Each student at the Norman Howard School has a different learning profile. For that reason, it is very important that each student is active and central in their own academic development. Note taking is a complex task which requires the simultaneous use of many different academic skills.
DON’T BE PASSIVE!
Note taking is a skill and tool providing a benefit for everyone who can successfully use it. You will be exposed to a variety of note taking techniques at this school. It is a smorgasbord from which you should choose the techniques, technologies, and methods that work best to meet your needs.
THIS MEANS LEARNING SOME STUFF THAT YOU MAY NOT END UP USING!
Here are some general tips in taking notes:
- Your notes must be usable. It does you no good if your notes are unreadable, or make no sense later on. Legibility and length are important.
- Writing down every single thing, whether from a lecture, or from a book defeats the point of notes. Learn to identify what is vital from what is unnecessary.
- Use technology. There is much technology at your fingertips. Take advantage. The Thinking Maps are a technology.
- Do the work. Note taking is harder at first and get easier later on. Effort is required. There is no short cut.
Here are some note-taking methods/tools that you might see over the course of your High School career at NHS:
- The Thinking Maps
- Lists
- Writing in margins
- Kurzweil
- Cornell Note taking
