Effective Note-Taking skills & Writing Centers:

Effective Note-taking skills play a vital role in a student’s academic life by keeping them on task during class. It also functions as a revision for future references. Often students face difficulties in how much information they have to record for future references. Some students like to note down everything because they don’t want to miss any information, while others don’t write anything because they don’t want any gaps in their understanding during the lecture. They want to pay full attention to their teachers. However both situations lead to problematic consequences. Understanding and recording a lecture are equally essential for future reference and preparation for the tests.

I had also faced troubles while taking notes; I used to write each and everything in my notebooks. Sometimes, unable to maintain the pace and speed of the lecture, I used to write so dirty that later, I cannot even read my own handwriting. Moreover, during tests, first I had to sort out the important and nonessential information; which used to be a hassle for me. Later I learned the skill of paperwork management.

I really like the concept how Benjamin provides the idea of organization with Big T. For young students, it would be easier to sort out the data, based on the given information which they can review later. Students can make bullet points to record information instead of writing the whole sentences.  

Polygon with three sides	Not a polygon with three sides
Triangles	Circle, Rectangle Square.

 

Polygon with four sides	Not a polygon with four sides
Rectangle Square Parallelogram	Circle Triangle Pentagon Hexagon

 I also liked the idea of taking marginal notes as Benjamin explains in ‘taking notes from reading section’ which is well demonstrated by Elisia during the strategy workshop. When I was observing the fifth graders in their social studies class, I saw some students were having hard time in answering the questions on ‘Westward Expansion’ topic due to the lengthy reading. I think this is a best strategy to take notes from reading. In future, I see myself implementing this strategy in my class. Using the index cards is also a great tool to take notes for research.

Writing centers also play key role in advancement of students’ writing skills. Paraprofessionals and assistant teachers for instance; ELL teachers perform an important function to improve students’ writing development.