Note-taking doesn’t need any introduction as every student is familiar with it. Note-taking is the only thing that helps the student retain and recall most of the information before their exams. Students are often told that they should take notes to be successful which is true but what they are not told is the correct way of penning the lectures down. But do not worry as we are here to help you!
Focus on Your Listening
The main problem with the students is that they don’t know how to listen as there are two types of listening: Passive and active. Passive listening is the art of picking and retaining everything that your teacher says. Whereas active listening is the skill of understanding every idea and creating a mental model by connecting newly learned things with the things you already know.
For you to be successful, you need to adopt active listening through the following tips.
Prepare for Lecture Beforehand
Reading the lecture material before the actual lecture will help you understand the topic in a better way. Through this, your mind can skip the irrelevant details and focus on only the essential parts.
Invent Keywords and Clue Phrases
Inventing your personal keywords and clue phrases will trigger your memory and force you to recall information during exams that you associated with those keywords.
Stop to Think!
Blindly writing everything down will do you no good this is why it is necessary to stop and think for a moment. Understand the ideas, process your thoughts and then pen your notes.
Doodle
According to a visual expert, doodling helps you retain 29% more information than people who don’t doodle during lectures. Doodling or visual note-taking will help you hone and engage your visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading + writing skills. So if you like sketching, why not give doodling a go?
Listen in 3-D
For this method to work, you need to listen carefully, engage your visual senses by looking at the whiteboard or the slides and absorb all the visual information to keep it in your mind for longer periods.
Simple Techniques for Better Note-Taking
Take your note-taking skills up a notch by employing one of the four mentioned methods because honing you listening skills isn’t just enough to master penning down notes!
The Cornell Note-Taking Method
Divide your page into three sections: one small column on the left, one wide column on the right and one small section at the bottom of the page. Your wide column at the right side is where you’ll pen down important parts. The left section is for the questions you may have concerning the notes, and the bottom section is for a short yet comprehensive summary of the entire page.
Through this method, your notes will be organized and easy to navigate during exams.
T-Notes Method
T-Notes Method is the division of the entire page into two columns; one for writing down your equation, formulas, and theories and the other part is for your evidence, definitions, and examples. This method is useful for science and mathematics courses.
Skeletal Note-Taking Method
Secure the lecture’s outline before the class. Note down the outline, leave gaps in between and fill in the blank spaces with the information you acquire during lectures. This process requires full teacher involvement as the professors are responsible for supplying the students with handouts and outlines before the class.
Flow Note-Taking Method
Flow note-taking method requires you to rely on tables, arrows, schemes, points, offshoots and anything that helps you link the new information with what you already know. This method is for those individuals who want to learn everything quickly and at once!
All these methods and tips are not difficult to get hold of. Just practice them for a while or until you have mastered them and become a pro at note-taking! Fore More Info: Papershelm
