Note Taking

Think about it. Writing stuff down is a really good way to remember that stuff. Not only is it somewhere where you can refer back to it, but also, the act of actually writing stuff down helps you remember it and it also can help you understand it better.

There are two main times when you're going to want to write stuff down. One time is when you are reading an assignment and will need to understand and remember it. The other time is to write down the stuff your teacher tells you.

Ok. So let's talk about taking notes from your textbooks. You might want to refer back to the reading textbook section. When you make notes in your book or write sticky notes and put them in your book, you can refer back to this but you might also want to copy it into a notebook. If you are really "on it" you will want to reorganize the notes in a way that makes more sense to you. Focus on the SQ3R information and relate it to what you already know.
 
Taking notes during class is a bit harder. It's super hard for those of us who have that auditory processing weakness. We have trouble hearing the information quickly and accurately and if we are busy taking notes, we could miss some very important information. So what should you do if you have this problem? There's a lot you can do. One thing is to get creative.

• Use pictures and diagrams if that's easier.
  
• Use your IMing abbreviations to help you write shorthand, and keep the information to one or two words, titles, names etc.
  
• Don't try to write every word down. It's impossible.
  
• When the teacher is finished, ask questions to fill in the missing gaps and add to your notes as soon as possible after the class. If you wait too long to fill in the gaps, you may look at your notes and not have a clue what or why you wrote the stuff down the way you did.

Here's another cool thing to remember. If you are one of those people who have trouble staying focused when the teacher is talking (I call it the "blahbleblah-blah-blah" syndrome) taking notes can really help you. It focuses your mind on what the teacher is saying and it gives your hand and body some movement activity. A lot of people who have trouble with their attention when someone is talking at them also have very athletic or kinesthetic intelligences and need to move to learn. So kill two birds with one stone and take notes.

Finally, if you are one of those people who have trouble with handwriting, you should really learn to keyboard well and then take notes on your laptop. I've gotten so good at this that I can actually listen to what the teacher is saying, look at him or her, and type something completely different at the same time. I can't do that at all when I am using a pen or pencil.  

Check out the page of useful web sites for some links relating to note taking.