Note taking tips
Note taking tipsSome important tactics that I have found to be the most useful in note taking are that you should not try to take down everything that the instructor says. Also attendance plays an important role in your ability to take good notes. Being an active participant in class also helps in your understanding of material discussed in the classroom. A student that wants to do well in any subject will always do their homework assignments. As you are reading a book, a good way to retain information is to explain the portion of the material that you have just read to yourself. Take down notes in a way that you will understand, and review your notes or the chapters that you have read by briefly skimming over them before class. And you should always bring your textbook to class.
You should never try to take down everything the instructor says. If you try to do this you may miss out on important key points that are being discussed, while you’re jotting down filler information. Learn to focus your attention as you do when you are doing something that you personally find interesting. This has also been described as active listening. Trying to fully understand the meaning of the material being discussed, as it is being discussed. Stay away from classroom distractions, such as classroom clowns, and classmates that like to have “sidebar” conversations while the instructor is discussing educative material.
Attendance plays an important role in your ability to take good notes. If you do not show up for the first half of class your notes will not make any sense if the instructor was giving notes on the premise that what he’s discussing would lead up to a point. Also it is said that the most important information is given at the first 5min of class and the last 5min of class. Therefore if you show up late and leave early or simply show up late, chances are that you will have missed something important that has been discussed; and that you might see on your next test. Fatigue plays an important role in classroom attendance. You should always try to get in as much sleep as you can, after you have done all of you homework that is due the next day. Try to find a sleep, work schedule that works for you. This will enable you to use 100% of your potential while in the classroom, if you have any difficulties learning or understanding what is being discussed.
Active participation in classroom activities helps you understand what the instructor is going over while they are going over the material, in the classroom. One way that makes it easier to participate in classroom lectures is to anticipate the lecture. You can do this by going over the required readings, which are designated in the syllabus or by going over your notes from the last class. You should also make notes while doing homework that’s due for class. This will allow you to ask for clarification, which in turn will give you a better understanding of the material, and allow for classroom participation; which is sometimes given a grade in some courses.
Doing your homework is a good way to keep up with classroom material and text book readings. This will also allow for you to stay away from embarrassing yourself by asking questions or making remarks about something that you were supposed to, or should have read outside of class. Doing your homework will give you practice in whatever subject that you are doing homework for. And is a good way to go over material that has been discussed in class. This will help will help you retain information learned a lot easier than if you had only done your reading, or simply listened to classroom lecture. Your syllabus will also allow for you to get ahead on homework that is coming due, and remind you what is coming due, and when.
As you are reading a book, here is a short and not too time consuming proposal to retaining the information that you are reading. Stop after each chapter or section that you have just read and explain it to yourself, the way that you would explain it to someone else in order to get them to understand it. This allows for you to test yourself and let’s you know exactly how much you understand what you’ve just finished reading. If you can’t explain it fluently and flawlessly to yourself, then chances are that you couldn’t explain it to someone else, let alone take a test over material on it.
Take down notes in class in a format comfortable to you. The only person who will need to study these notes are you, so you should never feel that you should have to stick to some format that someone else has shown you, or that you don’t feel comfortable with using; or that has not proven to work effectively for you.
You should always bring your textbook to class, even I myself in the past have been known to only show up with paper and pen. I can’t say that I can remember whether or not that this was effective, but my guess would be no. Instructors are known for asking students to “please open your books to”, or to reference discussed text in your text during classroom lecture, or discussion. This also gives you an advantage on testable material, some instructors often follow the text very closely in classroom discussion, or reference the text in their lectures. If you have your text, you can make notes and marks in the book, writing down possible questions over testable material or indicating points of emphasis.
These are some of the many useful tactics in effective note taking. Take from these note taking skills whatever works for you and find others that you find effective, until you feel comfortable with the quality of work that you produce and also with, the effectiveness and processes that you go through to do it.