Student Conversation About Notetaking

Deena: I just returned from a class where I could hardly follow what the instructor was trying to teach us.

Sage: I know what you mean. I run into that a lot.

Brian: Yeah, all five of my instructors teach in different ways.

Jose: Right. Some are very organized, while others wander all over the place.

Sage: Wander! Sometimes I think they’re actually lost.

Deena: This one professor I have likes to tell stories, but he leaves it up to us to figure out which stories are important to remember.

Sage: Maybe he’s trying to make you a critical thinker.

Heather: Yeah… sometimes I think critical guesser is more like it.

Brian: The point is that because all of our instructors use different styles when they lecture, it is absolutely essential to figure out what style they are using so we can take good notes.

Deena: Some styles make it difficult to take notes.

Brian: "Challenging" is the polite way to say it, I think.

Sage: You know, it’s not just taking notes, but taking good notes that is important. I think we all could improve our notetaking skills.

Heather: I know I sure could stand to improve mine. How about you, Brian?

Brian: Yeah.

Jose: Me too!

Heather: I always welcome a chance to improve my skills.

Sage: Learning to take good and accurate notes should help with our data collection assignment.

Heather: Good notetaking is probably important for the interviewing effort of our data collection.

Jose: Well then, who wants to gather up some information about notetaking and bring it back to share with us?

Brian: I guess I could do it.

Sage: You always seem so busy. Do you think you will have time?

Brian: With the new time management skills that I learned from Deena, I’m sure I can.

Heather: I could work on it too.

Jose: Why don’t you both research it, if that's okay with Brian?

Sage: Jose, you're always the encourager.

Heather: Or, the conflict resolver. . . .

Brian: Hmmmm. OK, since Heather and I are coming from different perspectives, then perhaps. . . .

Heather: We can come up with a presentation that’s twice as good.

Brian: Presentation?

Heather: How else would you propose to do it?

Brian: I guess you’re right.

Heather: So, Brian, when do you want to meet to brainstorm and develop our research strategy?

Brian: Right after this group meeting is good for me.

Heather: I have a class coming up.

Brian: Well, I have things on my "to do" list that I can work on. So, I can keep busy while I wait for you.

Heather: Let's meet in the student lounge.

Brian: That’s fine. I’m going to the learning resource center. Maybe I can pick up some material there.

Heather: Sounds good.

Brian: See you there.

Brian and Heather meet at the student lounge.

Brian: Hi, Heather. How was your class?

Heather: Honestly, I felt lost. We had a guest speaker, which caught everyone off-guard. We didn’t know what she was talking about and no one asked any questions. My notes are a blank sheet of paper.

Brian: You seem pretty upset.

Heather: I am. I pay for these courses and sometimes I feel like they are a waste of money. I can read the textbooks on my own.

Brian: Me too, but I wonder if I would.

Heather: Oh well, we had better get started. What did you find out?

Brian: I didn’t spend a lot of time researching notetaking, but I did ask a teaching assistant.

Heather: What did she say?

Brian: He said that there are three different stages of a lecture to consider: before lecture preparation, activities during the lecture, and post-lecture debriefing.

Heather: That sounds like a good start, why don’t we use those?

Brian: Okay. Which two do you want?

Heather: What do you mean which two? There are only three.

Brian: Just checking. How about I take "preparing before the lecture" and "activities during the lecture." You take "activities during the lecture" and "post-lecture debriefing."

Heather: So we both get to do "activities during the lecture." We can tie that together later.

Brian: How do you want to present to the group?

Heather: I like to use graphics or visuals to embellish my ideas. So I guess we could use some presentation software and display information on a video screen.

Brian: I thought we could just use some overheads. Well… I’ll see what I can come up with.

Heather: Okay. I’ll get some graphics together.

Brian: Great. So here are the concepts.

Notetaking: Preparation Stage

Brian: The preparation stage of notetaking occurs before it is time to actually take notes. You begin the process by taking a look at why you should develop good notetaking skills.

Heather: In other words, these skills will hone your active listening abilities.

Brian: A good notetaker will increase their comprehension and retention skills.

Heather: You understand things better and remember them longer!

Brian: Nice paraphrasing, Heather. Next, if you apply good notetaking skills, you should be able to create a concise outline of what is meaningful, what things relate to other things, and what concepts depend on others…. Any questions yet?

Heather: Are you taking notes? No? Okay, Brian.

Brian: Notetaking should clarify ideas and embellish the material presented.

Deena: Yeah, right. Even if you don’t have any idea what they are talking about?

Brian: Good question, Deena. Can you save that thought? We will get to that in just a moment.

Heather: Does everyone understand what Brian meant when he said clarify and embellish?

Jose: Succinct?

Heather: Basically, unclutter difficult concepts and expand on them beyond what is in a lecture. You know, go the extra mile to kind of make whatever the topic is “your own.”

Brian: Okay… and lastly, develop excellent review resources.

Jose: Okay. Now you've got me. What do you mean by "review resources?"

Brian: I can handle this one. Later, you can use your notes as a reference or resource. I know some people keep their notes for their entire college career and beyond. Someday, you may need to look something up that you know you learned but can’t recall.

Deena: So if you took inaccurate notes you would probably get it wrong again.

Heather: I can see how that could be dangerous if you are interviewing an expert or something.

Jose: Maybe not dangerous, but you could get the information wrong.

Heather: That’s true, Jose. If you share your notes with someone else, it could affect their grade.

Heather: Okay. We all agree that there are definite purposes for taking accurate notes, but to take the greatest advantage of a lecture, we need to do some prior preparation.

Brian: Here are some steps to follow. If you put some effort into preparation, you’ll be ahead of the game.

Sage: I don’t think of a lecture as a game. I shouldn’t have to try to drag information out of an instructor.

Heather: I agree, Sage, but if you are to get the most from what is being presented, you have to be prepared. The purpose of the lecture is not to read the text to you, but to stimulate your thought processes. If you don’t have the slightest idea what the instructor is talking about, you’ll be lost.

Brian: You can also miss opportunities to ask questions about what you don’t understand.

Heather: You mean like definitions of unfamiliar words?

Jose: And concepts?

Heather: Right. Preparing ahead of time will help you formulate concise and precise questions and obtain clarification. If you don’t understand something, there are probably many others who don’t either.

Deena: So, what should I do if I don’t get the information during the lecture?

Brian: Make a note of it and ask the instructor before the lecture ends.

Heather: Sometimes, just like with one word or term, there may be entire portions of the text that you don’t understand.

Jose: Remember, this is our education, and it’s up to us to get the most out of it.

Heather: I agree with Jose. It is our responsibility to make sure that we fully understand the materials. The information presented in a lecture is a vital part of that.

Deena: I don’t think we should leave out making an appointment with an instructor to get additional clarification if we need it.

Brian: That’s right, and we can also ask classmates what they got from the lecture.

Jose: I might if I was sure they understood the material.

Heather: Probably the only way you could know whether they understand is if you are well prepared.

Deena: Right. If we’re well prepared, we can ask good questions to get clarification.

Deena: So, is that all there is to preparing for a lecture?

Heather: No, there are other things you can do to prepare.

Brian: For instance, you can set up your notebook. While it may seem obvious, you should either have separate sections or separate notebooks for each class.

Jose: I sometimes have formulas for a class that need to be transferred to a lab notebook, which is going to be graded.

Heather: In that case, there may be a different way you want to take and organize your notes for that class to make the transfer process easier.

Jose: So the way you set up your notes can make your notetaking more effective?

Brian: That’s right. . . .

Heather: . . . .and that could make a difference in your grade. So, do you have a list of tips for setting up notes?

Brian: We sure do.

Heather: We call it "Tips for Structuring and Maintaining Good, Accurate Notes."

Notetaking – Are you finished?

Brian: So, let’s see – we have covered what to do to prepare for a lecture and what to do during the lecture.

Heather: Now that we have our notes, the question is: Are we finished?

Deena: I hope so! Just kidding.

Brian: Deena, what do you think we should do next?

Heather: I’m not sure what you mean. Do you want to conclude your presentation?

Brian: Good to see you are asking for clarification. What I meant to ask was, what should we do with the notes after we have taken them?

Heather: Okay. I think you should review the notes.

Deena: Sage, how long would you wait before reviewing your notes?

Sage: Oh, until just before an exam.

Brian: Jose, how about you?

Jose: I wait until just before my next class.

Heather: Deena, how long would you wait?

Deena: It depends on how busy I am. I like to review them as soon as possible. That way I remember them better.

Brian: Deena, what do you do when you review?

Deena: I like to fill in facts, figures, and examples while the lecture is still fresh in my mind.

Jose: I like to check for errors and make corrections.

Deena: I also like to clear up misunderstandings and fill in missing information.

Brian: Hmmm. It sounds like there may be more to that statement than meets the eye.

Why an immediate review?

Deena: So, why is it important to review your notes so soon after a lecture? I sometimes want to get as far away from them as possible.

Heather: Unless you review within 24 hours, or at least before the next lecture, you will be re-learning the material instead of reviewing.

Brian: In other words, the sooner you review, the better your retention.

Jose: Sometimes I copy notes that same evening because I write fast and can’t always read my notes.

Deena: Okay… I'll bet there is a better way than just copying notes. I can see it coming. Brian is about to share more of his wisdom with us.

Heather: Isn’t that an oxymoron? I like to tease Brian sometimes.

Brian: That’s okay, Deena. Sometimes we can all use a little comic relief. Anyway, Sage is right. There is a better way than just recopying notes. If you reorganize and put them into your own words, you’ll retain the information longer and be able to recall it easier.

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