Penstripe Student Planner Catalogue 24-25 - Flipbook - Page 117
6
CHOOSE YOUR PENSTRIPE PAGES
STUDY SKILLS IN PRACTICE –
NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES
STUDY SKILLS IN PRACTICE –
NOTE-TAKING STRATEGIES
Study Skills - Note-taking Strategies
Study Skills - Note-taking Strategies
Strategy One: Flashcards
Strategy Two: Cornell Note-taking
Flashcards are an excellent tool for creating bitesize chunks of essential
information. Being A6 in size they force you to think through your note-taking
process, as it’s highly likely you will not have enough space to write out
sentences word for word. Flashcards are extremely portable and make notes
more digestible. Once you have created notes for a particular topic such as
the Geography and Music examples below, we recommend that you generate
questions about the content and write these out on the back of the cards for
later retrieval. The Leitner System is an excellent strategy to use for revising
flashcards (see Retrieval Strategies for a full explanation of this).
The Cornell system is one of a number of note-taking strategies that can be
used during class, when reviewing information after class and as a revision
aid. It is an internationally recognised note-taking system designed to help
you abbreviate and summarise notes in an active way: this means that you are
required to be mentally engaged in your learning. The process will force you
to focus and interact with the information at hand, as well as make decisions
about what is important and should be recorded for recall at a later date.
Here’s how it works
1
Gather together your first set of class notes or text from the relevant
textbook. Download a blank Cornell page from www.penstripe.co.uk/
studyskills and write in the subject name, topic and date.
2
Skim-read the original notes/text to get a feel for the content. Pay
particular attention to headings, sub-headings and graphics. This will
help your mind to focus on the important elements of the content.
3
Next, take the time to read through the source text in detail whilst
using your pen or a highlighter to underline and identify key points.
Remember, to be cautious when using highlighters - they are a great
tool to help you focus on a particular word or concept but you must
engage actively by writing out this key word/concept too and doing
something with it.
4
Begin to construct your abbreviated notes by bulleting, indenting
or numbering important ideas. Paraphrase (restate in your own
words) the facts and concepts presented. Use sketches and symbols
where possible, don’t just rely on text. Take advantage of dual coding
theory - the idea that by using images and words we are laying down
two memory pathways in the brain. When writing your abbreviated
notes, also indicate changes in the original content by leaving spaces.
Finally, make sure your writing/sketching is legible so that you can
understand it when you revisit it. You should aim to reduce the original
text to between 25-30 per cent of its original size.
5
Self-generate questions from your abbreviated text and write these in
the questions section of the Cornell page. Your questions should be
specific to the content. Aim for 8-10 questions in total. These questions
will be invaluable for retrieval practice at a later date.
6
Finally, your summary notes (included in the bottom section) should be
roughly 10 per cent of the original text.
FRONT
BACK
Copyright © 2021 Inspire Education
Flashcard Music Example
FRONT
Description
Study Skills in Practice –
Note-taking Strategies
BACK
Page Ref.
S-19
Description
Study Skills in Practice –
Note-taking Strategies
Copyright © 2021 Inspire Education
Flashcard Geography Example
Page Ref.
S-20
STUDY SKILLS GUIDE ONLY AVAILABLE AS A COMPLETE 32 PAGE SECTION
117
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