Just the act of taking notes and reviewing them improves your understanding of the material. View your note taking as your first layer of study.
At first, you may believe that you aren’t cut out to write notes or that you’ll have no problems remembering what was said. None of that is true. So, listen and write. Read and write. Your comprehension skills and listening skills WILL IMPROVE.
Don’t despair if you cannot catch every word or you’re not sure what is important. Aim to jot down the key ideas/issues with a few details and examples. Leave WHITE SPACE between ideas and terms so that you may add notes later.
Defintely add to your notes. Compare your notes with another student’s notes. Show your notes to your teacher to get feedback well before the test.
I like the Cornell Method for terms, id’s, and events. It’s the divided page approach. But there are plenty of other useful note taking models.
Remember, make your notes work for you! NOTES ARE GOOD. And IF they are REVIEWED and RECALLED each week, preferably 2+ times a week, you’ll find that your understanding and memory of the information will grow. I recommend reviewing and recalling your notes the same day you take them.
