3 easy steps for using notes effectively

February 21, 2019 • By Unleash Learning • 6 comments

It’s crazy that this took me years to figure out.There’s a million reasons to have students take notes in our classes.

For starters, note-taking is proven to stimulate better learning retention and improves critical thinking.

This is especially true if your class has lots of content for students to learn.

But…

There’s a cool ‘little trick’ to student note-taking that if used consistently can:

Boost student engagement
Increase content retention
Ensure all students are lifting the weights
And even support student motivation

Now here’s the REALLY good news… it only takes a few moments during your lesson to enact.

In this video I’m going to share with you…

3 easy steps for using notes effectively.

*Want to listen to it as a podcast? Click → HERE

This video is going to help improve student note-taking in your classes…

…and help you get your content to STICK.

You’ll be amazed at how simple, yet effective this ‘trick’ is!

Three cheers to note taking.
William!

PS – Once you’ve watched the video, I’ve got a question for you. Click here and join the discussion.

A question for you...

Do your students use notes in your classrooms? What strategies do you use to ensure they use them well? Add your answer below and help inspire others.

Answer now

Comments

Jessica says:

February 26, 2019 at 9:04 am

Cornell Note taking, which is an AVID strategy. I do find it difficult to find the time to highlight the main points. This is something I am definitely going to factor in time for during my lessons.

Reply
- William DeJean says:
  
  February 26, 2019 at 9:43 am
  
  Hi Jessica. I’ll look forward to hearing how it goes with the highlighting and sharing. It only takes a few minutes of the lesson but can really help make learning stick. Please keep me posted!
- Jasmine says:
  
  February 26, 2019 at 6:17 pm
  
  I’m new to Cornell notes but I do believe its 10/24/7 strategy can help students retain what they learn in the class. However, I find it is difficult to always check each students’ notes in the class. Although after class, I may arrange a detention with some students who did not take their notes properly, it is just too inefficient.
- William DeJean says:
  
  February 26, 2019 at 6:28 pm
  
  Hi Jasmine – the 3 steps for using notes well is great to show how important notes are throughout the session and can also be a great “brain break” for students when you find that the energy is dropping as it can in our classes. Thanks for sharing your ideas, challenges and commitment to note taking success.
- Jasmine says:
  
  February 26, 2019 at 9:01 pm
  
  Yes! I particularly have an interest in the third step to let students share their notes with each other. It is a good chance for students falling behind to catch up. Thank you William for a swift response 🙂
Dianne Gibbs-Jones says:

February 26, 2019 at 4:24 pm

We also use Cornell Notes for class work. Today my Maths students watched a 3 minute video on adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers. The task was to Take 5 – this means to write their own notes about the top five ideas that they heard during the video. They were able to watch the video more than once to complete their notes. The students were then asked to share with their elbow partners (person sitting next to or near them.) This can lead to robust “discussions” as to what is the most important and why they thought so.

Students also use the 10:24:7 homework method. This allows time to underline, highlight and chunk their notes ready for the next lesson.

I need to also allow highlighting time in class rather than leaving it for home.

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3 easy steps for using notes effectively

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