Transcript Slide 1

Take The University Challenge
Listening and
Notetaking During
Lectures
The Academic Skills Centre
Trent University
The lecture
Success is the sum
of small efforts, repeated
day in and day out.
Challenge!
• Listen and take notes for a few
minutes
Prof. Steve Joordens, UofT
Psychology: "Critical Thinking"
(video clip)
Fears
• Information goes by once,
usually quickly. If you miss
something (say, you are writing
instead of listening), it’s gone.
• It’s difficult to separate what is
important, the main points that
you need to note, from
secondary points.
Note-Taking Goal
• The goal of taking notes is to
end up with
meaningful notes
rather than a transcription of
the entire lecture.
Why Take Notes?
• Good lecture notes can end up
being more practical, meaningful
and up-to-date than a textbook.
• Equally importantly, the act of
taking and reviewing notes
helps you learn: it forces you to
listen carefully, test your
understanding, determine what
is important to the instructor or in
the text.
• Note-taking helps your memory
Prepare
• Read the syllabus and your notes
from previous lecture: Think
about where the lecture fits into
the course.
• Do assigned readings. Anticipate
how they might relate to the
lecture ahead.
• Figure out the relationship
between your readings and the
lecture: don’t write the same thing
down twice
What’s important?
Instructors give cues about what is
important to write down. Material is
• written on a blackboard
• on a slide
• repeated – the same idea, topic or
theme is presented several times
• emphasized by tone and gesture, by
the amount of time spent on a point or
examples
• appears in the end-of-lecture summary
Word cues
This point is important:
essential, crucial, vital
This is an example of something important:
for instance, an illustration of this is
This point is important because it is part of a list:
first, second, finally (etc.)
A contrasting idea is coming up:
nonetheless, however, whereas
This is a review of important points:
summing up, in conclusion
This point is less important:
incidentally, by the way
Notetaking
• Go to Lectures. Sit Where You Can Hear
and Don’t Multi-Task; be listening, thinking,
noting, reflecting, questioning.
• Consider or Try NOT using a laptop.
• Date your notes.
• Don’t write what you already know and what is
elsewhere: fill in outlines or add to info on
slides
• Listen as much as write. Strive for 50/50 and
don’t be distracted by writing/keying around
you
• Don’t write in sentences. Be brief.
Notetaking
• Leave space. Use arrows, short forms,
write graphically.
• Jot down own thoughts and any
questions to ask later.
• If you think you have missed something
vital, get the info later from prof, slides,
another student. Your lecture may have
been captured on Panoptico and you
can review.
Symbols
Use symbols and abbreviations:
1. Standard Abbreviations:
w
for
with
ch for
chapter
ie for
that is
eg
for example
w/o for
without
w/in for
within
b/c for
because
v for
very
2. Abbreviations are made by leaving out the
vowels and middle letter of a word:
imp = important
kn or kw = know
no. or # = number
impr = improve
kdge = knowledge
prob – problem
Symbols
3. Other standard abbreviations:
=
same or equal
>
greater than
<
less than
~ approximately
^ increasing
*
most important
Review
• Take ten minutes to go over your
notes asap while the info in still fresh
in your mind. (Studies show that
without review 47% of what is learnt
is forgotten within 20 minutes)
1.Clarify information
2.Highlight key words and phrases
3.Reflect and respond to lecture by
asking: How does it fit with reading &
general course themes?
4.Give your notes a title. It means you
have understood them.
Prepare for Next Lecture by
Reading Your Textbook
Highlighting
One effective way of reviewing is to
highlight your notes, using a threecolour system:
Colour 1 – for main ideas (the basic
structure of the lecture)
Colour 2 – for supporting statements or
explanations of the main ideas
Colour 3 – for facts, details, terms, etc
(information that might require
memorization or appear in a multiplechoice test)
Organize
• Link lecture notes to readings and
topics in course outline
• Keep your notes organized and
categorized
– Course/Date/Topic/Title.
– Individual notebooks or sections in
binders
– Digital folders housing individual
lecture files. (e.g. C:/2010-11/
biol1005f/lect2)
Get your notes if you miss a class
Cornell System
• Advises using a two-column note
sheet
• In wide column, write lecture notes
• In second column, write key words
and questions or thoughts as you
take the notes and as you review
them
• In space at bottom, summarize your
notes on the page in one or two lines.
Do this when you first review the
notes.
Key Words
• Key words include main topics, name
of people, places, concepts
• Key words help you organize your
thoughts and they make your notes
more comprehensible
• When studying or reviewing, cover
up your note column and see what
you can remember about each key
word
Give it a try
Prof. Steve Joordens, UofT
Psychology: "Critical Thinking“
(video clip)
To sum up
Prepare: read, review previous notes
put in context and anticipate
Go to Lecture: Balance listening and
writing: 50/50
Review: for two minutes right after
lecture, for two minutes
right before next lecture
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