Take Notes in Lectures: Tips & Strategies to Make the Most of Class Time

[IjustlikeMaths]

Hey,

do you guys take notes during lectures or do you just concentrate on the lecture itself and what the professor says?
The notes which the professor writes are uploaded to our learn-room on the internet. So I just listen during lectures and look up the script before the lecture so I know what he will talk about.

How do you handle it?

 

[Wrichik Basu]

A similar thread is already going on here:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/whats-your-note-taking-method-in-physics-classes.959369/

You might benefit from following that thread.

 

[IjustlikeMaths]

A similar thread is already going on here:

https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/whats-your-note-taking-method-in-physics-classes.959369/

You might benefit from following that thread.

Haven't seen it! Thank you!

 

[jedishrfu]

Some folks have tried the Cornell Notes method. It’s a specially printed notebook page where you write your notes and then summarize what you’ve written. It was credited to a prof from Cornell University.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornell_Notes

Here’s a list of google references to it along with some videos

https://www.google.com/search?sourc...0.108.875.12j1...0...1...3..41j46.HAa4ycy__nE

 

[jedishrfu]

Here’s more on Cornell Notes

http://lsc.cornell.edu/notes.html

Some note taking apps have the Cornell notes template or allow you to load a custom one.

 

[CivilSigma]

I like to print the lecture slides (2x2) on sheets of paper and then I annotate them with any additional info as the lecture goes on.

 

[jedishrfu]

There's also some note taking apps like Notability on iPad that can record lectures while you are taking notes and to connect the note with specific points in the lecture (each scribble is connected to a timemark on the recording so that tapping on a scribble during playback immediately plays what was said).

However, you need to use these tools effectively by minimizing notes so you can focus on listening and then after the lecture filling in the notes from memory and by listening again to the recording.

I had a friend in high school who was phenomenal note taker. He did really well in history class but failed miserably in math class. In math he couldn't see the forest for the trees because he wrote down every equation and every graph and was exhausted from doing so. He missed the key thread of discussion because of it but couldn't break the habit of taking notes fearful that he would miss something.

In contrast, I was a bad note taker often not knowing what should be written down and what shouldn't. Invariably when I attempted to write something, I'd miss an important point. However in math class, I sat, I listened and then I did the problems using the book as a guide and did really well.

Sometimes I think we need to go back to the really old days where you listened, you learned and you took mental notes as paper and pencils were scarce to nonexistent. We need to strengthen our inner mental skills because that's what really matters. However, we know everyone learns differently and we need different tools to help us learn effectively with the trick being to discover what tools and methods work best for us.

 

[ZapperZ]

I like to print the lecture slides (2x2) on sheets of paper and then I annotate them with any additional info as the lecture goes on.

This is actually what I recommend my students to do (but I leave it up to them to do whatever they wish).

I usually upload my PPT slides of the lecture the morning of the lecture (I often make last-minute changes based on the class pace and/or students responses/questions). So the students do have the actual lecture presentation with them. I encourage them to either print the lecture presentation, or bring with them to class on their devices, and then pay more attention to listening to the lecture than writing things down. They should write comments or examples to enhance the presentation, including those that I show in class but not on the presentation (I usually work out examples on the board, because I want to show the students how to approach a problem from scratch).

Note-taking depends on the student AND how the material is presented. I do not see any single, general advice or technique that will work for every student in every situation. A lecture where the instructor presents the material the "old fashion" way of writing on the board is different than an instructor presenting it electronically.

Zz.