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Published: Nov. 3, 2006, 1:28 a.m.

b'\\nResearched and written by: Michael Qaissaunee
In Death by Powerpoint, we talked about becoming a better presenter, but we\\n(myself included) take for granted\\nthat the copious notes\\nstudents take in class capture the key aspects of our\\ngreat lectures, are well organized, and\\nwill provide what students need to retain for tests and for further\\ncourses.\\n Have you ever looked at your\\nstudents\' notes? As an\\nexercise, try collecting and reviewing notes from a cross-section of your\\nclasses. Most faculty won\'t be\\nsurprised to learn that good\\nnote-taking is a lost art. This got me to thinking ...\\nWhere do our students and our kids learn to take\\nnotes? What I\'ve concluded is that we don\'t, at any level, do any formal\\neducation on note-taking - it\'s all ad-hoc; most teachers are rightly focused on\\nthe content. But what\'s really troubling here, is that good note-taking is a\\ncritical part of learning and clearly we don\'t do enough to teach it and to\\nreinforce with students the importance of good note-taking.
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\\n What I\'d like to introduce to you today is the Cornell\\n Note-taking method. Developed by Cornell\'s Walter Pauk\\n \\n to help Cornell University students better organize their notes, this system\\n is just one of many different strategies designed to help students take more\\n effective notes. No one method is better than another, the goal is to find a\\n method that works for you. I encourage you to share this method with your\\n students and encourage them to give the method a chance. At the very least, it\\n will get them and you thinking about how they take notes. \\n

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\\n The Cornell Note-Taking System
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\\n To use this system, separate your page into 3 separate sections\\n (nice\\n illustration here), as follows:
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1. \\n The Notes\\n column\\n (6-6.5 inches\\n wide on\\n right) is the largest and primary\\n section. This is where the notes go,\\n whether they\'re lecture or textbook\\n notes.\\xa0 Stress\\n using bulleted lists for easy skimming,\\n as well as economy of language -\\n abbreviations (see resources\\n below), short sentences and\\n fragments and eliminating all unnecessary words.\\xa0
2. \\n The Cues\\n column\\n (2-2.5 inches wide on\\n left)\\n is used to highlight main ideas, clarify meanings, give examples,\\n draw diagrams, or link ideas and\\n examples. If done well, this area is where you do the\\n bulk of your studying from.
3. \\n The Summary\\n area\\n (1-2\\n inches high on\\n bottom)\\n is used to reinforce concepts and provide an\\n overview area where you write a sentence or two to\\n summarize the notes on the page. This section is great for skimming your\\n notes and locating information.\\xa0

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\\n Now for the\\n technology
\\n You didn\'t think I\'d do a blog without including some sort of technology did\\n you? I really don\'t have the time nor the inclination to sit with pencil,\\n paper and a ruler to layout the Cornell method. So instead, here are a couple\\n useful links:
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• \\n The\\n Cornell Method PDF Generator is a web-based form that creates printable\\n PDF\'s in the Cornell style with either unlined, ruled, or graphed notes\\n sections.
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• \\n Cornell\\n Word Templates provides instructions for creating your own Microsoft\\n Word Cornell template, as well as down-loadable template that can be\\n customized to suit your needs.
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\\nOther Resources
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\\n Note\\n Taking - Symbols and Abbreviations
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\\n This site provides a great list of common abbreviations that\\n can help students take down their lecture notes as quickly as possible.
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\\n Temple\\n University: The Cornell Note-Taking Method\\n

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\\n This link shows an example of a page of notes taken using the\\n Cornell method. Using this as a handout is a quick and easy way to illustrate\\n the method to students.
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\\n Temple\\n University: General Note-Taking Tips\\n

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\\n A site with more general tips and suggestions for better\\n note-taking. A great place to send students as they start to think about their\\n note-taking.\\n

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\\n BYU:\\n The Cornell Note-Taking System\\n

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\\n A nice overview of the Cornell system. Not the only place to\\n learn about the system, but a good starting point.\\n

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\\n Some additional PDF resources on the web can be found at\\n PDF Pad. PDF Pad allows\\n you to generate pdf version of a variety of useful documents, including
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• \\n Calendars
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• \\n Flags
• \\n Graph Paper
• \\n Smith Chart (for Electrical\\n Engineering)
  
• \\n Staff Paper (for musically\\n inclined)
• \\n Storyboards (for aspiring\\n directors and producers; and maybe control freaks)
  
• \\n Sudoku

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