Effective notes equate to higher grades
by Mary Barrera, reporter

    Effective note taking is the first line of defense against forgetting, a South Campus advisor told students last week.

    As part of the Student Survival series, Steve Rakoff, academic advisor, presented Effective Note Taking.

    “The largest percentage of forgetting happens after one hour of learning,” he said.

    Students remember 10 percent of what they read, 20 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they see, 50 percent of what they see and hear, 70 percent of what they say, and 90 percent of what they say and do, Rakoff said.

    “The more senses we involve, the more we remember,” he said.

    In his 10th year with TCC, this is the third year Rakoff has presented this seminar. In attendance were students, some of whom were from South Campus’ Women In New Roles (WIN-R) program.

    “There is no absolute right or wrong in note taking,” he said.

    According to Rakoff, when taking notes, students should ask themselves, “Based on the knowledge learned today, how will this affect my life?”

    “After all, that is what education is about,” he said.

    Some difficulties of note taking stem from the fact that spoken language is quickly gone.

    “Note taking is difficult because spoken language is different from written language,” he said.

    The purpose of note taking is to store information until there is time to learn it. It helps the listener comprehend by rephrasing and condensing information, helps the listener focus on important information and forces the listener to pay attention. Of the time spent in the classroom, 50 percent of it is spent listening, Rakoff said.

    The measure of good listening is being able to summarize, draw inferences and recall facts accurately and in sequence. In an exercise with the audience, Rakoff read a story and asked the audience to take notes. He then had an audience member repeat the story. The WIN-R student who did so received congratulations from the other participants.

    Clues that instructors give, which show emphasis on what is being said, include changes in tone, gestures, repetition to reinforce an idea, reference to text and the notation of new words and ideas, which are usually then written on the board.

    When taking notes, Rakoff said students should write on one side of the paper and leave space between topics for additional information. They should use shorthand, symbols and abbreviations to write ideas without spelling them out completely. Students should keep notes in a three-ring binder for organization, and date each day’s notes.

    “Organization is key for good note taking and learning. Systems help us get organized,” he said.

    Among the note-taking systems discussed was the Cornell system. With this system, one uses the left two inches of paper, the recall column, for key words and ideas. The right side of the paper is for notes, and the bottom two inches of paper is for a summary of the page. When studying, students can cover the notes column and review what they know from the recall column, Rakoff said.

    Other systems include the outline, which is most commonly used, the paragraph system in which one listens and periodically writes down a summary of what has been said and the concept map or horizontal outline.

    When taking notes from text, one should read a paragraph before marking it, Rakoff said.

    “Textbooks are full of important points, supporting material and examples to make them interesting and meaningful,” he said.

    Some helpful tips of marking text include circling key words, underlining key thoughts and bracketing main ideas.

     After extracting key words and main ideas, it is important to summarize them in the margin, Rakoff said.