In my first placement and my current placement, I found that my students had very little experience taking notes. First of all, I taught the students split-page note taking. I taught the students how to set the margins, group the ideas, and develop potential test or quiz questions from the notes. To start, I read out of the book and allowed students to use the book as a crutch if they fell behind. I felt that the textbook was a better place to start rather than a lecture since the textbook could offer some support.
You probably are familiar with guided reading worksheets that the publisher sends with their textbook....easy fill in the blank that is word for word with the text. Normally, students would be given these worksheets and allowed to use the book to complete them. However, I have used these worksheets to assess the students note taking abilities. This method is an effective first step in developing note taking skills.
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I use the Cornell method and really feel that it suits the way my brain works. I like how I can take notes in the larger right-hand pane, but pull out important keywords into the left-side pane. That way, I can quickly scan through and find important information quickly. You provided excellent academic support for student learning by teaching this skill.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea of how to use a commercial worksheet in a more productive way.
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your dean
I loved those fill in the blank worksheets. Though, I often found myself just scanning the text for that one sentence that had the missing word. I was thinking, if you have them fill out the worksheet and then on the back of the paper write a paragraph summary in their own words what the content was about they could analyze what they just read. This way, they take notes and put them into their own words. I like your note taking strategies that you are building with the students. We all use note taking skills sometime in our life.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in school, I remember taking notes all the time, by copying things off of the overhead, or listening for information in lectures and writing it down. It seems like students today have not been expected to take as many notes, and as a result, are lacking in those skills. Good for you for teaching them how! It's a skill that will benefit them when they choose to continue their education.
ReplyDeleteAs we've talked about before, I am totally on board with the idea of teaching note taking. It is teaching kids strategies for more effective learning. In English and social studies, notes are HUGE! We can help kids do better in our classes by giving them tools to succeed. Note taking is one of those tools.
ReplyDeleteI like fill in the blank style worksheets when introducing new concepts, but like a previous post said, it all too often results in finding the missing word. Note taking is a skill I wish I had learned as a younger student. I think the key is teaching students how to take notes effectively. Cornell style, split-page, outline form, bulleted - all have their strengths and weaknesses. If we can expose students to multiple forms of note-taking then allow them to use the one that fits their style, I think we can better equip them for their futures.
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