<p>Hi I'm new to CC Forums and also I'm going to be making the big transition to college this fall. I was wondering what are some good note-taking tips? In high school, I basically wrote down everything the teacher wrote down on the board. </p>
<p>Also I know that the lecture style of college courses and a lot different than high school classes, so what are some good in class tips in general? What level of participation do professors expect?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>I don’t mean to hijack this thread, but also what type of organization system are people considering using? Notebooks? Binders? Laptops?</p>
<p>I’ve kind to always alternated between the two depending on if teachers give many handouts</p>
<p>Great question @shawnspencer I would like to know also… I’m planning to use my laptop and a folder for each class</p>
<p>I study history and political science and also dipped into some chemistry and biology courses my freshman year at Northwestern University. </p>
<p>It depends entirely on the course. For the hard sciences and math, it’s exponentially easier to take notes by hand as a product of the detailed diagrams they sometimes require. </p>
<p>Alternatively, history and political science lectures require an attention to detail in a different sense. Professors rarely write down notes on the board and will almost never give you notes for the course. It’s up to you to diagnosis what is and isn’t of importance, what major themes are in play that week, and the degree to which you can utilize particular lectures later in the quarter/semester. </p>
<p>It’s a case by case basis, really. For me, I take notes exclusively on my laptop and have specific folders for each course. Within each course’s folder, I have subfolders that include “Lecture Notes,” “Papers,” and “Readings.” The lecture notes are obviously a collection of notes taken each day I attend lecture and I title them “[5-14] American Foreign Policy in the Gulf” denoting the date (May 14th) and the major theme of the lecture. Of course, some lectures delve into several important topics, and your notes should reflect that accordingly. In this light, use headings and bold key topics to denote different ideas, portions of the lecture, etc. It’s rare that a professor will discuss one topic during the length of a lecture; rather, it’s more common for them to use one broad idea or event and then branch off into several other key themes or arguments. Remember: a course is sort of like a book that is broken up into chapters (lectures) with major themes (arguments). Some professors that I’ve talked with have told me that they write their lectures as if it were a smaller book. When you understand the organizational side of a course, you can better understand the material and where to focus. </p>
<p>But of course this applies to me and the way in which I do things. Detail, thoroughness, and organization are critical to me and I reflect that with the way I take and organize my notes. Sometimes they’re helpful when writing a paper, and sometimes they aren’t.</p>
<p>Whatever the case, I think it could be of benefit to you if you go into the academic year knowing how you want to proceed with lectures. What classes are you taking, what medium of note taking do you prefer, and how can you maximize your efficiency and quality of your notes?</p>
<p>Hope this helps. </p>
<p>Whoever take those hard science courses, how did you take notes? Especially for biology.</p>
<p>In math and science courses, paper and pencil is the way to go. I couldn’t even imagine trying to take those notes on a laptop or tablet. When you have to draw out diagrams/models/structures and long equations with a lot of symbols, using a laptop is incredibly difficult. I wouldn’t even want to attempt it. </p>
<p>Personally, I use paper and pencil for all of my notes, regardless of what class it is. Numerous studies have shown that the actual act of writing things down by hand promotes memory, and my experience has reflected this. I’ve used paper and pencil in all my my social science and humanities classes as well. Some people prefer using a laptop or tablet, but I found immediately that I didn’t like it after trying it out for just a couple days.</p>
<p>It’s worth pointing out that a lot of professors won’t allow laptops or tablets during lectures anyway. </p>
<p>When I took freshman biology and chemistry, those classes had power point slides up on blackboard before lecture. I’d print those out at 4 or 6 slides per page and take notes on those. </p>
<p>I use a notebook and copy down most things written for math as lecture is generally important definitions and examples. I use notebooks for my engineering classes as well. </p>
<p>I also took a religions class one summer and tried a few methods. Paper worked best for me because I’d get distracted from my boring lecturer if I had my laptop in front of me. </p>
<p>Especially in knowledge-oriented classes, notes should be organized hierarchically. Numbers, lines, boxes, indentation, and similar devices can help you perceive the structure and relationship of ideas. When you look at an idea on the page 3 weeks later, you should be able to immediately identify it as a big concept, a sub-topic, or an example of something. I strongly recommend revising your notes later in the day (or no later than 1-2 days after class) to clarify these relationships.</p>
<p>That’s a very worthwhile point. Headings and sub headings can help make notes much more organized.</p>
<p>I’ve done this a lot, especially in my various social science classes. I’ll have a heading for a whole section, then a numbered list for the few main points within that section, with subheadings within each main point (and sometimes even more subheadings within that). </p>
<p>The key to taking notes in class is to take notes before class. I’m a humanities student, so I take copious notes on the assigned readings before class. It then makes it exponentially easier to not only take notes in class, but truly enjoy the lectures. I can attend class and have the professor put all the pieces together without furiously writing down everything that is said. </p>
<p>Also, note taking doesn’t just end after class. You have to review what you wrote. I can’t tell you how many times I reread my notes and was like ■■■ did I just read? Make it a point to go over your notes on a regular basis–it’ll help you more than you could ever imagine come exams. </p>
<p>i’m old (a parent) still…</p>
<p>Some profs put up outlines before lecture. So check if yours do. If they do, print out the outline before class and fill in the details during class. Having the outline of the big points helps a lot. </p>
<p>Let me let you in on a not very secret secret…at many schools there are students who have accommodations which include some kind of note-taking. Sometimes at universities the notes are taken by the graduate student section leaders. If you ask physically/learning disabled kids for copies of the notes, most are willing to share them with you. </p>
<p>At my school, there are some assigned note takers for students with disabilities. These notes actually get posted in a section on Moodle (our online class system), and the entire class has access to them. I’ve never taken advantage of that personally, but I know some people that have. It’s a very handy thing to have access to. </p>
<ol>
<li>Listen</li>
<li>If the prof writes something on the board, you should put that in your notes.</li>
<li>You’ll get an idea of when the prof is making a worthwhile point… so, with that in mind let him or her make it before translating it in your words in notes.</li>
</ol>
<p>Most importantly, go to class and pay attention. </p>