After years of not being a student, I returned to graduate school. My first term I had a professor who was a recognized expert in his field who lectured for 90 minutes at an astounding rate without refering to notes. He referred to the textbook often, but also spent a great deal of time speaking freely about the topic. The amount of information in a single class was overwhelming and as I looked around at each student frantically (and miserably) taking 10 to 20 pages of notes I knew I couldnt keep up using this method of note taking. As you say, often my notes were scribbles that didnt even connect. Then I tried taping a lecture, but that meant listening to 90 minutes of material at least twice - too much time, not practical. I thought to myself "when I have an engaging conversation with someone at a party, and my wife later asks what we talked about, I can recall most of the conversation with no notes at all because I WAS ENGAGED AND ATTENTIVE. So I decided to prepare for the next lecture by doing the assigned reading with margin notes BUT sit in front and maintain eye contact and engage with the professor - ask and answer questions, but only write down a few key words. I ended up with a single page of notes but feeling really connected to the teacher. After a few lectures the professor asked me to remain after class. He noticed I wasnt taking notes but listening intently instead. He said "I look at you and you are looking at me. I feel listened to and appreciated. When I ask a question you are the first to raise your hand and if something is unclear you are the first to ask for clarification. Im curious to see how well you retain the information for the first test using your method." He smiled and nodded at me when he passed back our first essay test of the term and I had a A-, one of the highest grades. I had literally just eight pages of notes for eight lectures, but each word on those pages was a key word, an important idea, or something I didnt understand and spent additional time sorting out later.
Im not a student, just an old man who wants to retain more. This advice has been invaluable, reading has become my passion, im now defacing my books with notes and my own thoughts and its made reading a far more enriching experience. I wish i had this imformation when i was a young man.
Bonjour, Your TH-cam lecture series on 'How to do well in College' has been an invaluable resource for me. As I approach my 45th birthday, I'm preparing to dive into a unique educational journey in 2024 - an accelerated bachelor's degree program in France, tailored for individuals with significant professional work experience. This program condenses two years of college into just six months of intensive university classes. In my relentless pursuit of strategies to excel in this challenging endeavor, I stumbled upon your series. While this video was posted almost two years ago, and it is unlikely you will read this, I want to convey my deep gratitude for your commitment to educating people on TH-cam. Bravo for sharing your expertise! Your advice, particularly on effective note-taking, has left a lasting impact on me. I'm committed to adding 'flesh' to my handwritten notes. Thank you once again!
I took notes for this video: 1. Process and HANDWRITE in your own words what your professor says/writes. 2. Fill in the details from memory within 24 hours preferably that night. 3. If you must use an electronic device to take notes, sit in the front to minimize distractions.
Not only is his advice golden for someone is learning how to study, but the comment section is a box of jewels as well. Thank you all for sharing your experiences
4:35 Think through the meaning 6:28 7:48 add flesh within 24 hours 9:57 write your notes by hand with a 🖊️🖋️ 13:50 Divided attention reduces long term retention and summarize 9:00
Thank you! This video is 85% wind and 15% content. I’d hate to sit a class with this guy. Save 20 minutes of life: When taking notes, listen to what’s said, take bullet point notes on your understanding of it along the way, read those bullets after class and add any other thoughts you had. That’s it. There’s little reason to write by hand, except according to this guy that you’re distracted by the internet (yup, I get that-there’s airplane mode, and apps to correct it for those of us who are there to learn and have no impulse control). The idea that writing longhand improves comprehension is dubious (see for example this article which states [because this dude loves his quotations] “‘We found only small, statistically nonsignificant differences in quiz performance as a function of note-taking medium,’ whether students used a laptop or pen, wrote APS Fellow Heather L. Urry (Tufts University) and colleagues in Psychological Science. ‘Students and professors who are concerned about detrimental effects of computer note taking on encoding information to be learned in lectures may not need to ditch the laptop just yet.’” www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/writing-notes). Sure, there’s studies saying it is, but others like this saying it’s not. Like it or not, humans are moving toward a digital reality more and more and longhand is becoming a thing of the past, so how about we find a better way to do that, rather than remaining in a clearly dying paradigm? Honestly who DOESN’T bring a laptop to class anymore? It’s the way it’s done.
Recently typed my notes before attending class. I was astonished to find when I attended that class ot was like I had not taken notes at all. I recalled NOTHING. Hand writing for me from now on. Thank you Jeffrey 🎉
Hello professor Jeffrey I am a philosophy student that done quite terrible in my first year. However this year all results will be counting towards my degree. I’ve written notes from 3 of your other videos and intend to implement your methods and advice this year. Will let you know what results I cultivate following your guide. Thank you for these videos!
Greetings Stacy, how was it. We've been waiting for your feedback that you promised long time ago. This is a wake up call stacy. Unless you want us to hack and check ourselves. We are anonymous, we do not forgive,we do not forget.
This is why the best teachers are 1) engaging in their delivery and 2) either provide notes or provide supplement reading material that support the lecture well, so you don't feel you need to capture every word because there is no way to get the info otherwise. But these are great ideas for taking notes. It's basically how I've approached it throughout my school and professional career. It works well.
Wish I could give this a two thumbs up! Great advice. I am going back to university after being out of college for 23 years. Thanks so much for your gold mine of tips. Now that my prefrontal cortex is more developed, I feel much more confident I can implement your recommendations.
Your channel is a gold mine! Thank you for creating it and thanks to the TH-cam algorithm gods for bringing it to my attention! I wished I learned all the study techniques you teach here early on in my life. I think that would've made a big difference in my life. I skimmed to your videos and it's all the subjects I've always wanted to learn. I'll keep coming back to watch your videos and use the techniques you taught on how to retain information. Thanks Prof! 👍👍
I've found your lectures on philosophy both instructive and entertaining. There is another benefit to taking notes in longhand that is very useful. The act of writing in longhand embeds the information faster and more durably than using a keyboard. I learned this long ago when I was performing as an actor in stage plays. After a hint from another cast member I started writing out my entire part in longhand (usually including cues) and found that it took considerably less time to memorize my lines. There is something about the hand-eye coordination, the deliberation, perhaps even some kind of muscle-memory that locks the material into one's mind. Thanks so much for your delightful presentations.
I can't binge watch TV shows without multitasking. I look up actors, see where else I know them from.... A couple tangents, and I've missed a half hour of the show. The good news, I can watch a series again, a few months later, and it's new to me.
I would read text, out line chapter on word, save on word, take outline to class, different color ink pen for note, cross out what teacher did not go over, after class do back and delete what not covered in class. Also record the lecture.
I’ve learned as a manager when scheduling a meeting to schedule follow up time immediately after. A 1 hour meeting is scheduled as 1.5 hours. I take hand written notes and I take notes on my tablet. During follow up time i transfer handwritten to my tablet. All notes are filled in notes on with more information so it makes sense later. And so I can easily find them using search. I check off each note I followed up on. I only take notes i need.
This methodology works for SO many situations, not just classroom lectures. The set of all situations that require active listening and understanding. Cultivation of good habits is terrifically important. They will serve you throughout your career. If you use this method, you will develop a habit of active listening that is triggered by the physical act of picking up your pencil and putting a header onto a notebook page. You'll be tuning in when other people are fighting the urge to tune out.
Classroom lectures are also meant to help you with real life, the greeks used the word "nous", to describe situational intelligence, lectures are a situation, understanding the content is intelligence, applying such a method will acquire situational intelligence, nous, in regards to acquiring, and understanding, information on the spot, or, in a situation where there is information to acquire, which is all situations
I won't lie, this reminds me of the video you did about studying, very similar in technique. I almost want to take notes on your video taking notes, almost. Thanks for the video!!
Thanks for the invaluable lesson on effective note taking at this crucial time for me for I am returning to study law after 10 years and at the age of 38 years old. I have subscribed to your channel and liked the video at least to return an iota of the help you offered. This is the second time finished watching this video from start to finish. Thank you.
I was the one writing down everything, because there wasn’t any let up from the professor during lecture, and felt if I just sat and listened I wouldn’t remember anything. I also remember being sitting in the first row during lecture because the few times I sat in the back people were on their laptops or phones checking social media. Only been distracted in the first row when there was a student that would just bring his phone to class and wait to find something wrong during the professor’s lecture (happened a lot). That same student was getting A’s in the class.
Thank you, Professor Kaplan, for teaching us how to achieve at the University or college. I believe that taking notes is crucial to be a successful student.
I think teachers around the glob should start teaching in a way that their students can take notes when necessary. They should introduce a gap/silent between their lecture’s sections to allow enough time to take note. This way they don’t miss parts of lectures because they were taking down notes. I always had this issue as I wanted to take notes but they were teaching so fast that I had no choice but to miss a bit of the lecture as result of taking notes.
My university was all about challenging you. They wanted to appeal to the best and the brightest, to have a reputation for being relentless. They wanted students to push their limits, learn beyond the classroom, challenge the instructors, and discover new and better approaches! ...I say that to say, .not everyone cares if you can take good notes😔
I really enjoy your videoá mr. Kaplan. In my experience as an evening-student (in daytime I worked) at Leiden University, it took mostly about an hour to two hours to work out my notes (rule # 3). It depended on how much I had learned and how much I agreed with the professor - because I always had my own thoughts about the topics (mostly pedagogy, management and learning theories). If I had my own thoughts and ideas about the theory presented (which happened often), I also wrote them down - of course as a side-note. I have experienced that the more 'flesh' you put into the notes, the more fun it is.
I took notes while watching your video on taking notes. It would be interesting to see a video of you taking notes while watching your own video and what notes you would take in addition to the notes you wrote on the glass.
100% - EXACTLY what I thought!!! If the lecturer speaks for 1 - 2 mins and you're just following along comprehending what's being said, what note do you actually take? To see Jeff do this over a longer video and/ or go into more depth about WHAT notes to take would be immensely helpful...
Hi Jeffrey! Fellow Bergen County resident here! Happened upon this video. First saw you on a documentary... Subscribing to your channel now. I'm a seasoned professional, but your content is great for me too.
18% of a standard deviation is not actually that much. Assuming a bell curve grading distribution, a 75% would be average with a standard deviation of just 5%, which makes 18% of one standard deviation be 18% of 5% or a 0.9% decrease. And much if not most of that drop would come from the distraction of surfing the internet, texting and emailing friends, working on homework. Multi-tasking. At the same time, I can see value in writing and especially drawing out essential concepts by hand.
This lecture is great! The one thing that would really help to cement the lecture is to show a real life example of how he would do this. Maybe do a 3-minute lecture on a topic then go back and show what he took from it and what he wrote down. Literally show us how to take notes so we are not writing too much or too little. I think it would help so we can see his process of thinking to get the most information from the content.
I wish I had known this when I first enrolled in college. I'm a literature major. I have the habit of reading textbooks like I'm reading a novel or poetry. Breaking a piece of literature down into narrator, plots, sub plots, antagonist and protagonist... is different than absorbing the content of a textbook in remembering formulas and definitions. Yes, I memorized definitions in grammar, linguistics, and rhetoric, but these elements I memorized are used on a daily basis that I regurgitate the rules over and over again. Science... I don't know how to memorize it.
I think the biggest issue I have is not knowing whether to summarize what was said or not( is this information worth summarizing?) . Or how to efficiently summarize in minutes time, so you can quickly jump back into the lecture. Or even with adding the flesh, I’d hope that I accurately remembered the important parts of the lecture that I didn’t write down.
I wonder if it would be beneficial to record the lecture passively while taking notes actively? You can fall back on the tape recorder, I'm old, to flush out any details that might have been missed.
Depending on the course, I take notes on paper, in Goodnotes or I scribble them directly on the PowerPoint or PDF. But I always go over them again afterwards and write them down on paper. If the prof is too fast for me to write on paper, I take digital notes, and if they're even faster, I scribble short notes and remarks directly onto the lecture slides. Though I always revise them within 24h and do a summary on paper
Things to do before taking class - 1. Read the topics before hand(casual reading) and ask yourself practical questions related to the topics. 2. Questions should stick in your mind 24×7 so avoid distractions like social media as much as you can. During class 1. Just listen and understand and note down key points. 2. Discuss with teacher and try to solve your practical questions in the class itself (on your own at first). After class - 1. Try to connect the key points with each other in mind map. check their relationship with each other. 2. Summarise the lecture in your mind and see if you properly understood. During Study Hour - add flesh to the topic 1. Add flesh should be dynamic try to relate with present time. 2. Try to form new ideas and possibilities from the topic that you studied. 3. Note it down and discuss eith your peers and teachers. Note: I'm confident if you do this, your professor will be impressed. They might borrow your notes and ask you to teach other classes aswell. Note making should be dynamic and not linear.
1. dont write every word instead think through that meaning and summarize what it is there in your own words while trying to not grab exact phrases 2. take those notes within 24 hours and use 10-15 minutes and write your own stuff within them. 3. write instead of typing ( on laptops in class ) { ironical here though } as you can be distracted by the SM / Internet etc.
I know you're right, but I am that guy that does better taking notes when typing than by writing by hand. I guess I'm neurodiverse. I find it much more difficult to focus on the lecturer when I pause to write out notes by hand. I type around 115wpm; I can snap out a summary of the kind you suggest in a couple seconds. That said, I almost never take notes because I'm much better able to remember things by just giving it my undivided attention and critically thinking about everything that's being said. The best thing that ever worked for me was using Microsoft OneNote, because I could have it start an audio recording, and it would sync what I typed with the audio recording, so when I went back to my notes, if there was something I'd written that I wasn't clear about, I could click the play button right next to that line of text, and it would play what I was hearing as I typed that note. It was perfect for me, and really helped me through one of my most difficult classes. And now I have a teacher who doesn't allow any devices at all, which would mean I'm more likely to just not take notes at all so I can completely focus on what he's saying and demonstrating. But I've had him as a teacher for a few years now, and he knows I'm a capable learner, so when I went to him and explained what I just explained here, he agreed to allow me to use my laptop to take notes. I have the second highest grade in the class. I don't think it's weird to find it difficult to write notes out by hand, and I don't think it's impossible to stay focused while taking notes on a computer if you're genuinely interested in learning. So I do think your video gives great advice, but maybe go a little easy on people who are "neurodiverse" and just want to do what's most efficient for their learning style.
I totally get what you’re saying. I take better notes by hand but my son has Autism and does better when typing. What he said was that the stress of making the letters correctly, leaving enough space and keeping the information in one line takes away from processing the information.
Distractions to internet aside, handwriting notes has been shown in studies to be more difficult, hence better retained than typing which is easily forgotten.
Given all the studies on the detrimental effects of computers in classrooms, why does it seem that we persist in introducing more and more technology into all levels of education? I'm not in school right now but my kids are and I work in schools occasionally and technology seems to be one of the highest priorities for educational institutions. The last study about student preference is the key. Because students prefer it, the business of education requires it. Pedagogy, learning and formation isn't the priority, student "satisfaction" is!
I have ADHD which is a neurodivergent disorder, however taking notes by pen and paper is still more effective than taking notes by computer for me. even with some neurodivergent disorders taking notes on paper is much better.
I have a few questions after viewing this video: - Does 'taking notes by hand' include taking notes on things like an iPad or reMarkable? no internet, just that, and notes are written with an actual pencil/pen, just on a digital screen (Of course, the 'adding on flesh' part is easier when writing on digital format) - How exactly does this apply to more 'exact' studies, like statistics, or law, or maths? What if you need to know the exact definitions?
Take notes on a tablet with a stylus: you get the benefit of digital texts, the memory effects of writing, and having searchable notes. Or at least I didn’t notice any difference in retention when I switched from paper to tablet.
how about taking notes on a tablet that is only for notes? This would allow for an easier way to organize notes and not use up paper, ink, and/or lead.
Say copium, but on a laptop, you could use a wpm counter and make it so you can't go over it. Also, not looking at the laptop while typing is helpful. You can take proper self-thought notes on a laptop but it's very hard to learn to only type when you understand something. I'm also biased cause I probably fall in both of the categories you mentioned having wrist pain and being generally a different type of thinker. If I had to write on paper I would just not end up taking notes.
Thanks Professor, would like to try these techniques in my upcoming graduate program. Would love to share my feedback in the next two years. Like to remind me, folks.
I was going to buy an iPad, but after this video, I'm going to save the money for pens and papers. :)) Jeffery, you're an outstanding professor and I will learn lots from you.
Interesting .. I used these techniques.. well at 66 I HAD to use #4 :) but I think the relationship of the brain to hand writing adds value to retention.. I was a software cowboy in the wild west days of computers.. so I have always been tech savvy... but typing itself I found adds a level of complexity to the process.. too much overhead.. leaving things to be 'lost in translation' which is why some of the best coding in those years began life on the back of napkin with a pen/pencil.. :) .. In my retirement career as a small biz gardener.. / designer I found the same thing ... We had our kids a bit late in life at a time when hand writing was no longer being taught.. but we had our kids develop those very skills :) .. I am quite enjoying your lectures :)
There are two typographical errors in the description of this video. How did I notice them? By taking notes! Taking notes has improved my understanding by making me more observant. Sometimes I understand better after taking notes because during that process, I become more aware of details that I missed during the reading/learning process. I always observe errors in texts because I take notes.
What are your thoughts about taking notes with an iPad and Apple Pencil? I ask because I recently transferred from a two year community college to a four year university, and the university gave us an iPad and Apple pencil for school use, and it was demonstrated how a person can handwrite notes which transcribe into typed.
What an amzing video! I've enjoyed this series even though I've long since graduated formal education (now it's CEU's and online courses for fun). How would you suggest taking notes for video courses where there is no textbook, just video lectures? My thoughts are to pause the video at it's natural transistions between sections/topics and summarize at that point treating the sections and subsections like parargaphs. Thoughts?
Omg, you suggested to wright with a pencil on paper😳🤔? I have been retired for a year now as a Professor. When I asked my students to do what you said, it was like……. So, I was getting not so good student evaluations the last few years of my tenure. I retired much too early as I felt I was not really teaching but it was glorified babysitting with popularity contest. And ya, I was teaching Statistics 😮
I enjoy watching your videos. Very insightful I must say! After watching one of your videos and afterwards I taught my students that speed reading is not the holy grail of studying as perceived by most. I was almost lynched. After some simplified explanation just like in one of your videos I was applauded. But I am still skeptical, is it as detrimental as you claimed?
Thank you so much. I have been saying this exactly, but without all the humour, to my students for years. And thanks for the citations too support it. I do have a question though: In your suggested "bones" and "flesh" note taking approach, how do you actually structure the note page? Do you use something like a Cornell note and maybe put the bones in the narrow margin and later fill in? Any particular page size or layout you found particularly effective? Thank you in advance.
What kids struggle with is all content are not the same. What is the summary of a mathematical derivation? Or a econometric dynamic equilibrium process..also they are not taking one class ..they take 7 classes a day..they have projects, some times exams and study go in parallel. I am not sure this simplicity works for every one.
Thanks Jeffrey, great lecture! What do you think about point 3 being made digitally? Is it efficient if I transfer and complement the notes taken by hand to the computer?
I can’t write my notes bc if I do I focus on how I write and not what I write. For example, the way I wrote “apple”is “ugly” let me erase it and do it again and it just takes long.
For me, as an extremely slow typer, I dread using laptops for note taking, it's just doesn't help at all, so the last point, doesn't need convincing at all lmao
How do you resolve the problem of ‘missing bits of the lecture’ because you’re writing notes on the bit that you’ve just heard and so are not paying attention to the next bit that’s being said-(because you’re writing)?
After years of not being a student, I returned to graduate school. My first term I had a professor who was a recognized expert in his field who lectured for 90 minutes at an astounding rate without refering to notes. He referred to the textbook often, but also spent a great deal of time speaking freely about the topic.
The amount of information in a single class was overwhelming and as I looked around at each student frantically (and miserably) taking 10 to 20 pages of notes I knew I couldnt keep up using this method of note taking. As you say, often my notes were scribbles that didnt even connect.
Then I tried taping a lecture, but that meant listening to 90 minutes of material at least twice - too much time, not practical.
I thought to myself "when I have an engaging conversation with someone at a party, and my wife later asks what we talked about, I can recall most of the conversation with no notes at all because I WAS ENGAGED AND ATTENTIVE. So I decided to prepare for the next lecture by doing the assigned reading with margin notes BUT sit in front and maintain eye contact and engage with the professor - ask and answer questions, but only write down a few key words. I ended up with a single page of notes but feeling really connected to the teacher.
After a few lectures the professor asked me to remain after class. He noticed I wasnt taking notes but listening intently instead. He said "I look at you and you are looking at me. I feel listened to and appreciated. When I ask a question you are the first to raise your hand and if something is unclear you are the first to ask for clarification. Im curious to see how well you retain the information for the first test using your method." He smiled and nodded at me when he passed back our first essay test of the term and I had a A-, one of the highest grades. I had literally just eight pages of notes for eight lectures, but each word on those pages was a key word, an important idea, or something I didnt understand and spent additional time sorting out later.
inspiring
Your story summarised the entire video. Shows the video is 100% accurate.😊
A good professor doesn't equal a good teacher.
I will respond in exactly a year's time.
@@samuelenoh-tanya2820 Did you put it on your calendar? :)
I am 51 years old, living in Jamaica and I'm going back to school. This will help me. God bless.
Im not a student, just an old man who wants to retain more. This advice has been invaluable, reading has become my passion, im now defacing my books with notes and my own thoughts and its made reading a far more enriching experience. I wish i had this imformation when i was a young man.
Bonjour,
Your TH-cam lecture series on 'How to do well in College' has been an invaluable resource for me. As I approach my 45th birthday, I'm preparing to dive into a unique educational journey in 2024 - an accelerated bachelor's degree program in France, tailored for individuals with significant professional work experience. This program condenses two years of college into just six months of intensive university classes.
In my relentless pursuit of strategies to excel in this challenging endeavor, I stumbled upon your series. While this video was posted almost two years ago, and it is unlikely you will read this, I want to convey my deep gratitude for your commitment to educating people on TH-cam. Bravo for sharing your expertise!
Your advice, particularly on effective note-taking, has left a lasting impact on me. I'm committed to adding 'flesh' to my handwritten notes. Thank you once again!
I took notes for this video:
1. Process and HANDWRITE in your own words what your professor says/writes.
2. Fill in the details from memory within 24 hours preferably that night.
3. If you must use an electronic device to take notes, sit in the front to minimize distractions.
Thank you,I get it
yea
Without out a doubt in my mind, you are the most influential teacher I've ever had...Thank you
Not only is his advice golden for someone is learning how to study, but the comment section is a box of jewels as well. Thank you all for sharing your experiences
Amen
Totally agree!!!
Fr
4:35 Think through the meaning
6:28
7:48 add flesh within 24 hours
9:57 write your notes by hand with a 🖊️🖋️
13:50 Divided attention reduces long term retention and summarize
9:00
6:28 and 9:00 - You crack me up! I see what you did there 😂😂😂😂😂
Thank you! This video is 85% wind and 15% content. I’d hate to sit a class with this guy. Save 20 minutes of life: When taking notes, listen to what’s said, take bullet point notes on your understanding of it along the way, read those bullets after class and add any other thoughts you had. That’s it. There’s little reason to write by hand, except according to this guy that you’re distracted by the internet (yup, I get that-there’s airplane mode, and apps to correct it for those of us who are there to learn and have no impulse control). The idea that writing longhand improves comprehension is dubious (see for example this article which states [because this dude loves his quotations] “‘We found only small, statistically nonsignificant differences in quiz performance as a function of note-taking medium,’ whether students used a laptop or pen, wrote APS Fellow Heather L. Urry (Tufts University) and colleagues in Psychological Science. ‘Students and professors who are concerned about detrimental effects of computer note taking on encoding information to be learned in lectures may not need to ditch the laptop just yet.’” www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/writing-notes). Sure, there’s studies saying it is, but others like this saying it’s not. Like it or not, humans are moving toward a digital reality more and more and longhand is becoming a thing of the past, so how about we find a better way to do that, rather than remaining in a clearly dying paradigm? Honestly who DOESN’T bring a laptop to class anymore? It’s the way it’s done.
@@Martin-qv6hg most of my students don't bring their laptops--and I teach software engineering classes. Many who do bring them, don't open them.
Thanks
@@zimmejochaving done it both ways, I strongly agree with the take of writing over typing.
Recently typed my notes before attending class. I was astonished to find when I attended that class ot was like I had not taken notes at all. I recalled NOTHING. Hand writing for me from now on. Thank you Jeffrey 🎉
I wish somebody had explained this stuff to me 40 years ago. However, never too late to learn. Thankyou
Hello professor Jeffrey I am a philosophy student that done quite terrible in my first year. However this year all results will be counting towards my degree. I’ve written notes from 3 of your other videos and intend to implement your methods and advice this year. Will let you know what results I cultivate following your guide. Thank you for these videos!
liking it to remind you of writting the results
Yes, any results yet??🙂
Broken promises are the norm... 🙄
As a philosophy student could you make an argument that suggests “ all people who use computers in class surf the web” I found holes in that logic.
Greetings Stacy, how was it. We've been waiting for your feedback that you promised long time ago. This is a wake up call stacy. Unless you want us to hack and check ourselves. We are anonymous, we do not forgive,we do not forget.
This is why the best teachers are 1) engaging in their delivery and 2) either provide notes or provide supplement reading material that support the lecture well, so you don't feel you need to capture every word because there is no way to get the info otherwise. But these are great ideas for taking notes. It's basically how I've approached it throughout my school and professional career. It works well.
Wish I could give this a two thumbs up! Great advice. I am going back to university after being out of college for 23 years. Thanks so much for your gold mine of tips. Now that my prefrontal cortex is more developed, I feel much more confident I can implement your recommendations.
Your channel is a gold mine! Thank you for creating it and thanks to the TH-cam algorithm gods for bringing it to my attention! I wished I learned all the study techniques you teach here early on in my life. I think that would've made a big difference in my life. I skimmed to your videos and it's all the subjects I've always wanted to learn. I'll keep coming back to watch your videos and use the techniques you taught on how to retain information. Thanks Prof! 👍👍
I've found your lectures on philosophy both instructive and entertaining. There is another benefit to taking notes in longhand that is very useful. The act of writing in longhand embeds the information faster and more durably than using a keyboard. I learned this long ago when I was performing as an actor in stage plays. After a hint from another cast member I started writing out my entire part in longhand (usually including cues) and found that it took considerably less time to memorize my lines. There is something about the hand-eye coordination, the deliberation, perhaps even some kind of muscle-memory that locks the material into one's mind. Thanks so much for your delightful presentations.
I can't binge watch TV shows without multitasking. I look up actors, see where else I know them from.... A couple tangents, and I've missed a half hour of the show. The good news, I can watch a series again, a few months later, and it's new to me.
I would read text, out line chapter on word, save on word, take outline to class, different color ink pen for note, cross out what teacher did not go over, after class do back and delete what not covered in class. Also record the lecture.
What a wonderful teacher you are….I’m studying to become a non-attorney representative and feel lucky to have found you
I’ve learned as a manager when scheduling a meeting to schedule follow up time immediately after. A 1 hour meeting is scheduled as 1.5 hours.
I take hand written notes and I take notes on my tablet. During follow up time i transfer handwritten to my tablet. All notes are filled in notes on with more information so it makes sense later. And so I can easily find them using search. I check off each note I followed up on.
I only take notes i need.
This methodology works for SO many situations, not just classroom lectures. The set of all situations that require active listening and understanding.
Cultivation of good habits is terrifically important. They will serve you throughout your career.
If you use this method, you will develop a habit of active listening that is triggered by the physical act of picking up your pencil and putting a header onto a notebook page. You'll be tuning in when other people are fighting the urge to tune out.
Classroom lectures are also meant to help you with real life, the greeks used the word "nous", to describe situational intelligence, lectures are a situation, understanding the content is intelligence, applying such a method will acquire situational intelligence, nous, in regards to acquiring, and understanding, information on the spot, or, in a situation where there is information to acquire, which is all situations
I won't lie, this reminds me of the video you did about studying, very similar in technique. I almost want to take notes on your video taking notes, almost. Thanks for the video!!
Thanks for the invaluable lesson on effective note taking at this crucial time for me for I am returning to study law after 10 years and at the age of 38 years old. I have subscribed to your channel and liked the video at least to return an iota of the help you offered. This is the second time finished watching this video from start to finish. Thank you.
I was the one writing down everything, because there wasn’t any let up from the professor during lecture, and felt if I just sat and listened I wouldn’t remember anything. I also remember being sitting in the first row during lecture because the few times I sat in the back people were on their laptops or phones checking social media. Only been distracted in the first row when there was a student that would just bring his phone to class and wait to find something wrong during the professor’s lecture (happened a lot). That same student was getting A’s in the class.
Thank you, Professor Kaplan, for teaching us how to achieve at the University or college. I believe that taking notes is crucial to be a successful student.
I think teachers around the glob should start teaching in a way that their students can take notes when necessary. They should introduce a gap/silent between their lecture’s sections to allow enough time to take note. This way they don’t miss parts of lectures because they were taking down notes.
I always had this issue as I wanted to take notes but they were teaching so fast that I had no choice but to miss a bit of the lecture as result of taking notes.
My university was all about challenging you. They wanted to appeal to the best and the brightest, to have a reputation for being relentless. They wanted students to push their limits, learn beyond the classroom, challenge the instructors, and discover new and better approaches! ...I say that to say, .not everyone cares if you can take good notes😔
I really enjoy your videoá mr. Kaplan. In my experience as an evening-student (in daytime I worked) at Leiden University, it took mostly about an hour to two hours to work out my notes (rule # 3). It depended on how much I had learned and how much I agreed with the professor - because I always had my own thoughts about the topics (mostly pedagogy, management and learning theories). If I had my own thoughts and ideas about the theory presented (which happened often), I also wrote them down - of course as a side-note. I have experienced that the more 'flesh' you put into the notes, the more fun it is.
Thank You, university just started, was really struggling with note-taking.
I took notes while watching your video on taking notes. It would be interesting to see a video of you taking notes while watching your own video and what notes you would take in addition to the notes you wrote on the glass.
100% - EXACTLY what I thought!!! If the lecturer speaks for 1 - 2 mins and you're just following along comprehending what's being said, what note do you actually take? To see Jeff do this over a longer video and/ or go into more depth about WHAT notes to take would be immensely helpful...
Hi Jeffrey! Fellow Bergen County resident here! Happened upon this video. First saw you on a documentary... Subscribing to your channel now. I'm a seasoned professional, but your content is great for me too.
Step one: take notes.
Step two: sell notes to classmates.
Step three: ???
Step four: profit.
18% of a standard deviation is not actually that much. Assuming a bell curve grading distribution, a 75% would be average with a standard deviation of just 5%, which makes 18% of one standard deviation be 18% of 5% or a 0.9% decrease. And much if not most of that drop would come from the distraction of surfing the internet, texting and emailing friends, working on homework. Multi-tasking.
At the same time, I can see value in writing and especially drawing out essential concepts by hand.
Oh man - just started a playlist of what my kids have to review each school year. Thanks!
This is great information. I usually type notes - every word - and could tell it was a lot of work with very little payoff.
My notes are rubbish, looking forward to putting this into practice, thank you
This guy deserves 10000 times more subscribers, and 3500000 people are missing out...
Great video! I saw the title and decided to take notes on everything you said, verbatim ;) .
Can we just appreciate he writes notes backwards for this cool overlay effect
This lecture is great! The one thing that would really help to cement the lecture is to show a real life example of how he would do this. Maybe do a 3-minute lecture on a topic then go back and show what he took from it and what he wrote down. Literally show us how to take notes so we are not writing too much or too little. I think it would help so we can see his process of thinking to get the most information from the content.
I wish I had known this when I first enrolled in college. I'm a literature major. I have the habit of reading textbooks like I'm reading a novel or poetry. Breaking a piece of literature down into narrator, plots, sub plots, antagonist and protagonist... is different than absorbing the content of a textbook in remembering formulas and definitions. Yes, I memorized definitions in grammar, linguistics, and rhetoric, but these elements I memorized are used on a daily basis that I regurgitate the rules over and over again. Science... I don't know how to memorize it.
I think the biggest issue I have is not knowing whether to summarize what was said or not( is this information worth summarizing?) . Or how to efficiently summarize in minutes time, so you can quickly jump back into the lecture. Or even with adding the flesh, I’d hope that I accurately remembered the important parts of the lecture that I didn’t write down.
I wonder if it would be beneficial to record the lecture passively while taking notes actively? You can fall back on the tape recorder, I'm old, to flush out any details that might have been missed.
Depending on the course, I take notes on paper, in Goodnotes or I scribble them directly on the PowerPoint or PDF. But I always go over them again afterwards and write them down on paper. If the prof is too fast for me to write on paper, I take digital notes, and if they're even faster, I scribble short notes and remarks directly onto the lecture slides.
Though I always revise them within 24h and do a summary on paper
Things to do before taking class -
1. Read the topics before hand(casual reading) and ask yourself practical questions related to the topics.
2. Questions should stick in your mind 24×7 so avoid distractions like social media as much as you can.
During class
1. Just listen and understand and note down key points.
2. Discuss with teacher and try to solve your practical questions in the class itself (on your own at first).
After class -
1. Try to connect the key points with each other in mind map. check their relationship with each other.
2. Summarise the lecture in your mind and see if you properly understood.
During Study Hour - add flesh to the topic
1. Add flesh should be dynamic try to relate with present time.
2. Try to form new ideas and possibilities from the topic that you studied.
3. Note it down and discuss eith your peers and teachers.
Note: I'm confident if you do this, your professor will be impressed. They might borrow your notes and ask you to teach other classes aswell. Note making should be dynamic and not linear.
1. dont write every word instead think through that meaning and summarize what it is there in your own words while trying to not grab exact phrases
2. take those notes within 24 hours and use 10-15 minutes and write your own stuff within them.
3. write instead of typing ( on laptops in class ) { ironical here though } as you can be distracted by the SM / Internet etc.
I know you're right, but I am that guy that does better taking notes when typing than by writing by hand. I guess I'm neurodiverse. I find it much more difficult to focus on the lecturer when I pause to write out notes by hand. I type around 115wpm; I can snap out a summary of the kind you suggest in a couple seconds.
That said, I almost never take notes because I'm much better able to remember things by just giving it my undivided attention and critically thinking about everything that's being said.
The best thing that ever worked for me was using Microsoft OneNote, because I could have it start an audio recording, and it would sync what I typed with the audio recording, so when I went back to my notes, if there was something I'd written that I wasn't clear about, I could click the play button right next to that line of text, and it would play what I was hearing as I typed that note. It was perfect for me, and really helped me through one of my most difficult classes.
And now I have a teacher who doesn't allow any devices at all, which would mean I'm more likely to just not take notes at all so I can completely focus on what he's saying and demonstrating. But I've had him as a teacher for a few years now, and he knows I'm a capable learner, so when I went to him and explained what I just explained here, he agreed to allow me to use my laptop to take notes. I have the second highest grade in the class.
I don't think it's weird to find it difficult to write notes out by hand, and I don't think it's impossible to stay focused while taking notes on a computer if you're genuinely interested in learning.
So I do think your video gives great advice, but maybe go a little easy on people who are "neurodiverse" and just want to do what's most efficient for their learning style.
I totally get what you’re saying. I take better notes by hand but my son has Autism and does better when typing. What he said was that the stress of making the letters correctly, leaving enough space and keeping the information in one line takes away from processing the information.
Distractions to internet aside, handwriting notes has been shown in studies to be more difficult, hence better retained than typing which is easily forgotten.
This is useful for taking Minutes too. Very useful and it’s the method I use at work.
Given all the studies on the detrimental effects of computers in classrooms, why does it seem that we persist in introducing more and more technology into all levels of education? I'm not in school right now but my kids are and I work in schools occasionally and technology seems to be one of the highest priorities for educational institutions. The last study about student preference is the key. Because students prefer it, the business of education requires it. Pedagogy, learning and formation isn't the priority, student "satisfaction" is!
The method that always worked for me was 1. paying full attention to the class and 2. befriending the one person that took notes.
Absolutely love your videos!!! Starting my 1st Semester majoring in Philosophy in 10 days!!! I’ll be using your advice! Thanks!
Will need to forward this to my superiors.
I have ADHD which is a neurodivergent disorder, however taking notes by pen and paper is still more effective than taking notes by computer for me.
even with some neurodivergent disorders taking notes on paper is much better.
I have a few questions after viewing this video:
- Does 'taking notes by hand' include taking notes on things like an iPad or reMarkable? no internet, just that, and notes are written with an actual pencil/pen, just on a digital screen
(Of course, the 'adding on flesh' part is easier when writing on digital format)
- How exactly does this apply to more 'exact' studies, like statistics, or law, or maths? What if you need to know the exact definitions?
Take notes on a tablet with a stylus: you get the benefit of digital texts, the memory effects of writing, and having searchable notes. Or at least I didn’t notice any difference in retention when I switched from paper to tablet.
Thnx Sir for this awesome series....
You are truly a great teacher....
Can we have a series on Human Psychology and Behaviour.....?
how about taking notes on a tablet that is only for notes? This would allow for an easier way to organize notes and not use up paper, ink, and/or lead.
Say copium, but on a laptop, you could use a wpm counter and make it so you can't go over it. Also, not looking at the laptop while typing is helpful. You can take proper self-thought notes on a laptop but it's very hard to learn to only type when you understand something. I'm also biased cause I probably fall in both of the categories you mentioned having wrist pain and being generally a different type of thinker. If I had to write on paper I would just not end up taking notes.
Thanks Professor, would like to try these techniques in my upcoming graduate program. Would love to share my feedback in the next two years. Like to remind me, folks.
Yes, but can you explain 5. How to master writing in reverse on the glass for your TH-cam videos?
I was going to buy an iPad, but after this video, I'm going to save the money for pens and papers. :))
Jeffery, you're an outstanding professor and I will learn lots from you.
You can still use the pen on the iPad. 😅
Interesting .. I used these techniques.. well at 66 I HAD to use #4 :) but I think the relationship of the brain to hand writing adds value to retention.. I was a software cowboy in the wild west days of computers.. so I have always been tech savvy... but typing itself I found adds a level of complexity to the process.. too much overhead.. leaving things to be 'lost in translation' which is why some of the best coding in those years began life on the back of napkin with a pen/pencil.. :) .. In my retirement career as a small biz gardener.. / designer I found the same thing ... We had our kids a bit late in life at a time when hand writing was no longer being taught.. but we had our kids develop those very skills :) .. I am quite enjoying your lectures :)
Wow. I'm going to write this down.
Thank you Sir. I wish I can be in your class, because you certainly know how to teach.
And if I still don't understand after asking a question I should note that i didn't understand it and get around to that later, right?
thank you sir, is my first time here. I appreciate this content.
WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE? MAKE USE OF YOUR TUITION DOLLARS!!! i love this prof, would have been such a joy in the lessons
Thank you Jeffrey. I am taking your advice.
There are two typographical errors in the description of this video. How did I notice them? By taking notes! Taking notes has improved my understanding by making me more observant. Sometimes I understand better after taking notes because during that process, I become more aware of details that I missed during the reading/learning process. I always observe errors in texts because I take notes.
What are your thoughts about taking notes with an iPad and Apple Pencil? I ask because I recently transferred from a two year community college to a four year university, and the university gave us an iPad and Apple pencil for school use, and it was demonstrated how a person can handwrite notes which transcribe into typed.
Great video, now its time to write down what I learned to remember it later
I really enjoy your content. Thank you for sharing
What an amzing video! I've enjoyed this series even though I've long since graduated formal education (now it's CEU's and online courses for fun). How would you suggest taking notes for video courses where there is no textbook, just video lectures? My thoughts are to pause the video at it's natural transistions between sections/topics and summarize at that point treating the sections and subsections like parargaphs. Thoughts?
Just wqnt to say thank you for this series.
Omg, you suggested to wright with a pencil on paper😳🤔? I have been retired for a year now as a Professor. When I asked my students to do what you said, it was like……. So, I was getting not so good student evaluations the last few years of my tenure. I retired much too early as I felt I was not really teaching but it was glorified babysitting with popularity contest. And ya, I was teaching Statistics 😮
I enjoy watching your videos. Very insightful I must say! After watching one of your videos and afterwards I taught my students that speed reading is not the holy grail of studying as perceived by most. I was almost lynched. After some simplified explanation just like in one of your videos I was applauded. But I am still skeptical, is it as detrimental as you claimed?
what you are talking about is called muscle memory the physical touch of pen to paper
شكرا جزيلا.
Excellent video, thank you very much. 1
Great lecture... lov it so much..to the points
Thank you sir
Jeff: Add flesh to your notes.
Hannibal:
I love it! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much. I have been saying this exactly, but without all the humour, to my students for years. And thanks for the citations too support it. I do have a question though: In your suggested "bones" and "flesh" note taking approach, how do you actually structure the note page? Do you use something like a Cornell note and maybe put the bones in the narrow margin and later fill in? Any particular page size or layout you found particularly effective? Thank you in advance.
Please teach me how to rephrase the research papers at your convenience.
Man I wish I had this info 30years ago.
I will take the gold. I will do it.
great vid
Do you write reverse on the glass or are you using some technology?
I am curious if it would be the same results if u took notes (ONLY) on ipad w like its pen rather than physical notebook.
Thank you very much! You are awesome!
You are a good teacher
Thanks a lot Sir, absolutely 101 right, God bliss
What kids struggle with is all content are not the same. What is the summary of a mathematical derivation? Or a econometric dynamic equilibrium process..also they are not taking one class ..they take 7 classes a day..they have projects, some times exams and study go in parallel. I am not sure this simplicity works for every one.
Me, seeing this video: Awesome! I can finally get better at note taking.
This guy: You have to actually use your brain.
Me: Agh! I hate doing that!
Thanks Jeffrey, great lecture! What do you think about point 3 being made digitally? Is it efficient if I transfer and complement the notes taken by hand to the computer?
I can’t write my notes bc if I do I focus on how I write and not what I write. For example, the way I wrote “apple”is “ugly” let me erase it and do it again and it just takes long.
How do you feel about recording lectures?
Thank you so much I never take good notes 😢
For me, as an extremely slow typer, I dread using laptops for note taking, it's just doesn't help at all, so the last point, doesn't need convincing at all lmao
How do you resolve the problem of ‘missing bits of the lecture’ because you’re writing notes on the bit that you’ve just heard and so are not paying attention to the next bit that’s being said-(because you’re writing)?
Does all this apply to taking notes in math? I'm sort of struggling in calculus atm.