During a lecture, it is important to take notes that are useful to you afterwards. HTML Find a place in the lecture room which suits you and where you can see and hear comfortably. Lecturing styles do vary and you might find that you adopt a slightly different note-making strategy for different courses and different lecturers. An awareness of your learning style preferences will also help to guide you in finding the best note taking method for you. Not sure how you learn best? Try completing the SQA learning styles questionnaire to give you some idea of your learning preferences. For example, if you are an auditory learner it may be better to listen, rather than try to take many written notes. Students are normally permitted to audio record lectures using their own equipment for their own personal use so you can refer back as required. It is important to try and engage with the topic. If you have a printed set of slide lecture notes, add further comments and emphasis. The main thing to do is listen and watch. Lecturers will give you visual clues and auditory cues that stress and reinforce the main points. You should try to identify key terms and shorter phrases - don't try to write down everything that is said. There is usually no need to copy the information on presentation slides - these are likely to be available on the VLE. You might like to experiment with different note-taking styles to find one that works for you. Different methods have their advantages and disadvantages: SQA Learning style self assessment questionnaire (DOC) File paper: Easy to file afterwards, amend and add sheets to. You can file them regularly and avoid carrying a whole series of notes around. However, single sheets are easily lost. But, you only need to carry one pad of paper around with you. Bound notebooks: You can leave the left-hand page blank to add additional material. Extra sheets, such as handouts, can be folded and taped in. However you will need a notebook for each course and to carry these around with you. Additionally if you lose a notebook you might lose a substantial amount of work. On a computer: This is becoming increasingly popular - it is much easier to edit notes taken afterwards. Most of us can’t type as fast as we write and it can make it difficult to include sketches. You will also need to resist the temptation not to get distracted and check your Facebook page or emails. However, it can be useful to follow up web links or check a term you are unclear about within the lecture. On a tablet: These are becoming increasingly more common. Unlike a PC they are less bulky to carry around and do allow notes to be taken. Moving notes to your own PC can be carried out via DropBox Note-making styles Everyone finds a note taking style that works for them and people often find that they use different approaches for different situations. The main aim is to actively make a record that will engage you with the lecture and be useful to you afterwards. It can be useful to try and mix styles and you should experiment to find out what suits you. Document IAD notemaking styles for lectures (296.54 KB / PDF) Document Note making in lectures slides notes (1.92 MB / PDF) Using a summary sheet This is a sheet that you fill in directly after the lecture (or later on the same day). It is intended to complement your notes rather than replace them. Using a standard sheet is a way of summarising the main points and identifying what you need to follow up. It also helps to record the title of the lecture and other details in a systematic way so that you can find your notes easily. You can print out the example below to try this method out. Document IAD lecture summary sheet (86.24 KB / PDF) This article was published on 2024-09-02
HTML Find a place in the lecture room which suits you and where you can see and hear comfortably. Lecturing styles do vary and you might find that you adopt a slightly different note-making strategy for different courses and different lecturers. An awareness of your learning style preferences will also help to guide you in finding the best note taking method for you. Not sure how you learn best? Try completing the SQA learning styles questionnaire to give you some idea of your learning preferences. For example, if you are an auditory learner it may be better to listen, rather than try to take many written notes. Students are normally permitted to audio record lectures using their own equipment for their own personal use so you can refer back as required. It is important to try and engage with the topic. If you have a printed set of slide lecture notes, add further comments and emphasis. The main thing to do is listen and watch. Lecturers will give you visual clues and auditory cues that stress and reinforce the main points. You should try to identify key terms and shorter phrases - don't try to write down everything that is said. There is usually no need to copy the information on presentation slides - these are likely to be available on the VLE. You might like to experiment with different note-taking styles to find one that works for you. Different methods have their advantages and disadvantages: SQA Learning style self assessment questionnaire (DOC) File paper: Easy to file afterwards, amend and add sheets to. You can file them regularly and avoid carrying a whole series of notes around. However, single sheets are easily lost. But, you only need to carry one pad of paper around with you. Bound notebooks: You can leave the left-hand page blank to add additional material. Extra sheets, such as handouts, can be folded and taped in. However you will need a notebook for each course and to carry these around with you. Additionally if you lose a notebook you might lose a substantial amount of work. On a computer: This is becoming increasingly popular - it is much easier to edit notes taken afterwards. Most of us can’t type as fast as we write and it can make it difficult to include sketches. You will also need to resist the temptation not to get distracted and check your Facebook page or emails. However, it can be useful to follow up web links or check a term you are unclear about within the lecture. On a tablet: These are becoming increasingly more common. Unlike a PC they are less bulky to carry around and do allow notes to be taken. Moving notes to your own PC can be carried out via DropBox Note-making styles Everyone finds a note taking style that works for them and people often find that they use different approaches for different situations. The main aim is to actively make a record that will engage you with the lecture and be useful to you afterwards. It can be useful to try and mix styles and you should experiment to find out what suits you. Document IAD notemaking styles for lectures (296.54 KB / PDF) Document Note making in lectures slides notes (1.92 MB / PDF) Using a summary sheet This is a sheet that you fill in directly after the lecture (or later on the same day). It is intended to complement your notes rather than replace them. Using a standard sheet is a way of summarising the main points and identifying what you need to follow up. It also helps to record the title of the lecture and other details in a systematic way so that you can find your notes easily. You can print out the example below to try this method out. Document IAD lecture summary sheet (86.24 KB / PDF)
