record what the speaker says Pay attention Interpret ideas to make them meaningful Condense the info before writing it down Organize the notes in a way that makes sense to you

Five Benefits Forces you to decide what’s important Active reading or listening process Weigh and evaluate what you read or hear Focus your attention and concentrate Helps you understand underlying pattern of organization, connections Helps you know if you understood what you read or hear

5th Benefit: Additional Repetition Writing down what you hear / read helps you learn and master the information via: Review Evaluation Interpretation Editing Moves information into long term memory Provides mental cues to retrieve information

Cornell Note Taking & Study System Developed by Walter Pauk, at Cornell University Useful for notes from textbook or lectures Law/Summary margin paper has Cornell margins Date Topic Recall Clues 2 ½” 6” Notes 2” Summary

Give Cornell Note Taking a Try! Take a blank sheet of paper Draw a line from the top to bottom of the page approximately 2 1/2 inches of the way over from the left margin. Draw a horizontal line approximately 1 inch from the bottom. Date & number page. Topic: Cornell Note Taking Take notes in right column as you normally would

What do you record? Date, topic, page # Most important info What’s written on board - headings Meaningful phrases or sentences Details Definitions Examples, Drawings How do you record? Informal outline Block Modified Block Leave space between ideas Indent details Abbreviate!

What skills do you need? Active listening & concentration Selectivity – instructors speak 150 – 200 words per minute; we write @ 25 wpm. Abbreviation Interpreting Condensing Organizing Legibility – Leave Space

Improve Your Listening Skills Decide to listen Focus your attention Set aside biases Control emotional responses Listen for main points & related details Ask questions Observe lecturer’s physical cues

5 Steps of the Cornell Note Taking System Record Reduce Recite Reflect Review These are important concepts to remember!

Cornell Note Taking System First: Set up your paper Label your pages For text notes Course name Chapter & Title Page numbers from book -------------------- For lecture notes Date Course Topic/Lecture Title Date Topic Recall Column 2 ½” 6” Area for Notes 2” Summary

Skip lines between ideas Write on one side only Date Topic Reduce Recall Clues 2 ½” Record Notes Any format Print, draw Skip lines between ideas Write on one side only 2” Summary 5 R’s of Cornell Record Reduce ---------------- Recite Reflect Review (see CG 111 Course Materials p. 103)

2 ½” - 4” Date Math Topic your instructor says Math problems go here Math vocabulary Goes here Write Explanations, Problem solving Steps, Clues, Hints Here Focus on what your instructor says Lefties: explanations Problems Cornell also can be adapted to record math (see handout) Note: switch this set-up if you are left-handed.

Benefits: Record Step You select the most important information You are condensing the main ideas and important details so you a. recall everything that happened in class or b. don’t have to re-read your chapter

Lots of notes that you’ve taken here Step 2: Reduce Write recall clues SQ4R questions key phrases summarizing your notes on the right Exam questions you predict Date Topic Reduce Recall Clues 2 ½” Lots of notes that you’ve taken here 2” Summary

Benefits: Reduce Step Reduce notes to key words or questions You create questions for important info that helps you prepare for future exams

Date Topic Notes 2” Summary Reduce: Summarize 6 – 8 lines at bottom of page Summarize your page of notes Good practice for essay exams

Benefits: Recite step Provides you with feedback about how well you are learning Allows self testing Allows preparing for essay exams – if you can recite the information out loud, you can write it down Seeing, hearing and speaking help you retain information faster

Sample Cornell Notes http://www.muskingum.edu/~cal/database/content/history1.html

Benefits: Reflect Step Promotes critical thinking You are creating a personal method to learn information You can use creativity for better understanding

Sample notes of this lecture

Notetaking, Date Pg.1 Why take notes? What is included in good notes? What skills are needed? What are some NT structures When should I review my notes? How can I review my notes? Diagrams Cross Reference Why? To remember, stay awake, help me study, enhance concentration Main pts., imp. Terms, topic, def. date, pg #, graphics, diagrams, blank space Skills: Listening, concentration, legibility, organization. Types: Outline, mindmaps, summary, Matrix, Cornell system When: Immediately after class within 24 hrs. Out loud, quiz, rewrite, list main ideas, rework, make test, create questions Important Terms: Blank Space, Main terms, MindMaps, Matrix, Cornell, Review

How to Outline Determine how much info you need to include Identify how ideas relate Group ideas according to their connections Uses listing order & system of indentation Write main ideas (MIs) close to margin Indent information that support/explains MIs

Outlines – Styles and Goal Can be formal: Roman numerals, Capital letters Can be informal=Figure 16.5 p. 335 Can be highly detailed or a brief list Ultimate Goal: Be able to show relative importance of ideas and how they relate to each other

Benefits of Review Step Strengthens long term memory Practice retrieving information Builds your confidence Recite from the recall column Recite from the headings Discuss the information with others Predict questions, quiz each other, etc.

When should you review? Immediately after class to 24 hours after taking lecture notes Right before the next class Weekly to move info to LTM and to rehearse thinking about it and retrieving it.

Review, Review, Review

You can “stack” your Cornell notes for review & self-testing. The recall column becomes zone becomes an index or table of contents for the course. The advantage of this organization is the development and sharpening of lateral of associative thinking: you could, for instance, work through all of the notes, labelled "ambiguity" to develop an understanding of the techniques (and examples) authors have used to be ambiguous. -the "cover and recall" review method: use a blank sheet (or the pages from previous lectures) to cover each page, so that only the cue zone is visible. -glancing at the cue zones, you will be able to make connections between lectures that do not necessarily follow the chronological order of the lectures. -since you have dated all your pages in the head zone, you could pull all pages with similar labels to review an individual topic repeatedly for different subjects

Organizing & Synthesizing Course Content Tools for Managing Learning : SQ4R – record step Concept/Category Cards (course mat.) 4 x 6 note card Study sheets (ch.18) New tools in Ch. 7 Textbook Highlighting Marginal Annotation Summary Notes Recall Clues Outline Notes Mapping (aka visual note taking)

Good students DO write in textbooks Three reasons you should mark, highlight & write in your textbooks To find and select the author’s key ideas and support for those ideas You are forced to think about the text & follow the author’s organization, discussion or argument. You keep alert & actively engaged, improving your learning

To make studying more efficient You can quickly find key ideas for class discussion Review Test preparation Writing papers To record your reactions to the reading

Textbook Highlighting Analyze your reading task Assess how much you know about the topic already Use a consistent system (colors, pencils) Determine what’s important w/textbook headings Read, THEN highlight up to 25% per page

Marginal Annotations You need to know the various types shown in McWhorter, p.330 Table 16.1 Avoid Pitfalls & Timewasters overly complex systems (lots of different colored highlighters = take too long Medieval monk = too much--- copying, not enough synthesizing! Nothin’ Here = too little—check: do I understand this material? Rest of the story = have to reread text again to know what’s going on

Marginal Annotation Allows you to identify what to learn Ex. New terminology, key concepts Records your reactions & comments Variation 1: Summary Notes = phrases in the margins Forces you to pull together ideas Makes remembering easier Good for long, complex passages

Summary Notes (cont.) Variation 2: Recall Clues = words and phrases that briefly summarize the notes “memory tags” that trigger your recall of info you’ve read. Words, Phrases Questions Process: Cover up the text, read the clue and test your recall

Variation 3:Text marking (Optional) Put a double or wavy line under main ideas Use a single or straight line under supporting details Circle vocabulary that you need to study and underline the meaning

Outline Notes- How they Help You organize information & pull together related ideas You discover “the bones” of the text You must recognize what’s important and express it in words You are forced to be selective You start retaining what you learn = notes are a form of elaborative rehearsal

Visual Mapping (aka Visual Note Taking) General: concept maps Specialized: time lines – process diagrams part and function diagrams organizational charts comparison and contrast charts pp. 338 – 345 McWhorter.

Visual Mapping Benefits: consolidate information visually Emphasizes particular thought pattern: effective for visual and spatial learners Fun form of elaborative rehearsal

General: concept maps Concept maps are outlines that show ideas spatially

Comparison Contrast Chart Technique Highlighting Annotation Note taking Use Textbook Review Avoid re-reading 80% of text comments, reaction to text Organizing Difficult text Helps You Concentrate, Be phys. active, Evaluate while reading ID New terms Comment, summarize important ideas in own words Pros Fast, efficient ID patterns of org Summarize long passages Test prep: Organize information Rehearsal – Learning Easy to carry around Cons Doesn’t sep. MI from examples Not good for anthologies, tech difficult texts Time consuming

A concept map of the five specialized types of concept maps