The Road to Better Lecture Notes
Part One: Learn the Rules of the Road
Your instructor establishes “road” rules by organizing the
content of the lecture. How does your instructor set up the lecture?
Does your instructor:
- Follow an outline? [No speed traps here!]
- Follow the textbook? [read & outline the chapter before the lecture]
- Supplement the text with additional or conflicting information? [take
more extensive notes]
Part Two: Road Signs — Clues from the Instructor
What clues does your instructor give that information is important?
- Lots of examples
- Writing on board
- Overhead transparencies
- Handouts
- Repetition
- Wild gestures
Part Three: Maps and Charts — Clues from the Material
You can get help by paying attention to how the material itself is organized.
Is it:
- Chronological--a sequence of events.
- Spatial--what's next to what, e.g. the planets from the sun to Pluto.
- Logical--
- Cause/effect.
- General to specific, idea to example, main idea to supporting detail.
- Least to most, easy to hard, smallest to largest, least important
to most important.
- Most to least, most know to least known, fact to opinion.
- Both sides, pros/cons, compare/contrast, assets/liabilities, weak/strong.
Part Four: Blaze Your Own Trail — Look for Ways to Organize
Your Notes.
The Main Road: Traditional Notes. When the lecture corresponds
to the assigned reading material, use the "2-3-3-1" method.
- 2 inch left column for memory clues
- 3 inch middle/left for lecture notes
- 3 inch right for notes from the text
- 2 inch bottom for personal observations
When the lecture and text are not closely correlated, use the "2-5-1"
method.
- 2 inch left column for memory clues
- 5 inch right for notes
- 1 inch bottom for personal observations
The Road Less Traveled by: Mapping Your Notes: Make a
picture or diagram of the lecture or textbook information. Advantages
to using maps: You have to think and organize before you write; you remember
twice as much. You can see the topic at a glance, and links between ideas
are shown clearly. The graphic nature of the map helps you to remember
longer. No two are alike. You can add information easily where it belongs.
You can be creative.
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