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How to Teach Students Accuracy & Speed in Note Taking

As a teacher, you have undoubtedly encountered instances in which students taking notes on a lesson you're teaching will interrupt to ask you to repeat what you are saying, one, two or even three times. This causes a drag on your lesson and doesn't allow for maximum learning to take place because students are so engrossed with taking notes that they are not understanding or learning the material. As a teacher, you may want to teach your students how to take notes more effectively and increase their speed in note taking. To do this, you need to cover some basic information with your students, such as the main idea, theme, important point and concepts.

Instructions

    • 1

      Instruct your students not to write word for word what you are saying or what you are displaying on the board. Instead, tell students to identify the main point of the sentence and rewrite it in their own words, avoiding complete sentences unless necessary. This is where students really struggle because they have the desire to write down every single word you say. Avoid this from happening by rewording your sentence one or two times when asked to repeat so that students get the idea of just writing down the need-to-know information.

    • 2

      Teach students about listing concepts with important information. For example, if the main idea is the Elizabethan Era, tell them to write the idea, underline it and then make a list underneath it with important information. If your student prefers, tell him that he can use bullets in place of a list.

    • 3

      Cover basic shorthand that students can employ when note taking. Explain to students that they need to be consistent when using shorthand and abbreviations so they don't get confused and are not able to understand their own writing. Cover words such as:

      b/w = between

      b/c = because

      IOW = in other words

      = equals/means

      & = and

      ex. = example

      w/ =with or which

      * = important

    • 4

      Practice consistency with your students. If the time is available, have a note-taking day when students can practice these skills. Make sure you tell the students that with practice and consistency, students will become more adept at taking notes and will improve their speed.

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