Applying Listening and Note Taking Skills

A Presentation for Student Support Services

participantsTroy, AL 36082

Objective of this Workshop

To motivate you to improve your academic listening and note taking skills.

provide you tips you can apply in order to

improve your note-taking skills.

Note: You will need to use view this presentation on a computer that is connected to the Internet as the majority of this information is available through hyperlinked videos.

1st: What is the #1 criteria you must meet in order to be an effective note taker? Hint: “Common Sense” criteria . . .

First, to be a good note taker, you must be PRESENT (at the lecture or conference session).

2nd : What is another Critical prerequisite for being an effective Note Taker?

“If you want to be a good note-taker, you must be a good listener!”

Source: Saeman, J. (2006, December). Become a good note taker. Retrieved July 9,2009, at http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/become-a-goodnote-taker-78697.html

Good Listeners are . . . Active Listeners who do the following . . .

Attend (not just physically) -- They Indicate through eye contact or other behaviors that they are present, listening, and understanding what they hear)

Paraphrase (Restate in their words information that they hear whenever possible)

Synthesize (Interpret and apply what they hear)

Display Quietness (Listen as others speak and before offering feedback or probing with follow-up questions)

Good (Active) Listening Skills precede Good Note Taking Skills

WATCH VIDEO – Active Listening.

Left click or Right Click on picture 1 at left to OPEN the hyperlinked video “Russ Peterson.”

Left click or Right Click on picture 2 at left to OPEN the hyperlinked video “How to be a Good Listener.”

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Next, Find out if you have good listening habits by asking yourself the following questions. . .

Do you Have Good listening habits?

YES or No?

1. Do you tend to refer to certain subjects as “dull” just because they are not in your major field of interest?

If the Answer is “Yes”

Suggestion: Learn to glean (collect) from every lecture something that you can use later.

Do you Have Good listening habits?

YES or No?

2. Do you Criticize lecturers/instructors?

If the Answer is “YES”

Suggestion: Consider that “the message is ten times as important” as the appearance or mannerisms of

the speaker. Listen for the message!

Do you Have Good listening habits?

YES or No?

3. Do you try to outline EVERYTHING?

If the Answer is “YES”

Suggestion: Be Flexible. Listen for the speaker’s organizational pattern. You may be surprised to realize that

most effective speakers themselves speak from an outline.

Do you Have Good listening habits?

YES or No?

4. Do you create distractions or permit others to distract you during lectures?

If the Answer is “YES”

Suggestion: Adjust to the noise level and then find a way to tune it out, even if it means you have to move

to another seat so that you can hear.

Do you Have Good listening habits?

YES or No?

3. Do you maximize every moment?

If the Answer is “NO”

Suggestion: Learn to use your time. If the lecturer takes a moment to drink water or make a note on the board, use that

time to summarize mentally what you just heard.

Now, consider Your attitude toward Note Taking . . .

Is it a SKILL? Yes, it requires effort to learn, and practice and time to learn to apply well.

Will it help you? Yes, if you learn to use it as a Study Skill and not just see it as something to do while someone else is talking.

Note Taking, a Basic Study Skill

WATCH VIDEO – Sandra Sinfield’s Essential Study Skills.

Left click or Right Click on the picture at left to Open Hyperlink.

Note taking is a Study Skill

It is important to choose a note taking system, according to Sandra Sinfield’s video, as the right note taking system helps students manage information gained through lecture, study more purposefully, and set the foundation for future research assignments.

Many colleges and learning institutes suggests particular note taking systems that they believe will benefit their students or clients based on the style of instruction offered.

The Cornell System is one such system widely used by college students who have to record notes in a LECTURE setting or from a book. It is a simple system that requires students to include the following information in their notes:

(A) Specific details from the lecture or textbook; (B) General inferences, key words, and categorizing details, and (C) Rephrased information/summarized information gained through reflection on lectures.

Cornell Note Taking System

WATCH VIDEO – Cornel Notes – at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-FCogxQFHI

Right click on picture at the left and click Open Hyperlink.

------2 1/2”-------- ----------------6”-------------------- Reduce ideas and facts to concise jottings and summaries as cues for Record the lecture as fully and as Reciting, Reviewing, meaningfully as possible. and Reflecting. The format provides the perfect opportunity for following through with the 5 R's of note-taking. Here they are: 1. Record. During the lecture, record in the main column as many meaningful facts and ideas as you can. Write legibly. 2. Reduce. As soon after as possible, summarize these ideas and facts concisely in the Recall Column. Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory. Also, it is a way of preparing for examinations gradually and well ahead of time. 3. Recite. Now cover the column, using only your jottings in the Recall Column as cues or "flags" to help you recall, say over facts and ideas of the lecture as fully as you can, not mechanically, but in your own words and with as much appreciation of the meaning as you can. Then, uncovering your notes, verify what you have said. This procedure helps to transfer the facts and ideas of your long term memory. 4. Reflect. Reflective students distill their opinions from their notes. They make such opinions the starting point for their own musings upon the subjects they are studying. Such musings aid them in making sense out of their courses and academic experiences by finding relationships among them. Reflective students continually label and index their experiences and ideas, put them into structures, outlines, summaries, and frames of reference. They rearrange and file them. Best of all, they have an eye for the vital-for the essential. Unless ideas are placed in categories, unless they are taken up from time to time for re-examination, they will become inert and soon forgotten. 5. Review. If you will spend 10 minutes every week or so in a quick review of these notes, you will retain most of what you have learned, and you will be able to use your knowledge currently to greater and greater effectiveness. ©Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College 2001 http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/docs/cornell_note_taking.doc

CORNELL PAGE

LAYOUT

In short, All pages of your notes, regardless of the note taking system

you choose, should include . . .

Your NameThe Date The Course Number or NamePage Number of Notes

Note Takers’ Symbols and Abbreviations:SYMBOL or ABBREVIATION

& (ampersand sign)ABBREVIATED WORD / PHRASE

And

No. or # number

= equal to, is the same as

b/4 before

ref. reference

w/ with

> greater than

< less than

i.e., that is

vs. versus, as opposed to

e.g., for example

etc. et cetera

Q. question

b/c because

w/o without

FINAL TIPS – When to Take NotesInstructors usually give clues to what is important to take down.

Some of the more common clues are: Information written on white or black board

Repetition of particular terms

Emphasis-- Emphasis can be judged by tone of voice and gesture.-- Emphasis can be judged by the amount of time the instructor spends on points.-- Emphasis can be judged by the number of examples the instructor uses.

Word signals / Word Cues (e.g. "There are two points of view on . . . " "The third reason is . . . " " In conclusion . . . ")

Summaries given at the end of class.

Reviews at the beginning of class.

The End

Remember to complete your evaluation form to receive your workshop credit.

For more information on other offered or available workshops, please ask the SSS staff.

To suggest workshop topics, please make a note on your evaluation form or tell an SSS staff member your idea.

Enjoy your learning experience here at Troy University.