Note Taking: A Life Skill
How often do you take notes? To remember what was said in a call; to remind yourself what to buy at the store; while reading an article or listening to a podcast. Note taking is exceptionally versatile, aiding us in almost every area of life.
When did you learn to take notes? The answer is probably in late elementary or middle school, and your abilities probably continued to develop as you matured through high school and beyond.
Do you write down everything verbatim or just key words? Are you able to successfully decipher your notes when you return to review them?
Note taking is an undeniable memory aid. We take notes about almost anything we want to remember, almost anywhere (in a notebook, on our phones, or on the back of a napkin). Effective note taking is the key to understanding them and being able to do something with them, like writing a paper or studying for an exam. This task is not explicitly instructed in school, leaving students to figure it out on their own. Yet, ALB Tutoring believes note taking to be a building block for academic success. ALB Tutoring teaches students the importance notes, how to take them, and how to apply them to diverse contexts.
Notes…
…focus on main ideas and the most important information.
…translate material into comprehensible language.
…help decipher and organize thoughts.
…constitute guides and game plans useful when organizing next steps in any context.
ALB Tutoring note taking strategies
Parse information: Selecting the most important pieces of information aids comprehension. Focusing on main points helps compartmentalize details. As students learn and practice this skill, they apply it to reading, academics, standardized tests, and, of course, life.
Read with a pen in hand, not a highlighter: Engaging the senses while reading (by underlining, not highlighting) helps the brain interact with the content. When underlining, students pay attention to what and how they are annotating so that they do not color the whole page. This directs attention to the most important information, challenging students to strengthen this judgement.
Convert these notes into essays or study guides: Ideal notes are brief, concise, and straight to the point. They should also be comprehensible so the author can transform them directly into sentences. This is helpful when converting notes into an essay outline (another skill ALB Tutoring focuses on with students) or when studying from the notes.
Writing by hand is the best, though there is often not enough time: When writing by hand, the brain commands the hand to write what it is thinking; the hand holds the pen, forms letter strokes, and feels the paper it is resting on. The eyes read what is being written; the ears hear each pen stroke. The more the brain interacts with these sensual forms of processing, the more it remembers. These interactions are bypassed while typing, resulting in decreased cognitive presence and remembering. However, since writing by hand takes time, ALB Tutoring encourages students to type their notes. Then, if they need to study, students learn to hand write notes while reviewing the material. The goal is to repetitively interact with the material to promote greater memory.
ALB Tutoring teaches students these strategies by…
Modeling and guiding students: Showing instead of telling students how to take notes prepares them to become increasingly autonomous in applying these skills. Read more about this process (called scaffolding) and how it applies to learning and implementing new skills.
Organizing notes for different subjects: There is no one-size-fits-all for note taking. ALB Tutoring helps students understand how to diversify these skills (based on content and format) for subjects like English, history, science, foreign languages, and even math.
Checking in with students: After learning the strategies, students apply the skills to their academic assignments. During follow up sessions, ALB Tutoring checks in with students’ note taking progress, providing feedback and helping tailor and refine individual techniques.
With clear, concise, and organized notes, students feel more confident in studying for assessments and in writing essays. Linear organization and interaction with content creates order in the mind, strengthening comprehension and equipping students to connect contexts. These skills take time (and patience) to develop but are exceptionally beneficial to students in life and in academic and professional futures.
Contact ALB Tutoring to help your student learn better.
Haston, W. (2007). Teacher modeling as an effective teaching strategy. Music Educators Journal, 93(4), 26-30. doi:10.2307/4127130
