The Art of Note-taking
Decisions, Consequences and Reflections
"We remember what we understand; we
understand only what we pay attention to; we pay
attention to what we want."
- Edward Bolles
Why Do you Take Notes?
• Note-taking is a support system to your memory.
• In order to maintain good study skills, you need good notes to study.
Did you know…..
According to the fading theory, the trace or mark a memory etches into your
brain is like a path you make in the woods when you continually walk along the
same route. If you don't take that same path, it eventually becomes overgrown
until it disappears. In the same way, facts that you learn are forgotten when you
don't review them.
The Research Says….
• A famous study on forgetting textbook materials compared the percentage of
material remembered after different intervals of time. The results were as follows:
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After 1 day
54% of the material was remembered.
After 7 days
35% was remembered.
After 14 days
21% was remembered.
After 21 days
18% was remembered.
After 28 days
19% was remembered.
After 63 days
17% was remembered.
Yikes!
• Remembering what you have heard in lectures is even more difficult to recall
because you are not able to slow down, pause, reflect, or to reread unless you
take excellent notes! In a study on recall after listening to a seminar, students
forgot more than 90% of the points from the lecture after 14 days!
So…..
How do you take your notes?
Turn and talk to a neighbor about note-taking.
The Cornell Method
The Broil Method
• B=anything the teacher writes on the Board;
R=anything the teacher Repeats;
O=anything the teacher mentions will be On the test;
I=anything the teacher says is important;
L=anything that is in a List.
The KWL
Discussion Web
Mind Mapping
Marginalia