Introduction: Note-taking at University
For many students just entering university, the prospect of attending first
year university classes among literally hundreds of students in large lecture
theatres can be very intimidating. Being accustomed to smaller classrooms and
discussion groups in high school, students coming to university for the first
time often have to develop new skills of listening, note-taking, and using notes
as part of the process of learning through lectures. And while some instructors
can be very effective in making a large lecture hall an interactive learning
opportunity for students, it is more and more the case that students at
university face larger and larger classes where their role is to listen and take
notes from the "sage on the stage".
Simply put, the purpose of note-taking in lectures and tutorials is to
record your understanding of the ideas and concepts discussed in class for
future uses such as essay writing, preparing to read, and studying for
examinations and tests. In practice, achieving this purpose can be a real
challenge. You may find yourself unable to keep up with the professor or
trying to copy down every single word uttered by the instructor. You may become frustrated that you aren't getting everything or that you are not understanding the material
you do copy down. Maybe you are not sure what to do about it.
Developing the skills necessary to learn effectively from lectures and
overcome these initial frustrations is the focus of this handout. We will
discuss what it means to be an active listener, to listen with a purpose, to
learn the instructor's presentation style, to use the verbal and visual cues of
a lecture to grasp a lecture's focus. We will explore how to use a variety of
note-taking formats, including the Cornell style of notes and Concept Mapping.
Finally, we will examine how to use the notes you make in lectures to further
the learning you are doing for your classes.