Exam 5: Listen and Take Effective Notes

According to Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve one is likely to retain only 63% of the material learned after 9 hours and after a month that figure drops to 21%.

Melanie's instructor uses PowerPoint presentations during lectures.Each slide has a lot of information, and she feels it is redundant for her to be taking notes of the slides while her instructor is expanding upon the information.It would be appropriate for Melanie to ask her instructor if the slides are available online so students can print out the slides and take these to class for note-taking.

Dustin needs to take some math courses in order to graduate with a liberal arts degree.He has had anxiety about this because math is not a strength for him.In his first math class of the year, he has gotten an instructor who interrupts his teaching with a lot of personal comments and stories.Although he is funny and the class enjoys his anecdotes, Dustin cannot relax and listen because he is panicked over the time being wasted on things not pertinent to what they are learning in the text.His best course of action would be to:

It is best to experiment with several note taking systems or combinations of systems.

Set up a blank piece of paper to take notes using the Cornell System of Note Taking using all 6 necessary labels.Beneath each label explain its purpose.

For a student with a learning disability it is particularly helpful to:

Philip is creating a flow chart of the central nervous system as he is reviewing his notes.This is an example of:

Ryanne is left-brain dominant thinker and a visual learner.A mind map will likely be an effective note taking system for her in capturing lecture material.

Marion decided to keep a week's worth of data on how much she speaks versus how much she listens.Her purpose was most likely to:

Carley is beginning the first course in her major field of study.For optimal preparation she should:

A left-brain dominant person will most likely prefer to use a mind map note taking system.

Claudia was never a good listener but has developed her listening skills since she started school.She previews materials, attends all of her classes, and sits in the front row.She has learned to stay focused by taking a lot of notes and by asking questions in class for clarity.Through experimentation, she has combined the Cornell and informal outline note-taking systems to accommodate her learning style and to optimize learning.She is also working with a study group to compare notes after class to be sure she is not missing any key points.She has even considered Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve and is sure to review and summarize her notes after class, and she reviews her notes frequently.Despite all of these efforts, Claudia is struggling in one of her math classes and finds herself surprised by material that appears on tests.Claudia must pass this class for her major.What advice would benefit Claudia the most?

When Jerry is taking notes during a lecture he tends to jot down the main ideas with dashes for subtopics and details in a linear and sequential fashion.This would be an example of:

Serena's instructor likes to sit in front of the class and talk with students in a more informal fashion.She rarely uses the board or overhead projector to illustrate the important points of the lecture.Serena is a visual learner and has a learning disability in receptive listening; thus auditory learning is a challenge for her.Serena could tell in the first lecture that she was going to have difficulty in note taking.One way for Serena to optimize learning and note taking will be to:

Calvin is a visual learner and likes to map or draw key points and connections as he is processing new information learned.His roommate thinks he is wasting time when in actuality he is:

The Cornell system is primarily used for text notes.

A mind map is a useful note taking system for class lectures.

Amy has trouble in recalling information she has learned in class.To improve her chances of recalling the information she should edit and revise her notes within an hour after class, and she should review those notes within 24 hours from when she learned the material.

Jason finds it hard to respect an instructor whose appearance lacks professional polish.He takes notes but tends to sit in the back of the room and does not ask questions.He has been known to whisper comments to peers poking fun at certain instructors, especially when he does not agree with their viewpoint.In one such class, Jason got a D on his first test.A lot of the material covered was not in the text.What should be his best course of action to improve his performance?

Terry is a right-brain dominant thinker.He is in a study group with people who prefer to use the Cornell system of note-taking.He finds this note-taking system challenging and has adapted his note-taking system toward his more visual learning style.He uses a combination of informal outlining key topics and supporting points with a mind map to link and summarize the material.When he gets together with his study group, they tend to go through the Cornell system step by step to compare notes.He has difficulty in following along with this style of note-taking and feels he is not gaining much from attending the group sessions.Based on this chapter, what advice would you give to Terry to help him optimize his learning?