Note-taking is a valuable study tool. When done well, it can significantly improve learning and the retention of new information. It generates active engagement with material, whether this is in the form of taking notes while listening to a teacher, summarizing a piece of text as part of study or revision, and/or paraphrasing this same text. 

We know also from research that, when done in/by longhand, note-taking is very effective because it leads to better comprehension and recall compared to digital note-taking. In the longer term, longhand note-taking also helps the learner to connect new information to pre-existing knowledge, thereby boosting retention.

For all of these reasons, it is important that the learner creates his/her own notes and does not rely upon those generated by others. 

Let’s examine some of the difficulties that students typically encounter when it comes to taking or making notes. We asked one 16-year-old student to describe his story. 

Barry said that he didn’t feel confident about taking/making notes because his textbooks ‘always seemed to put things better’. And he also struggled to identify the key information to extract from all of the source material. As a result, his notes ‘looked an awful lot like the textbook’. Meanwhile, another student, Anna, said she ‘found it hard to take notes in class’ because she had ‘no structure’ and because she tried to ‘write down everything, word for word’. Excessive note-taking, such as rewriting material word for word, takes up valuable time and attention, and can even take the focus away from what is the purpose of the activity.

Working with both students, we helped them to understand four key principles of effective note-taking.

Four Key Principles of Effective Note-taking 

1. Be selective about what information is put into the notes. Identify the important information by reading and annotating the source content carefully, all the time paying close attention to how it is structured. That structure – let’s say, of headings and subheadings, or of numbered parts – might become the basis of the implicit structure in the student’s notes. Or the student might use a different structure. 
2. Unless there is a need to use primary quotes from the source material, paraphrase the original source. This is when the student uses his/her own words in the note-taking process. This is also useful for the student’s vocabulary development and enrichment.  
3. Use sketches as well as words, which scientists term ‘dual coding’. The brain responds well to this combination when it comes to the process of remembering and recalling information. We say more on this below.
4. Generate challenging review questions with notes. These can be used for retrieval practice and revision e.g., as part of self-testing at the start and end of a study session, in peer-to-peer questioning and as part of the process of committing information to long-term memory, using the Leitner system for example.
5. Dual Coding: The Practical Application; Dual coding is the process of combining visual (non-verbal) and verbal material. By using both formats, students can picture something in their mind’s eye and they can connect this picture or sketch to a definition, a key term or an explanation. 

In practical terms, we encourage students to use a range of visual formats (images) in combination with verbal formats (words) e.g., sketch notes, mind maps or infographics, diagrams, photos and video stills. The actual format will vary depending on the topic and how the information is structured and presented in the original source. 

We recommend three note-taking formats – Study Maps, Connected Revision Cards and Cornell Notes – and the accompanying resources for these are available via Eason, in-store and online. 

Study Mapping

Study maps are visual summaries of text that include both handwritten notes and drawings. They are particularly useful for enabling students to organise information into one large picture on a single page. This means that an entire ‘knowledge overview’ of a topic is available all times. In the History example below, the younger student uses illustrations and a timeline to help them navigate the key events in Ireland over a 15-year period: The Normans in Ireland from 1156 to 1171. Key dates stand out in green boxes. In addition to textual information such as names and places, the student has also used flags, symbols and images (of a bow and arrow, a guillotine and rings).

Connected Revision Cards

Connected Revision Cards are an excellent tool for creating bitesize chunks of information which are connected to one another, and back to a main theme. These cards are also portable and make notes more digestible. Our unique cards also include a Q&A card which enables the student to generate questions and answers about the content. It can be removed or folded along with the connected strip of cards. 

CONNECTED CARD EXAMPLE;

The Cornell Note can be used during class, when reviewing information after class and as a revision aid. It is an internationally recognised note-taking system with a series of pre-assigned headings (Abbreviated Notes, Questions and Summary), to focus and interact with the information at hand, to make decisions about what is important and therefore to record only the information that is most relevant for recall at a later date. 

Exemplar: Cornell note for English Literature

In the example the student is tasked with learning about the two main characters in the novel ‘Of Mice and Men’. The initial text, which the teacher circulated in class, contained 438 words. This student reduced this to 112 words, but more importantly she created highly memorable sketches to accompany the text. She produced a summary of her abbreviated notes totalling 60 words (one eighth of the original source) and, finally, she generated eight questions. The student gave her Cornell Note to a friend who asked her the questions as part of revision and retrieval practice strategies. 

Encouraging students to take their own notes can be challenging. Some see it as a time-consuming activity with little payback. The truth is note-taking, when done well, is transformational for learning.We hope you’re enjoying our series of fortnightly blogs. Tune in next time for some insights into the role of retrieval practice in embedding knowledge.