<description>&lt;p&gt;When students take notes during a lesson, research shows they get just about 30 to 45 percent of the important information right on the first try. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;High school teacher Benjamin Barbour discovered this disturbing problem after taking a quick peek at his students’ notes midway through whole-group instruction. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. &lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;“While some students had terrific notes, others had a big list of facts from the lecture or from the book,” Barbour says. “There was no rhyme or reason. Maybe there was a date but no information attached. And I realized: My students can’t even use these notes.”&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;In this episode of School of Practice, we take a look at Barbour’s three-step process for teaching better note-taking and substantially improving study skills. Just a few minutes of practice each day, Barbour says, can yield big gains for student learning. Plus, he explains the brilliant strategy he uses to incentivize better note-taking and study habits in his classroom.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;Related resources: &lt;/p&gt; &lt;ul&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-how-use-their-notes"&gt;Teaching Students What to Do With the Notes They Take&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.edutopia.org/video/improve-note-taking-skills-through-testing/"&gt;How Testing Students Twice Can Improve Note-Taking Skills&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.edutopia.org/video/neuroscientists-say-dont-write-handwriting/"&gt;Neuroscientists Say Don’t Write Off Handwriting&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://scholars.georgiasouthern.edu/en/publications/typed-versus-handwritten-lecture-notes-and-college-student-achiev/"&gt;Research: Typed Versus Handwritten Lecture Notes and College Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01810/full"&gt;Research: The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11251-016-9370-4"&gt;Research: Revising lecture notes: how revision, pauses, and partners affect note taking and achievement&lt;/a&gt; &lt;/li&gt; &lt;li&gt;&lt;a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797614524581"&gt;Research: The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt; &lt;/ul&gt;</description>

School of Practice

Edutopia

How To Improve Student Note-Taking in 3 Smart Steps

DEC 9, 202520 MIN
School of Practice

How To Improve Student Note-Taking in 3 Smart Steps

DEC 9, 202520 MIN

Description

<p>When students take notes during a lesson, research shows they get just about 30 to 45 percent of the important information right on the first try. </p> <p>High school teacher Benjamin Barbour discovered this disturbing problem after taking a quick peek at his students’ notes midway through whole-group instruction. What he saw stopped him in his tracks. </p> <p>“While some students had terrific notes, others had a big list of facts from the lecture or from the book,” Barbour says. “There was no rhyme or reason. Maybe there was a date but no information attached. And I realized: My students can’t even use these notes.”</p> <p>In this episode of School of Practice, we take a look at Barbour’s three-step process for teaching better note-taking and substantially improving study skills. Just a few minutes of practice each day, Barbour says, can yield big gains for student learning. Plus, he explains the brilliant strategy he uses to incentivize better note-taking and study habits in his classroom.</p> <p>Related resources: </p> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-students-how-use-their-notes">Teaching Students What to Do With the Notes They Take</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.edutopia.org/video/improve-note-taking-skills-through-testing/">How Testing Students Twice Can Improve Note-Taking Skills</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.edutopia.org/video/neuroscientists-say-dont-write-handwriting/">Neuroscientists Say Don’t Write Off Handwriting</a> </li> <li><a href="https://scholars.georgiasouthern.edu/en/publications/typed-versus-handwritten-lecture-notes-and-college-student-achiev/">Research: Typed Versus Handwritten Lecture Notes and College Student Achievement: A Meta-Analysis</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01810/full">Research: The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults</a></li> <li><a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11251-016-9370-4">Research: Revising lecture notes: how revision, pauses, and partners affect note taking and achievement</a> </li> <li><a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956797614524581">Research: The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking</a></li> </ul>