Note-taking in Lectures

Note-taking has evolved over the years. In the distant past the lecturer would talk and maybe write something on the blackboard. That was the only "official" source of the course material, although you could make notes from the textbook. For students, this meant a mad scramble to try and record everything important which was often hard to identify. Fast-forward to the present and most of the material is available on the Learning Management System (LMS) including lecture slides, official course notes, lecture recordings, and other materials. Furthermore, similar courses can be accessed online. So what role does note-taking play in the contemporary university environment?

Firstly, it helps stay focused and avoid drowsiness. While some students might find it useful to just listen, the majority will quickly find their attention wandering or even fall asleep. Secondly, it plays a role in learning the material. Processing the material and writing it in their own words helps with understanding and committing the material to memory. Thirdly, students can make a note of areas they need to review in more detail.

Why take notes in a lecture?

  • Focuses attention

  • Helps learn material

  • Highlight topics that are unclear

Sitting in a lecture theatre, you may notice varying types of note-taking behaviour. Some will adopt a simple note-taking style, others will try to create elaborate mind-maps. There’s no definitive evidence that one method is superior to others, and preferences vary depending on the person, subject, and style of lecture. Several popular techniques are summarised below.

Simple note-taking style

This is the most common and consists of noting down key points in a linear fashion. Often the lecturer may make course notes or PowerPoint slides available online. If that is the case, it makes sense to download these materials and add your own annotations during the lecture.

Cornell Note-taking System

This is commonly taught to university students in the United States, although it is less popular in other regions. It was originally developed by Cornell professor Walter Pauk and popularised in his book How to Study in College [1].

Essentially it involves dividing the page into 3 sections: cue column, notes area, and summary area. The upper portion of the page is divided into two columns, a wide margin on the left called the "cue column", and a large space on the right called the "notes area". At the bottom of the page taking up the full width is the "summary area". The cue column occupies roughly a quarter of the width of the page, and the summary area occupies roughly the bottom sixth of the page.

The general approach during the lecture is to take notes as normal in the notes area while ignoring the cue column and summary area. In other words, the notes area is for the main points and ideas of the lecture, and is completed during class.

Later, when it comes time to review, the summary area is used to write a brief summary consisting of a couple of sentences. The cue column is used to write questions that "help clarify meanings, reveal relationships, establish continuity, and strengthen memory" [1].

Table 1. Cornell note-taking system

cue column : Study prompts. Connections between the ideas. Questions that help you self test. Hints. (after class)

notes area : Consists of raw notes from lectures. This can consist of concise sentences, diagrams, charts etc (during class)

summary area : A brief summary of the material. Used when reviewing. (after class)

References

[1] W. Pauk and R. J. Q. Owens, How to study in college. Cengage Learning, 2011.