Any true student will read this title and wonder, “how is this even a thing? Doesn’t everyone need to take notes?” Yes, I believe everyone should be taking notes. However, you’d be surprised, or maybe not, about how many students come to my math classes and admit to not taking notes. It’s like they figure they can just rewatch the video later so why bother with the notes? Well, I’ll tell you why:
What happens when we take notes?
- We are forced to sift through the material being presented and gather the fruit. We have to figure out what’s important to write down and remember and what isn’t.
- We have to write things down. Obvious right? Well, the act of writing down something that we are trying to learn is actually very helpful in the learning process. I had many colleagues in college who studied by rewriting their notes. Please note: research shows that typing doesn’t make the same connections as writing does, so beware.
- We create a study sheet for reviewing the material. Very few people hear or see something once and remember it for all time. By taking notes, we create a shorter how-to guide or cheat sheet of something worth remembering.
Have I convinced you yet?
How do we show our children how to take notes? Now that seems like a great skill to explore.