Effective Note Taking Method

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I am excited to see my grades last term as I got a full straight-A mark!🌟🙋‍♀️ One of the reasons behind this good grade is the way I take notes in class. Let me share some of the tips that work for me, I hope they can work for you too!

But before we get down to the list, do not forget to like ❤️👍 this post and subscribe 🔔 as this will help the channel grow! Also, feel free to share this link with anyone who might also struggle with note-taking 📝 Without further ado, let's get down to the how-to!

The tips are summed as three L's, namely to log, lessen, and link.

• Log

Many people will neglect this critical stage because they believe "I will not forget this material" or "I will just summarize later," but these beliefs just make their life more difficult when it comes to revising it afterwards (Abdaal, 2021). Hence, I write logs of what I learn while I study ✍📚 There are two types of logs that I make.

For the first type, I use the Collanote application on my iPad to scribble sidenotes by the side of the reading materials that I scroll 📝 These side notes help me to maintain my original ideas or thoughts as I read the article. They also help me skim through the pages when I need references to write my written tasks because these side notes make my reading meaningful and relatable for me (Schunk, 2012, p. 267). I usually make this type of note when I am lying on the bed, being tired from working all day, but still not sleepy and decide to make the most productivity out of my time.

For the second type, I utilize the Notion application to sync the notes I have on my iPad to the files I have on my PC and vice versa. The notes here are not scribbles, but they are more like a rough draft that immediately answers the questions from the assignments 📝 I usually split my iPad window into two, like this illustration below, and I put my reading assignment on the left and my note on the right. I make this type of log when I am drafting my discussion, written, and portfolio assignments.

• Lessen 

One of the bad habits when jotting down notes is that we note too much it feels like we are copying the entire book and pasting it on our iPad or notebook ✍📚 Remember that noting means we only write the core ideas that we want to remember to trigger our memory retrieval. Let our brain be the one that actively recalls the further explanation regarding the matter (Abdaal, 2020). Letting our brain elaborate can sharpen our memory and help us to retain the knowledge we get💕

More often than not, I scribble some simple charts or doodles to help me memorize what the idea was. I also differentiate the font or colour of the marker I use to highlight different parts of my notes. However, bear in mind that, no matter what tools you use to make note, using one or two colours are enough, as too colourful notes would be distracting instead of helping us to recall! 📝

• Link

Schunk (2012) believes that scaffolding our knowledge is better to be done by coherence our previous knowledge to our current knowledge (p. 224). For me, it is kind of like stacking lego blocks; in a sense, they have to correlate with one another, or else they will crumble down. Furthermore, the foundation must be solid - do not write mere words that are meaningless to us just because those words look cool, but we need to write words that can literally enkindle our memory salvaging.

Building our notes, as a written reflection of what is inside our mind, should be in coherence and should correlate to previous notes we have written 📝 This is one of the reasons why I like to use the toggle and to-do list options in the Notion application. Hereby I attached some examples of my personal Notion pages.

As you can see, I put my note in sequence based on the things I have to do and I put a clickable to-do list on the side for me to tick after I am done with it. This helps me to ensure that my entire note is according to my curricula and that I do not miss any assignments 📝

Then, I arrange further information within the toggle options. When I make a quick review, I can do active recall by closing the toggle. For example, I can ask myself, "What is the definition of learning?" Then, I can try to answer according to my definition. If I want to check whether my answer is correct or not, I can click on the toggle option and I can read the definition of learning according to the unit. Taking notes in a way that permits us to do active recall when reviewing can enhance our learning quality and upgrade our knowledge retention (Abdaal, 2020).

So, making side logs while studying, lessening the wordiness when noting down core ideas, and linking our previous knowledge to our current ones are my personal tips about effective note-taking ✍📚 Hope this helps!💕 How about you? What effective note-taking tips do you usually implement in your life? Please feel free to share in the comment section!

Reference(s):

Abdaal, A. (2020, February 9). Active Recall - The Studying Technique You Should Be Using. AliAbdaal.com. https://aliabdaal.com/activerecallstudytechnique/

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Abdaal, A. (2021, September 17). The 5 Rs of Note Taking. AliAbdaal.com. https://aliabdaal.com/the-5-rs-of-note-taking/

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Schunk, D. H. (2012). Learning theories: An educational perspective (6th ed., pp. 224, 267). Pearson.