Are Your Notes Like Swiss Cheese? Too Many Holes! A Workshop On Note Taking Skills Brought to you by the UC Clermont Learning Center

What We Will Cover HHow To Get The Most Out Of A Lecture. LListening Skills. TThe Day Dreaming Trap. TTips For Taking Notes While You Listen. SSuccessful Note Taking Methods. RReviewing Your Notes After Class. OOrganizing Your Notebook.

BBe Prepared AArrive early AActively participate RReview notes soon after class RRethink all examples covered in class How To Get the Most Out of Lecture

Ways to Be Prepared For Class Ways to Be Prepared For Class PPrint them out before class. RReview posted notes before class.   I  I f possible, triple space typed notes and print PowerPoints with a notes section. UUse these to take notes on in class by filling in the missing information. IIf your professor has Notes/Power Points on Blackboard… AAlways read or thoroughly skim the text before class. YYou will be better able to follow the lecture's main points.

Do You Have Any of These Bad Listening Habits? Quiz When listening in class… DDo you call the Subject Dull? DDo you criticize the Speaker? DDo you tolerate distractions? DDo you only listen for facts? DDo you try to write down everything the speaker says? DDo you not write down anything at all and assume you will remember it?

Listening is a Learned Skill! People do not instinctively listen well, whether in conversations or in class! It is something that we all have to LEARN!

Tips On Effective Listening BBefore class: review your notes from the previous class to refresh and mentally prepare for what the instructor will be talking about. DDetermine why what the instructor is saying is important to you. RRemember: the responsibility for interest and understanding lies with YOU, NOT with the instructor. Learning is up to the learner.

More Tips On Effective Listening IIf you can't hear, arrange things so you can. LLook for the instructor’s pattern of organization. LLook for the main idea or ideas of the presentation. Facts are important only as they support the speaker's points.

Beware of Day Dreaming! AA speaker before an audience slows down to about 100 words per minute. WWe think an average of 400 to 500 words per minute as we listen. WWhat do you do with your extra thoughts? UUse Your Thought Power Wisely: Anticipate the next point. Identify supporting material. Recap What They Have Said So Far.

Take Notes While You Listen CCondense-do not use a sentence when a phrase will do! LLeave open space to go back and fill in extra information from the text. FFocus on the things the speaker focuses on: Things written on the board. Things repeated. Facts or ideas emphasized by tone of voice or body language. Anything included in a wrap up summary or reviewed from the previous lecture.

Making Outline Notes *Outline notes place the general information to the left. -Details or examples that explain the general topic are indented. -As the details get more specific, they are further indented. *When more general topic are introduced, return to the left. You do not have to use letters, or roman numerals for an outline. They are your notes: Use whatever symbols work for you!

Record the lecture as fully as possible in whatever note taking method you are comfortable with. **If you miss a statement, write down key words, skip a few spaces, and get the information later from a fellow student, the text, or the professor. RecallColumn: Class Notes Column Immediatel y, reduce information to short summaries and statements here. Use them for reciting, reviewing and reflecting. Using The Cornell Note Format

Reviewing Notes Before Next Class RRead through your notes and highlight important information. TTurn the important information in your notes into note cards so that they can be carried with you and reviewed frequently. RRe-write your notes more clearly or in a different format. This is the perfect opportunity to add in information from the text not covered in class.

Webbing As A Note Review Instructor’s Main TopicSubtopics Explained Details Given on Subtopics Secondary Details

UUse a 3-Ring Binder instead of a Spiral Bound Notebook. Start the quarter off with one binder and add another later on if necessary. Use dividers to separate your various subjects. Organizing Your Notebooks: Part 1

TTake notes on loose-leaf lined paper. You can move your notes around in your binder if more notes are given on a specific subject later on. You can insert handouts (from class or Blackboard), quizzes or tests right along with that chapters notes. TThis makes studying for Mid-term and Final Exams much simpler! Use post-its or sticky tabs as tabs to separate each chapter. Organizing Your Notebooks: Part 2

Visit Us on Campus at: The Learning Center Room 100 Educational Services Building Need More Help With Your Note Taking Skills