The Research
(from studyskills.com)
Two professors (one from Princeton and one from UCLA) conducted a study by running three experiments. They had students take notes in a classroom setting. The study looked at students taking notes on a variety of things: bats, bread, algorithms, faith, and economics. After, the students were tested on:
The research shows that students who took notes on their laptop did take more notes. But, they retained much less. This is because students who use a laptop simply type a record of the lecture. They don’t use their brain to process what is being taught. Therefore, students are merely transcribing, not processing. |
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Solution #1: Take notes the classic way, pencil in hand.
Whenever you can, write your notes by hand. Put your brain to the test. Listen, comprehend, and summarize in your notes. Besides the increased opportunity for higher retention, you won’t have the distractions that come with a computer.
Solution #2: Type, then write!
When hand-written note-taking is overwhelming, you can then take notes on your computer. But, in order to successfully retain the information, you will need to follow three guidelines:
Whenever you can, write your notes by hand. Put your brain to the test. Listen, comprehend, and summarize in your notes. Besides the increased opportunity for higher retention, you won’t have the distractions that come with a computer.
Solution #2: Type, then write!
When hand-written note-taking is overwhelming, you can then take notes on your computer. But, in order to successfully retain the information, you will need to follow three guidelines:
- Turn off all distractions. Don’t connect to the Wi-Fi. Don’t do other homework. If you don’t have faith in self-control, there are even apps/programs that you can set up to block all distractions.
- After class, transfer your notes from the computer to paper. Yes, rewrite them. It doesn’t take as long as you would think and it gives you the opportunity to cut useless things out from your notes. It also helps retention, counts as studying, and is also the perfect set-up for the SOAR® “Take-Ten” strategy.
- Take Ten!* “Taking Ten” is SOAR®‘s study method that consists of: taking TWO minutes each day to clean out your book bag and organize papers, and EIGHT minutes to review all notes and handouts from the day. This review helps the brain process information much faster, dramatically reduces study time for tests, helps you work through the homework faster, and will ensure that assignments get turned in!
- Turn your notes into test questions. The most effective and time-efficient way to learn your notes is to turn them into potential test questions. (Creating questions is far more engaging and effective than memorizing!)
METHODS
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