Strategies for Note-taking and Retaining Information

Strategies for Note-taking and Retaining Information
Linda Hecker Landmark College for Research and Training September 2007 Renton Technical College

Workshop Goals Understand the purpose and rationale for note taking
Understand how memory and attention affect learning Learn and practice note taking strategies that support memory, attention, and learning Review the barriers to note taking and some strategies to address them Learn how instructors can support note taking in their classes

Involve me and I understand.
Old Chinese Proverb … Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand.

Activator Turn to a partner and discuss: What do you currently do to encourage students to take effective notes in your class?

What is Note Taking? What do we mean when we talk about note taking?
What do people do when they take notes? Brainstorm individually

Purpose of Note Taking Helps students to understand the material presented in the class Serve as reference material for later study What else?

Purpose of Note Taking (2)
Keeps students active during lectures Helps to clarify confusing information Improves long-term memory storage Better grades on tests

What Does Research Say about Note Taking?
Note takers are better able to recall main points than non-note-takers Students who review their notes do better on tests than those who take notes but don’t review them Transferring written information to a visual format may improve comprehension and recall

What Does Research Say about Note Taking? (2)
Note-taking behaviors (underlining, copying, listing) are tangible indicators of internal cognitive processing Note-taking techniques (summarizing and highlighting) are ineffective unless students are taught the underlying cognitive processes that underlie these techniques

What Does Research Say about Note Taking? (3)
Writing after reading contributes more to knowledge synthesis than note-taking Good essay writing is associated with generative, active note-taking strategies Active note-taking strategies include summarizing and concept mapping Synthesizing tasks probably assess how well students can apply their knowledge gained from texts more accurately than simple comprehension tests or recall protocols. Generative note-taking (such as summarizing and concept-mapping) is associated with good essay writing. (As opposed to more passive note taking strategies, such as verbatim notes and underlining or highlighting.

Conclusion from Research
The important aspect of note-taking is not WHAT students do, but HOW they do it. “Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.” Confucius, The Confucian Analects

Cognitive Processing: Memory and Attention
Regulates Attention Students who understand the rationale for what they are asked to do in their academic program are much more likely to embrace the learning strategies that they know will help them. We all know that taking notes is a good thing, but why? Good note taking strategies are nothing more than a vehicle to support and enhance a student’s attention and memory systems. Attention and memory are tied together. Without attention, memory pathways won’t be activated. Without knowing how the human memory system works, students won’t know the actions they need to take to maximize their memory storage and recall. Let’s start with memory.

How Does Memory Work? Three components of memory Sensory memory
Short term memory/ Active working memory Long term memory Memory is the ongoing mental process of retaining and recalling knowledge or experiences. A student’s ability to use and manipulate his/her memory greatly influences his/her ability to learn. The memory system is located in the brain and the brain stem, at the top of the spinal cord. Different parts of the brain perform different memory functions. Different aspects of memories are located in specific parts of the brain. Memory is more like archeological dig than a filing cabinet. The single most important part of the memory system for improving memory performance is the process of attention. Cerebellum: Memory Attention Learning Motor Control

Information Processing
rehearsal Sensory Memory attention Short Term/ Working Memory INPUT OUTPUT encoding retrieval Long Term Memory The ability to pay attention is vital to memory because it is the process by which information is moved from sensory memory to short-term or active working memory. Rehearsal involves working or doing something with new information. A person maintains attention by rehearsing information, which then allows information to be stored in short-tem memory. Short term and Active working memory are often used interchangeably, which is confusing and not entirely accurate. Historically, short term memory was the name given to that part of memory that stored information received from the sensory channels. Eventually, cognitive scientists theorized that that short term memory storage function was much more active in its ability to manipulate information before it is stored in long-term memory. The real point is that whether we refer to short term storage as working memory or short term memory, the emphasis is on active manipulation of information rather than passive storage. Encoding is the process of linking new information to existing knowledge in order to make it mearningful. Through encoding, information is transferred from short-term to long term memory. Through retrieval, information is moved from long-term to short term memory, where it is available to be manipulated through the active working memory.

What are the Components of Attention?
Interest in the subject plus how the subject is presented Motivation Affected by past successes and/or failures Ability to distinguish more important information from less important information Vigilance, or the ability to focus and ignore distractions

The Role of the Executive Functions
Management functions of the brain Enable the brain to engage in self-regulation Six executive functions: Activation Focus Effort Emotions Memory Action The concept of executive functions refers to the various cognitive management functions of the brain. Executive functions provide the means for the brain’s ability to provide self-regulation. Impaired executive functions have little to do with intellectual ability. Many highly intelligent people have severe impairments of executive functions. The executive functions impaired in ADD syndrome fall into six categories: activation, focus, effort, emotion, memory, and action. These functions tend to operate in an integrated way, and most persons diagnosed with ADHD describe significant difficulties with some aspects of these six clusters. Although most people associate ADD with hyperactivity and excessive energy, those with ADD syndrome often report great difficulty staying alert enough to process what happens in a lecture or a meeting. These individuals cannot stay alert unless they are actively engaged in an activity that allows for steady movement or interaction with others. They have difficulty sustaining the effort necessary to complete work tasks. Many with ADD syndrome suffer from excessively slow processing speed, which results in their having to spend far more time than others in order to complete their work.

Brown’s Model of Executive Function Impairment in ADD Syndrome

Learning requires sustained effort
“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and attended to with diligence.” Abigail Adams, 1780

Attention & Executive Functions: What We Know
Selective attention requires sustained effort and energy Attention and EF work together to motivate, evaluate, synthesize, associate, organize and connect information to be stored into short-term and long-term memory Controlled by specific brain structures and neurotransmitters (dopamine and noradrenaline); influenced by hormones, stress and emotion

Attention & Executive Functions: Implications for learning
Learners need to be actively involved, to explicitly know what they should skim and what they should deeply focus on (Reading & Writing: previewing= “prethinking”, self-checking, self-correcting) Learners need to regulate internal and external distractions (environment, emotional state, active working memory strategies = problem-solving strategies) Poor Previewing:Remember the Executive CEO, the student may be able to see the various parts of the process, but not the whole picture. 1. A student could be organized because they spend all of their time organizing without moving on to the next step. 2. The student may have poor concept of time, not able to see that an extensive research paper can’t be written the night before. Deficient Self-Monitoring: It often seems like these students don’t learn from their mistakes, and yet they can clearly recall all of their past failures which in their minds tend to overshadow their successes. Remember, problem-solving abilities rely upon executive functioning processes and active working memory. Teaching these students active working memory strategies can help improve problem-solving skills.

Why are Lectures so Difficult for Students?
They are inaccessible to deaf students They make high demands on linguistic and cognitive abilities Memory Attention Background knowledge Length and passivity place high demands on concentration and executive function It’s important to remember that lectures have some strengths, which is why they have been around for so long. A really good lecturer takes advantage of the enormous expressive capacity of spoken language: to stress what is important, to clarify tone and intent, to contextualize meaning, and to provide and emotional background. On the other hand, lectures place a high demand on the memory, linguistic, and attentional systems in the human brain. Student’s age = # of minutes of passive listening, up to about age 25, when it starts going in reverse e.g. 20 years = 20 minutes

Note Taking Strategies
Two Column Method (Cornell) Outlining Visual/Concept Maps Topic and Concept Cards

The Master Notebook A Process and a Product
Integrates reading, writing, and organization Taught to all Landmark College students A necessary component of effective note taking is an organizational system to file and access the notes. The Master Notebook system combines an organizational system (or PRODUCT) with a strategy (PROCESS) for taking notes, which is based on the Cornell system developed by Walter Pauk – a 2-column note taking strategy. The Master Notebook was created in order to assist students with study skills; it’s a concrete way to represent the way the mind works: It helps to encode, organize and retrieve information It’s an external representation of internal mental processes The Master Notebook systems fosters: Filing and organization of materials Active learning Time management Study process Test preparation It’s a variation on Walter Pauk’s Cornell notetaking technique – which helped Cornell University students better organize their notes. 1940s – The Master Notebook study system – provides the following: Step-by-step process: provides students with a system that gives them a sense of control Active strategies: many students are passive; this process activates them Test: if the MNB system is used – students are studying by reviewing daily and weekly

rehearsal spaced study STUDY PRINCIPLES overlearning
Study Principles derived from understanding how memory works. Help students study smarter, not harder by becoming active learners. Rehearsal: everyone (not just people with LD) must rehearse to retain info ex. of rehearsal: remembering a phone number as you go into the next room Mental image; Verbal rehearsal; Make associations with numbers Spaced Study: most researched topic in psych; true for infants, kids, old folks, across cultures eg.TV political ads: subjects retain info better from 2 30-sec ads than 1 60 sec. Ad; Learning a piece on piano or lines in a play: 7 1 –hr. sessions better than 1 7-hour session; Intro concept to students: first day of class ask an athletic looking student to do 50 pushups. If can’t complete them, ask if they can do 10 a day for 5 days. Overlearning: not superficial, but automatic If it takes 10 exposures to learn something, give 20 exposures (100% overlearning); Analogous to learning lines for a play: overlearn to allow for opening night anxiety, missing cues, unexpected glitches; Students with LD tend to need more exposures to learn; Eg. Average readers need 10 exposures to recognize word; dyslexic readers 40-50 overlearning

MASTER NOTEBOOK organization test preparation filing system time
MNB provides students with tools for learning by teaching the skills of Organizing time and materials Notetaking Note revising and review Summary writing Test preparation Master NB is Process for organizing and retrieving important information Portable filing system and reference source for class materials Step-by-step process for studying, consisting of daily and weekly steps Active strategies for increasing comprehension and retention Process and a product for studying Effective method for studying for tests time management study process active learning

The Master Notebook Product
Course syllabus Daily calendar of assignments & appointments Highlighters Divided sections for class notes, tests/quizzes, completed homework, and handouts

The Master Notebook MNB is a portable filing system,
The physical product is a 3 –ring binder 1 binder for each course: different color for each course Collects and organizes materials for each course

The Master Notebook Daily Calendar of Assignments & Appointments
Course Syllabus Semester Calendar Daily Calendar of Assignments & Appointments yellow highlighter MNB as a product (right hand side) 2-column note paper Tabbed dividers/pocket keepers 3-hole punch Dictionary/thesaurus

The Master Notebook Daily Calendar of Assignments & Appointments
Course Syllabus Semester Calendar Daily Calendar of Assignments & Appointments yellow highlighter blue highlighter Highlighters: at least 2 colors

The Master Notebook class notes tests/quizzes Daily Calendar of
Course Syllabus Semester Calendar tests/quizzes Daily Calendar of Assignments & Appointments completed homework Right side: materials Class notes in chronological order, oldest on top (flipping through pages to current page = daily review) Handouts: date and punch (cross-reference to notes) Tests, quizzes: for review, to analyze test-taking skills Written assignments Completed HW due today handouts

The Master Notebook Process
Daily: Take a complete set of notes on 2-column note paper. Within 1-24 hours after class, revise notes. MNB is also a process with daily and weekly components Daily: take and revise notes we’ll explore that process in more detail next Weekly: collect, review week’s information, Synthesize class notes, handouts, readings Write a master summary of week’s main ideas, themes, vocab Let’s take a closer look at the daily note revision process

UNREVISED NOTES Here’s a sample page of raw, unrevised notes
Undifferentiated main ideas, details Almost all info just in right column Very little in left column Initial focus of note taking is on taking down as much info, as accurately as possible, without sorting ideas As notetakers become more experienced, may be able to note main ideas or topics in left column as they record details in right Doesn’t attempt to fill up page Leaves lots of space Writes only on one side Leaves blank spaces for missed info Enumerates wherever instructor cues, and leaves space for missed info

Note revision: Pull out main ideas Highlight key points and important vocabulary Compare notes with a study partner to fill in gaps

Note revision: Ask questions on the opposite page – “sweat page” Draw visuals to represent information Summarize Self-test to check understanding and retention

NOTE REVISION

Highlight the main ideas, important subtopics
NOTE REVISION The Pizza Has Cheese And Such Dark Sauce Take a complete set of notes. Within hours meet with a study partner. Pull out the main ideas. Highlight the main ideas, important subtopics and vocabulary. Steps in daily note revision The Professor Has Courage And Such Deep Strength (or The Pizza has ….) Take daily notes Retention curve: you lose 90% of info within 24 hours unless effort made to rehearse, retain info but immediate note revision not always possible (other courses, appointments): revise within 6 – 24 hours; 2. Pull main ideas over to left column to graphically emphasize their importance 3.Highlight main ideas in one color, key details another, vocab in third color 4. When possible, work with a study partner to fill in missing info, verify accuracy The following are forms of Elaborative Rehearsal: essential to deep understanding and retention because it creates a schema or mental map of the information 5.Ask Questions: students often don’t know how to formulate, so give them a model to start CAT: question type mnemonic Clarification: clear up any misunderstandings or missed info Association: what does this remind you of? Can you link it to something you saw or read elsewhere, or to yesterday’s or last week’s or last chapter’s material?(Critical thinking involves linking ideas) Test: what would make a good question for a test? (students start thinking like teachers) 6. Summarize: write a daily summary: requires condensing and recoding info in own words 7. Draw a picture: graphic array shows relationships, not just ideas; better retention of graphic info – helps recall verbal info 8. Self-Test: cover right column for objective tests; cover left column for essay test study Compare notes; identify missing information and clarify abbreviations and unclear facts.

Ask questions (clarification, association, test).
NOTE REVISION (continued) The Pizza Has Cheese And Such Dark Sauce Ask questions (clarification, association, test). Summarize the main ideas from the page of notes on the bottom of the sweat page. Draw a visual/ graphic organizer that summarizes or represents the information. Steps in daily note revision The Professor Has Courage And Such Deep Strength (or The Pizza has ….) Take daily notes Retention curve: you lose 90% of info within 24 hours unless effort made to rehearse, retain info but immediate note revision not always possible (other courses, appointments): revise within 6 – 24 hours; 2. Pull main ideas over to left column to graphically emphasize their importance 3.Highlight main ideas in one color, key details another, vocab in third color 4. When possible, work with a study partner to fill in missing info, verify accuracy The following are forms of Elaborative Rehearsal: essential to deep understanding and retention because it creates a schema or mental map of the information 5.Ask Questions: students often don’t know how to formulate, so give them a model to start CAT: question type mnemonic Clarification: clear up any misunderstandings or missed info Association: what does this remind you of? Can you link it to something you saw or read elsewhere, or to yesterday’s or last week’s or last chapter’s material?(Critical thinking involves linking ideas) Test: what would make a good question for a test? (students start thinking like teachers) 6. Summarize: write a daily summary: requires condensing and recoding info in own words 7. Draw a picture: graphic array shows relationships, not just ideas; better retention of graphic info – helps recall verbal info 8. Self-Test: cover right column for objective tests; cover left column for essay test study Self-test by covering one column and trying to recall information from the other.

All text on this “Sweat Page” was added after the lecture
REVISED NOTES R S Q Sample of revised notes Point out: Right page: pulled out main ideas Left page: Questions Summary Point out highlighting

For studying and remembering, the Master Notebook is a way to organize and retrieve important information. Weekly: Organize all class material in logical order Write a master summary of the main ideas from that week MNB is also a process with daily and weekly components Daily: take and revise notes we’ll explore that process in more detail next Weekly: collect, review week’s information, Synthesize class notes, handouts, readings Write a master summary of week’s main ideas, themes, vocab Let’s take a closer look at the daily note revision process

The Master Notebook Points to Remember for the Instructor
Micro-unit each step of the system. Monitor the application of each step. Check the notebook regularly (an expectation). Provide plenty of feedback. Helpful tips for students and teachers Steps for teaching notetaking: Start with short written selections (newspaper and magazine articles work well) Emphasize detail column to start Teach necessary subskills Main idea/detail Abbreviations Paraphrase using telegraphic language Listening skills Visual organizers Use oral sources when s’s are comfortable working from written sources

Electronic 2-column notes
2-column notes easily adapted to electronic format on laptop or PDA

Concept Mapping Concept mapping is a technique for visualizing the relationships between different concepts. A concept map is a diagram showing the relationships between concepts. Concepts are connected with labelled arrows, in a downward-branching hierarchical structure. The relationship between concepts is articulated in linking phrases, e.g., "gives rise to", "results in", "is required by," or "contributes to". The technique of concept mapping was developed by Joseph D. Novak[1][2] at Cornell University in the 1970s,as a way to increase meaningful learning in the sciences. Concept maps have their origin in the learning movement called constructivism. In particular, constructivists hold that prior knowledge is used as a framework for understanding and learning new knowledge. Novak's work is based on the theories of David Ausubel (assimilation theory), who stressed the importance of prior knowledge in being able to learn new concepts. "The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach accordingly."[3] In his book Learning to Learn, Novak states that "meaningful learning involves the assimilation of new concepts and propositions into existing cognitive structures."

Mind Mapping A mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radially around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, and decision making. It is an image-centered diagram that represents semantic or other connections between portions of information. By presenting these connections in a radial, non-linear graphical manner, it encourages a brainstorming approach to any given organizational task, eliminating the hurdle of initially establishing an intrinsically appropriate or relevant conceptual framework to work within. A mind map is similar to a semantic network or cognitive map but there are no formal restrictions on the kinds of links used. The elements are arranged intuitively according to the importance of the concepts and they are organized into groupings, branches, or areas. The uniform graphic formulation of the semantic structure of information on the method of gathering knowledge, may aid recall of existing memories.

Inspiration™ Software

Outlining I. MAIN IDEA A. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I B. Subsidiary idea or supporting idea to I 1. Subsidiary idea to B 2. Subsidiary idea to B a) Subsidiary idea to 2 b) Subsidiary idea to 2 II. MAIN IDEA A. Subsidiary or supporting idea to II B. Subsidiary idea to II C. Subsidiary idea to II III. MAIN IDEA An outline presents a picture of the main ideas and the subsidiary ideas of any subject. Some typical uses of outlining are: a class reading assignment, an essay, a term paper, a book review or a speech. For any of these, an outline will show a basic overview and important details. Use Inspiration or MS WORD outlining functions (templates, on line tutorials)

Partial Graphic Organizer
Gestalt Psychology Laws: ______ Similarity Pragnanz Definition: People tend to perceive as a unit those things that are close together in space. ________________________________________________ People tend to fill in missing pieces to form a complete picture. ____________________________________________________ Example: ________________________________________________________ A person sees the word Texas in a stadium because some fans wear orange shirts, while others wear white shirts. ____________________________________________________________ Mary falsely remembers that a shape she saw was round when it actually was oval. A recently published study examined whether partial graphic organizers could boost text comprehension in an undergraduate psychology class. (Robinson, 2006) In four experiments, students who completed partial graphic organizers instead of writing summaries or viewing complete graphic organizers scored higher than the students who wrote summaries and used complete graphic organizers on tests and quizzes that covered course content.

Electronic Textbook Note-Taking
When to use You are reading to learn from a textbook or article It’s important to understand all or most of the information Demonstrate this strategy! sample Dr. Lynne Anderson-Inman, Center for Advanced Technology in Education, Univ. of Oregon

Topic and Concept Cards
An alternative to loose leaf paper for notes Index cards used Can be manipulated and rearranged Can be used for self-testing Best used for specific topical information Topic and concept cards offer an alternative to loose leaf paper for recording notes. Notes are taken on index cards. The topic or concept is written on one side of the card, and the explanation is written on the other side. There is one concept for each card. This system works well for students who like the flexibility to rearrange their cards and manipulate them. They are portable. This system lends itself well to very specific knowledge that must be remembered in some detail.

Topic and Concept Cards
AGRICULTURAL REVOLUTION Front Back Main Idea Supporting Details Farming has many Advantages over hunting and gathering: Stable food source Less undernourishment Efficient use of land Here’s an example. Front Back SMART cards

Guidelines for Recording Lectures
Recording can be done with a tape recorder or a voice recorder (mp3 player) Record course name and date Listen to the tape as soon as possible after the lecture Record missing information in written notes based on the taped lecture Recording class discussions and lectures is helpful for students who can’t write quickly. The recording allows students to take more complete notes without the pressure of having to capture all the information during the class. Also, recordings allow students to review the material. A problem with recording lectures is that it takes as much time (or more) to listen to the lecture and take notes on it as it does to listen to the lecture in the first place. Students still have to decide what is important and review that material yet again. In other words, recording a lecture is no guarantee that students will process the material in a way that helps them to retain it.

Barriers to Note Taking Success
Illegible handwriting Poor spelling Difficulty deciding what to include in notes Difficulty retaining information presented in lectures Difficulty selecting main ideas to include in written assignments

Strategies to Support Note Taking
Barriers Strategies for Support Illegible handwriting Poor Spelling Course handouts Recorded lectures Technology: word processing, voice recognition software Difficulty deciding what to include in notes Difficulty selecting main ideas to include in written assignments Graphic organizers for class activities Advance organizers to show topics In-class note review with question/answer Note revision with highlighting Difficulty retaining information from lectures Multiple means of presentation in classes Note Taking strategies that incorporate review and revision (2-column notes, e.g.) Working collaboratively with other students while implementing these strategies is another effective way to involve students with these barriers to successful note taking.

Why Paid Note Takers are a Bad Idea
Note takers are students themselves with variable ability to take good notes The value of notes lies in the act of taking them. The note taker deprives the disabled student of that opportunity.

A Universal Design Approach to Note Taking
Used by David Rose (CAST) at Harvard Graduate School of Education Notes are required but not graded Notes are collected weekly and posted on the course web site for all to see Five students are designated to post notes

Benefits of Note Sharing
Students express content in many different ways Students are highly engaged with notes on the course website and in class Students enhance notes, knowing that the notes will be public All students learn to take better notes from exposure to others’ notes

How Instructors can Support Note Taking in Classes
Make note taking an expectation of the course Allow course time for note review and clarifying questions Use multiple means of representation, such as graphs, visual organizers, images, and PowerPoint slides Use PowerPoint or advance organizers to provide the structure of the lecture Providing cognitive and structural supports during lectures is crucial for student understanding and access to course material. Advance organizers can provide this structure, as can PowerPoint slides that serve to frame the topic of the lecture – not necessarily deliver content. Visual images and organizers often do a better job at emphasizing relationships between facts, concepts, ideas, and processes.

In Conclusion … A reflective, mindful process of note taking is more important than the specific strategy “Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water.“ Loris Malaguzzi (1920–1994), Italian early childhood education specialist. Quoted in The Hundred Languages of Children, ch. 3, by Carolyn Edwards (1993).

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