Notes– is this just busy work?

1. Notes– is this just busy work?

2. Psychology Study: • A professor lectured for 30 minutes. • 20 students took notes • 20 students just listened Guess what percentage each group remembered?

3. Psychology Study: • A professor lectured for 30 minutes. • 20 students took notes • 20 students just listened Both groups remembered 40%

4. But Students who took notes remembered key information. Students who didn’t take notes remembered random information.

5. So It’s a kind of mental Catch-22: the only way not to have to write things down is to write them down so you remember them well enough not to have written them down. Dustin Wax– University Instructor, LA Taking organized notes helps you remember and understand information.

6. Taking Notes What’s To know? Just copy off the board, right?

7. Dos and Don’ts of Note taking • Listen first, write second. • Ask the teacher to pause if: • You are behind the lecture • Don’t understand • Want to know more Good Idea Bad Idea • Try out different methods until you find a way that works for you • Ask for help if you lose your notes, can’t organize your notes, or can’t find a way to get them to work for you • Use any free time to review your notes, write questions, practice memorizing, or rewrite things that are confusing, messy, or incomplete • Only write what is on the board • Wait for the teacher to write something and only write that • Think the way the teacher does it is the way you have to do it • Put your notes away and don’t look at them until right before the test.

8. When you try to write everything down, you get buried.

10. So if you use an outline, you can help organize your trash and figure out what to throw out.

11. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ • A.________________________________________________________________ • 1.____________________________________________________________ • 2.____________________________________________________________ • 3.____________________________________________________________ • a.____________________________________________________ • B.________________________________________________________________ • 1.____________________________________________________________ • 2.____________________________________________________________ II. ______________________________________________________________ A._______________________________________________________ 1.________________________________________________ 2.________________________________________________ 3.________________________________________________

12. Case- Study: How did this student do? Listen to the descriptions of the student I had last year. Decide how the student scored on the final test in my class. A: 90% to 100% B: 80% to 90% C. 70% to 80% D: 60% to 70% F: Below 50%

13. How will you do? Set some goals for note taking, paying attention, asking for help, etc. (Don’t set a goal for a score– set a goal for something you can do to help with your learning.) • Base the goal on something you struggle with • Make a plan to help you become better Example 1: • I don’t like to answer the teacher’s questions because I don’t like to speak in class. • I will write down the answers with my notes and see if I am right. Example 2: • I have always just written what the teacher writes and I don’t remember anything. • I will try drawing pictures with my notes to help me remember the stuff.