UED102, 3rd Class, Part 6: Taking Lecture Notes

                   

          Its finally Wednesday again! Third class for Study Skills. Entering the class, I was exhilarated to know and learn new things today. The lecturer has not entered the class yet but the class is full with students. The moment when Madam Normala entered the classroom, we went quite. Judging by her look, we thought that she was a strict and fierce one. Or maybe I was the only one who thought of that 🙊

          Madam Normala started the class with an introduction of her topic. She’s teaching about how to take lecture notes and the effective note taking system. The overview of the topic will be:

• Why take lecture note
• How to take lecture notes?
• What to include in notes?

          She also shared a quote that I found interesting as it speaks the truth.

          We did our first activity; score your point and in which category you belong to? The activity determined if we are doing great in our style of study and writing notes or we need some improvement to make. ‘Are you able to read and understand your notes when you study for your exam?’ was one of the questions being asked as we wrote down yes or no on a piece of paper. Plus, Madam Normala’s explanation helped us to understand the questions precisely.

          Guess how much I scored for this questionnaire? Well I managed to score 6 out of 10. One point above the average. I thought I could score higher but I guess I’m not that good. Thank you to this set of questions, I can improve myself as it made me realize that my note taking skills is not on top notch yet.

          The session continued with the three subject of 5W1H technique; Why, What and How.

          Why do we take lecture note? I learned that the reason behind it is to have accurate record of the information from the lecture. Being an active listener means that while we are listening to the lecturer, we should also jot down the information that we gained. The other reasons were to interpret, condense and organize information and for repetition of material; reading it several times instead of memorizing it.

          How do we take lecture notes? We can do so by preparing ourselves before taking notes. The best way is to read the text before the class starts. By that, it can build up the background about the topic. We will have idea of what the lecture is all about. Thus, we can identify main ideas and organize the notes easier. Don’t forget the key terms as they are frequently highlighted and repeated in the lecture.

          As we enter the classroom, we should get ready to take note by preparing the stationeries and our notebook. Sitting in front of the classroom will allow us to see and hear better compared to the back of the classroom. We will probably find other interested and motivated friends who sits in front rows. Lastly, we should review the notes taken from the last week while waiting for the class to begin.

          What should be included in our notes? Firstly, the heading. The heading is important as it is the first thing that we read in a note. Next, the details which is important points, explanation and definition, examples, highlighted and repeated points and most importantly the spelled out points.

          As for discussion classes, the questions being asked are usually the ones being asked in the exam. While taking notes about it, do a summary for the answer of it. However, for mathematics and science classes, we should pay attention and listen carefully to what the lecture is all about.

          Madam Normala also shared about the effective way of taking note. The method is called Cornell Note Taking Method. Honestly, I have never heard of this method ever in my life. All I thought was jotting down what the lecture is all about and not focusing on the easiest and the most systematic way of doing it.

          Cornell Note Taking Method has its own layout. We should divide a page or a piece of paper to three different columns. We should also have a place to write the topic of the lecture. Here is the example of the Cornell Note Taking layout:

    

          The ideal paper to apply this method is about the size of A4 paper. The left column is used to write down the important points as in definitions or the titles. The right column should be the biggest column as it is used to write down the notes. We may include mind maps or even a drawing. As for the last column, it should be at the bottom of the paper and it is used to write down the important things that the lecturer said such as what is going to happen in the next class.

          We also did a mock of taking notes in class. Madam Normala is a lecturer for Microeconomic. Therefore, she taught us about a topic in the syllabus of the subject. She did not have any power point slides and didn’t even write anything on the whiteboard; just her talking and babbling while walking around the class. Our task was to write down the lecture using the Cornell Note Taking Method.

          The end result? We must share what have we wrote down on the paper. I was impress of myself as I had written 90% of what was being lectured by her. By fair means, the method was an easy way to write down notes. The columns are well put and can make us read the note with ease. Since you are on my blog, have a look at the note I wrote. ( Pardon the writing as I was writing as fast as the lecturer’s words 🌝 )

          That’s it for the 3rd class of Study Skills. Until next time guys! 💕