1. Note-Making

2. What we wanted to do
We wanted to help Year 1 Applied Science students to develop their note-making skills
We hoped that this would also help their understanding of the information, as effective note-making would allow them to read back over the information easily later on

3. How the study was set up
Each tutor delivered one of the note taking methods to the group of students in their topic area
Students used that method for the remainder of the session
Students then reflected on each method

4. Mind-Mapping

5. The Outline Method

6. The Cornell Method

7. How we assessed success
Attitude- students rated each method out of 10 for the ease of the method, usefulness to refer to later and overall score
Performance- we looked at samples of each method, focusing on the amount of information shown and the overall quality
Behaviour- we observed how the learners reacted to each method and monitored the time taken to use each method

8. The Results- Attitude
Mean Score

9. The Results- Performance
When looking at the various notes at the end of each session, it was noted that mind-maps were much more detailed than the other methods, however they were incomplete
The outline notes tended to be complete, however some of the sentences were a little unclear
Notes using the Cornell method were again a little unclear, with a lot of scribbling out

10. The Results- Behaviour
Method
Positive Observations
Negative Observations
Mind-mapping
+ Much more care taken
+ Lots of thought went into presentation of the information and layout
+ Students chatting about the information and how best to present it
- Took much more time out of the lesson
Outline Method
+ Less time consuming
- A little bit more guidance required for the headings
- Less concentration
Cornell Method
- More time consuming due to the level of guidance required

11. Moving Forward…
Overall, mind-mapping was the most useful overall for students
To minimise the time spent on this, perhaps a template could be given, which students then complete, or another method (eg: outline) could be used and then translated onto a mind-map to consolidate
To minimise guidance required for the outline/cornell, again a template may be useful

12. Have a Go Think of a session you are teaching next year
Create a template that your students could be given to take effective notes during that session