In order to perform well on any examination, students must fully understand the course material. Often times, students have the potential to understand such material, but they lack the necessary tools to do so. This is why it is very important for students to strengthen their familiarity with the learning skills and tools they have at their disposal. The most important skill for students to hone is their ability to take efficient and effective notes.
Organizing notes
Students attend many classes per week and during this time, they are expected to absorb a large amount of information. Because of the sheer magnitude of this information, students should learn how to organize incoming ideas so that they can refer back to them throughout the course. This will allow them to optimize their understanding of what is being taught. Here are a few tips to aid the student in this process:
- Have separate binders or notebooks for each course
- Date every page and organize these pages in chronological order
- Use titles, subtitles, different colored pens, highlighters and sticky notes to differentiate between various concepts
Taking notes vs. reviewing notes
Students are encouraged to take notes during class and then review them later that same day. These practices, when coupled, significantly improve each student’s ability to retain long term information.
Taking notes in class
Students must pay attention in class because they will need to exercise their active listening skills while simultaneously taking notes. As well, during this time, they should be looking for visual and verbal cues given by the teacher. Students should also record main ideas, examples and additional comments given by the teacher.
Reviewing notes while studying
Once the class is over, students should go through the material more thoroughly and identify the main focus. This step must be taken a short time after the lecture, preferably the same night as the lecture as it ensures that the material remains familiar and relevant. While reading the course material, students should ask questions and then try to find the answers from the passage.
It is very helpful to organize information in point form, charts or tables. What makes course notes effective is not the amount of notes taken, but rather, the amount of necessary content the notes contain. Students must be able to differentiate between necessary and unnecessary information.
At the end, the student must put all of the notes, handouts and worksheets together for a fully coherent documentation of the course. This is a crucial skill that significantly aids the student in their academic success.
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