Note-taking

• Literacy
• Further Education (Key Stage 5)

Notetaking

To help with:

• Notetaking in class
• Staying active in the reading process
• Reviewing online materials (videos etc.)

In this lesson you will...:

1. Explore the 3 stages of note-taking (before, during and after)
2. Evaluate different formats for taking notes
3. Practise using effective abbreviations 
4. Apply the above to a note-taking situation

1. Explore the 3 stages of note-taking (before, during and after)

• What can you do before a situation where you might need to notetake?
• What can you do after the lesson?

1. Explore the 3 stages of note-taking (before, during and after)

• Match the cards into the 'before', 'during' or 'after' notetaking category
• Explain your choices: why is this important?
• Which of these cards are most relevant to you?

wordwall.net

1. Explore the 3 stages of note-taking (before, during and after)

• Match the cards into the 'before', 'during' or 'after' notetaking category
• Why might it be important to check the learning schedule before the lesson to find out what is being covered in the lesson that day?
• How could creating a voicenote to summarise the notes be useful?

2. Evaluate different formats for taking notes

Concept map, T-chart, Cornell notes or Venn circles

Concept Map

• Excellent visual representation of information
• Connects concepts and aids memory
• Useful for sessions involving extensive information

Can you think of a lesson on your course where making notes using a concept map would be useful?

T-chart

• Useful when comparing 2 specific ideas or concepts
• Can be used to compare the pros and cons of an idea/concept

Think of a lesson you have done which involved comparing 2 concepts/ideas.

Cornell Method

• Divide the page into sections
• Encourages active review and self-testing
• Write a short summary of lesson after it is over
• Look over summary before the next lesson
• What could be the benefit of this method of notetaking?

Cornell notes are useful when...

1. Taking notes in class
2. Reading a book/article
3. Using online resources
4. All of the above

Writing key information down as you learn helps you retain more

1. True
2. False

When do you use the 'Cue' section of Cornell notes?

1. Before class to write down questions or comments
2. After class to write down questions or comments which helps you to organise and remember the material.

Why is the summary important?

1. It transitions you from passive recording to active processing cementing the learning in the long-term memory.
2. It means you can copy down what you heard.

Venn circles

• Clear graphic way to organise information
• Highlights similarities and differences
• Promotes critical thinking
• Versatile for different subjects (Maths and science to literature and social sciences)

Venn diagrams are a key "non-linear" note-taking strategy to identify unique versus shared characteristics in complex arguments.

1. True
2. False

Venn diagrams are highly effective for comparing complex concepts and are a useful visual to reduce "wordy" notes into digestible formats: agree or disagree?

😒🙁😐🙂😃

Venn diagrams move away from "A vs B" and can help use find "Synthesis" (the middle section). This is exactly what university lecturers look for in high-marking essays—the ability to identify where two different arguments meet.

1. True
2. False

Which of the methods seem most relevant to your course/situation?

Concept map

T-chart

Cornell Method

Venn circles

All of them

3.Practise using effective abbreviations 

Strategies include...

• Frequently used symbols
•  Frequently used abbreviations
• Use the beginnings of words
• Use the beginnings of words with the final letter
• Develop your own language relevant to your course

Frequently used symbols

• + and, also, as well as, in addition to, plus
  
• – minus, without
  
• = equals, is the same as, results in
  
• ≠ does not equal, is not the same as, does not result in
  
• ≈ is approximately equal to, is similar to
  
• ✳ special, important, notable (when added to a word or phrase)
• / per (e.g. £10/day instead of ‘ten pounds per day’)
• ↑ increase, rise, growth
  
• ↑↑ rapid increase
  
• ↓ decrease, fall, shrinkage
  
• → leads on to, produces, causes

wordwall.net

Frequently used abbreviations

• approx. approximately
  
• aka also known as
• asap as soon as possible
• b/c because
  
• b/4 before
• C (e.g. C21 for ‘twenty-first century’)
• c. approximately, roughly, about (abbreviation for the Latin ‘circa’)
  
• excl. excluding
  
• fr. from
  
• etc. and so on
  
• et al. And the other authors
  
• gen. general
  
• i.e. in other words
  
• impt. important
  
• 
  

wordwall.net

Use the beginnings of words

• One way to shorten a word is to use just the beginning of the word, for example:
  
• pol - politics
  
• gov - government
  
• intro - introduction
  

Use the beginnings of words with the final letter.

• Sometimes it can be useful to add the final letter of the word. Some people prefer to also add an apostrophe ('), others don't. For example:
  
• govt - government
  
• interl - international
  

Let's practice

Watch a video and practise taking notes.

Have a pen and paper ready. 

BBC News Global warming

• Use abbreviations for this note-taking task:
  
• ↑ increase, rise, growth
  
• ↓ decrease, fall, shrinkage, reduced
• > is greater than, is larger than
  
• ✳ special, important, notable (when added to a word or phrase)
  
• Global temperatures
  
• UK Met Office
  
• Driest Spring
  
• WMO –
  
• Future weather
  
• Farmers
  

0

Notes

• Glob. temp at/near rec. levels
• UK MO- planet ill
• Driest spring - 60 yrs
• WMO - 4/5 - record hottest yr in next 5
• 7/10 - ave temp - 1.5 deg. above PIL
• 1.5 - * - Paris-  dec ago
• More h'waves, rain, droughts, ice melt, sea
• UK farmers -                          crop yield 

Learning objectives

• Explore the 3 stages of note-taking (before, during and after)
  
• Evaluate different formats for taking notes
  
• Practise using effective abbreviations
  
• Apply the above to a note-taking situation