Classroom Learning Summarizing and Note Taking

Summarizing and Note-Taking

Abstract

Note-taking is the primary method students’ use to record what they capture during a learning session with a teacher. According to cognitive psychologists, summarizing is done to; fill the missing parts and as a method of synthesizing information to a better understandable and simple form. The amount of notes taken is in direct proportion with achievement. To make notes worth-while, researchers suggest that students should consider them as a work in progress thus revised accordingly as new information is available. However, note-taking doesn’t work for all students, especially those with learning disabilities, hence the concept of guided notes. Guided notes are prepared by the teacher and given to the students as handouts. Guided notes are a vital tool in improving learning, and their effective can be increased depending on how they are used. Using guided notes has a beneficial effect, especially on students test performance. In my class, I ensure that these guided notes are in line with curriculum standards and useful for students to prepare for assessment tests and quizzes.

Section 1

Summarizing and note-taking is one of the popular classroom techniques used to pass information from the teacher to the learner. The methodologies involved do vary greatly depending on a number of factors e.g. the subject, the study level, and information known prior to the session among others. Substantial research work has been done on the subject of summarizing and note-taking, with the majority of the study going into establishing the effect of summarizing and note-taking on student performance (Marzano, Gaddy & Dean, 2000).

According to cognitive psychologists, summarizing is done to; fill the missing parts and as a method of synthesizing information to a better understandable and simple form. In so doing, the learner relies on inferences to make deductions, unless default inferences are changed (Marzano et al., 2000). Research shows that, note-taking is a sure way of improving student’s achievement. However, the nature of notes-taking has divergent results. While verbatim note-taking has the best results on student’s achievement, the emphasis has been ‘keeping it brief.’ However, research findings seem to suggest otherwise as the amount f notes taken is in direct proportion with achievement.

To make notes worth-while, researchers suggest that students should consider them as a work in progress. That is, notes should be revised accordingly as new information is available. Moreover, in practical class note-taking, it is possible to miss out an essential point. In such a case, it is important to updates notes later when studying or during further reading (Marzano et al., 2000). Reviewing notes and further reading are essential parts of student’s learning. Reviewing is done on notes taken during personal study hours while further study involves reading other authors different perspective on the same subject.

Section 2

Summarizing & notes taking (Summary of PowerPoint presented in class)

· Summarizing and note taking promotes greater comprehension of a subject

· Reason for notes-taking - 1) to record the information 2) to add or reflect

· More details notes are better than specific briefs

· Summarizing involves noting key and supporting ideas from a complex passage (Brooks et al., n.d.).

What does research say?

· Good notes help is understanding primary and secondary materials

· In classroom setting, notes give students direction

Best summarizing practices include; i) summarizing frames, ii) outlines, iii) teacher pacing, and iv) rule based. On the other hand, best note-taking practices include; i) teacher pacing ii) graphic organizers, iii) student’s based format, and iv) teacher-prepared notes (Brooks et al., n.d.).

Misconceptions

· Less is more

· Word for word notes

· Extensive highlighting equal thoroughness

· Highlighting the known (Brooks et al., n.d.)

Section 3

Note-taking is the primary method students’ use to record what they capture during a learning session with a teacher. However, the traditional note-taking practice becomes challenging for students with learning disability. The main reason for this is the challenges these students face in terms of deciphering relevant information during a learning session and listening and taking notes at the same time. To solve this problem, guided notes is a method that shows to work. Guided notes are notes prepared by the tutor and they are handed to a student to guide them. The notes have standard cues and prepared spaces for a student to write concepts, key facts, or any other relevant point (Konrad, Joseph & Itoi, 2011).

Research findings on the effectiveness of guided notes show that they improve students’ outcome across age, skills, and abilities. In addition, guided notes improve the accuracy of notes taken by students and they improve student’s achievement in tests (Konrad et al., 2011). Research findings also show that, students regardless of their learning capabilities enjoy using guided notes as compared to taking their own notes. Teachers who use guided notes have high class attendance and with time, the students become better in taking their own notes.

To make guided notes more useful to students, teachers are advised to use presentation software and focus on the main concepts that the students need to know. The handout should then have blanks with information that is to be in follow-up tests is omitted. To the students, these blanks provide spaces for the students to fill with the concepts they capture during the lecture session. For students with challenged motor responses, the size of these blanks should be done in a way as to guide the student an idea of the concept (Konrad et al., 2011). However, guided notes are not a replacement of the teachers teaching style, skills, and the need to make a lecture lively, charming, and participatory to the learners. Therefore, tutors need to combine guided notes with additional effective teaching strategies to improve learning.

Guided notes are a vital tool in improving learning, and their effective can be increased depending on how they are used. One of the possible strategies is to prepare and hand them out in time before the learning session. This gives students humble time to go through the handout before the teacher teaches. This way, learners, including those with challenged cognitive capabilities, are able to follow through successfully, as the teacher elaborates on what they didn’t understand on their own, and students are able to better note-taking (Konrad et al., 2011).

Using guided notes has a beneficial effect, especially on students test performance. Guided notes are a well structured, brief form of the course content, that easy to study especially when preparing for an examination or a quiz. In addition, guided notes have been shown to provoke and promote higher order thinking among students (Konrad et al., 2011). This can be realized in two ways 1) the teacher indicating where students are expected to pause and think and 2) asking students to make notes using their guided notes and use the same to make a mini-lecture to the class.

Section 4

Instructional practices

Guided notes are a useful learning method and, in my class, they are used to promote learning. Various instructional methods are used in my algebra classes. In my class, I use several methods to ensure that students are engaged and learning takes place. The first instructional practice is face-to-face direct instruction method. This method of instruction is used for the initial lesson where new content is introduced, the fundamental concepts discussed, and terms defined. Through the use of guided notes, I ensure that students have the handouts a week earlier before the classroom learning takes place.

After content is introduced, various other instructional methods are used. The next method after direct face-to-face is interactive instruction. For this method, students are asked questions based on what has been learned, in an interactive manner with the teacher (Dean, 2012). For example, a simple and similar algebra problem is presented on the board and the ensure classroom participates in solving it, with students providing answers in the problem-solving problem. After this, students are given a problem to complete individually.

Framework for curriculum development

Curriculum development for my class begins by development of a plan. Curriculum development is done based on the students and their educational background. If the class has learners with physical, cognitive, motor response, or learning challenges, then planning is done to establish their needs. Moreover, learning background is used to determine the starting point of the course e.g. at definition of terms or by introducing the entire subject of algebra.