Study Skills Note-Taking to Remember Critical Reading for Learning

Cornell Notes Note-Taking to Remember “Typically, I just jot down some notes but the memories of these notes are fleeting. With Cornell notes, I actually had to slow myself down and think about what I wrote and what I remembered to complete the actual notes.” --Eric, Allen High School 11 th Grader

The Curve of Forgetting University of Waterloo, Counselling Services, adapted by AVID

Why Cornell notes? Adapted from AVID This is about mastering information, not just recording facts. “When this class first started, I absolutely dreaded doing Cornell Notes. But as we started to practice Cornell Notes, I realized they weren’t so bad. I actually really liked the idea of going back daily to study the notes and writing a summary to cover the whole idea. I like them so much that I even bought a Cornell Notes journal…” --Hannah, Allen High School 11 th Grader

What do Cornell notes look like? Before After

Step One: Get ready! Remember, Cornell note- taking is not just about the format!

Step Two: During Class Record your notes on the right side.

Step Three: After Class “First taking notes and then going back to add level 2,3,4 questions greatly helped me to comprehend the material as I was forced to understand, digest, and extrapolate my notes in order to write higher-level questions.” --Lirit, Allen High School 11 th Grader

Step Four: Recite, Review, Reflect need-to-be-excited-about-every.html “Since I do a first round of notes, then the 2 nd round for questions, + the 3 rd round for summary, I get to review the information 3 times to enhance my understanding.” --Kendra, Allen High School 11 th Grader

Resources for More Information Dartmouth College: University of Texas Medical Branch: Cornell University: University of Texas at Dallas: Texas A&M University: ess/studytipsandtechniques.html Harvard University: Costa’s Levels of Thinking and Questioning:

Critical Reading & Annotation “Before… all I did was highlight because I was terrified of deciding what was important. Now I completely forego the highlighter and my notes on the side, as well as my underlining, tell me not only what information I found important but why I found it essential to my learning.” - Hayley, AHS 11 th grader

 Research shows that students who read deliberately retain more information and retain it longer.  Makes reading meaningful and eliminates need to re-read.  Increases comprehension in every subject.  Takes practice (and modeling) to learn to do steps simultaneously and quickly.  Slows reading, giving time to comprehend and process information. CriticalReading Critical Reading = Active engagement and interaction with texts “I may be reading texts slower, but I only have to [read] once. A single, efficient run-through is better than several hasty speed reads.” - Vincent, AHS 11 th grader

 Are there headnotes, an abstract or prefatory material?  Do you know the author? Do his credentials provide information about him or the topic? Does the editor provide introductory information?  What is the layout of the text? Is the text broken into meaningful subtopics? Does the organization tell you anything about the line of inquiry? Previewing

 Throw away your highlighter!  Mark up the margins of the text with words and phrases: ideas that occur to you, noting what is important, connections with other ideas, and questions you have.  Develop your own symbol system: * a key idea, or use an ! for surprising ideas. Your personal set of consistent hieroglyphics allows you to mark important insights quickly as you read.  Get in the habit of hearing yourself ask questions and write those in the margins. Annotating

 Outlining enables you to see the skeleton of the argument (right column).  Summarizing takes the skeleton and makes connections through paragraph form (summary).  Analyzing adds an evaluation of the writers assertions and supporting evidence and then allows you to apply your own reaction to the ideas (left column). Outline, Summarize, Analyze “It helps me tie information into Cornell Notes, as I get the nonsense out of the way.” - Evan, AHS 11 th grader

 How is the language chosen, used and positioned in the text?  Look for recurring images, repeated words or phrases, consistent ways of characterizing people or events.  This may signal important points or possible author biases. Look for Repetitions and Patterns

 Consider the information in the context of historical, cultural, material, or intellectual circumstances.  Does this inform your understanding or how you view the information? Contextualize “When I do this, I become more active and enjoy the stuff I am reading about.” - Eric, AHS 11 th grader

 How does this support main themes in the course?  Does it affirm or contrast with other readings? Does it expand on prior readings or shift the course of inquiry?  Why do you think your teacher assigned this reading at this point in the course?  Has your thinking been altered by this reading? Compare and Contrast “This helped me understand that my response to a piece has value, and should be recorded as well.” - Madison, AHS 11 th grader

Model Model these steps with a class text. The best way to ensure your students are reading critically and processing information in meaningful ways in your course is to: “think aloud” Demonstrate a verbal “think aloud” to model the thinking behind annotating.