If you’re still struggling to find the best note taking approach, you might want to check out a phenomenal paper posted to the Harvard Initiative for Learning and Teaching called Notes on note-taking: Review of research and insights for students and instructors. As a preview, students should:
- Avoid transcribing notes (writing every word the instructor says) in favor of writing notes in your own words.
- Review your notes the same day you created them and then on a regular basis, rather than cramming review into one long study session immediately prior to an exam.
- Test yourself on the content of your notes either by using flashcards or using methodology from Cornell Notes. Testing yourself helps you identify what you do not yet know from your notes, and successful recall of tested information improves your ability to recall that information later (you will be less likely to forget it).
- Carefully consider whether to take notes on pen and paper (or iPad and pencil) or with a laptop. There are costs and benefits to either option.
- We are often misled to believe that we know lecture content better than we actually do, which can lead to poor study decisions. Avoid this misperception at all costs!