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How to improve learning effectiveness with note-taking?
If you are a student, I know you are under stress right now. You not only need to learn and understand new things, you also need to bare them in mind and take them anytime you have to, and you still need to leave space for a lot more to come.
Pretty much like a perpetual motion machine that keeps working with infinite storage capacity or a battery that never dies...
How to make it through? How to maximize your memory to allow new things to come? You probably have already heard about using note-taking to assist learning since its popularity. But how to use it to its utmost?
First, we have to understand why it is important to take notes. After all, we are human. So we forget things. It seems that we all follow Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve (see below), well, except those with BIG brains...
In general, you drop 50% of what you've just heard within one hour, and it keeps dropping as time goes on. And there's literally no sign of your memory coming back if you just leave yourself to it. What are you supposed to do to race your memory?
Start note-taking.
I know you might say, "Oh, I've been note-taking, but I think it does little help". Then, you probably need to reconsider which step goes wrong. It's common to think that a note-taking takes place in class. But in fact, note-taking also plays an irreplaceable role before and after a class.
Before class - preview documents or learning materials that your teacher might have given you for the next lesson.
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While you are previewing, you get a general idea for the focus of the next class. Hence, you are more likely to understand the content better as you know already what your teacher might discuss in class.
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List some potential questions you might have. This helps you to focus on the unfamiliar ones. Next time when you attend the class, you will pay more attention on the questions that you don't know the answers.
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Do some research yourself. By doing research, you will feel more involved in class than acquiring information directly from your teachers. Better chances are that you will perform better at knowledge retention. It helps to explore your interests, expand your knowledge, and deepen your understanding of what you are going to learn.
How about after class? Always review previous notes.
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It helps to consolidate knowledge you've learned, retrieving it back before your memory starts losing.
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It helps to understand new knowledge better. Usually, the more lessons you've taken, the more complex the contents could become. So make sure you have a deep understanding of the content of previous lessons can definitely help you with what's coming next.
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It helps to summarize what's important and what's not. Teachers don't start a class with key points and key points only. So make a summary based on the notes you've taken, and you will gain a better view of your current knowledge.
Apart from these preparation before and after class, what else can you do? Actually, there are some note-taking methods that have already been tested and developed to promote the learning process to a higher level. There is no such things as to which method is bettern than the other. Finding a method that works for you matters the most. The next thing to consider is how to make the most use of that method and stick with it until it becomes your learning habit.
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Cornell method
The Cornell method basically presents a thinking and organizing process reflected under a systematic format. A paper is divided into three or four main sections, namely, title (optional), notes, cues and summary (see below).
Title: Sonnet 18 by William Shakespeare Date: 2021/09/08

     

Notes

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Structure

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Meter: Iambic pentameter

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Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? × / × / × / × / × /

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Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

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Theme

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A love poem: prasing the "fair youth"

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Assonance and repetition

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Rough/buds

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shake/May

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hot/heaven, etc

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Metaphor

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a summer's day (fade away)

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the sun (fade away)

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the darling buds of May (fade away)

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the poem itself (eternal)

     

Cues

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What's the structure of this poem?

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What's the theme?

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What are the features of the language?

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What are the metaphors applied in this poem?

     

Summary
Sonnet 18 is composed by William Shakespeare to express his affection towards a "fair youth". He initially attempts to find a metaphor to reflect his beloved one's beauty, yet realizes none of the previous metaphors work because all imply decline and death. Only later does he find the best way is to compare it to the poem itself so that the vivid and lasting descriptions of his beauty will outlive as long as the poem exists.
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Outline method
The outline organizes your thoughts by listing main topics and sub-topics, leaving space for supporting facts and thoughts (see below).
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Sonnet 18 William Shakespeare

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Structure

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Meter: Iambic pentameter

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Rhyme scheme: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG

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Theme

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A love poem: prasing the "fair youth"

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Assonance and repetition

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Rough/buds

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shake/May

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hot/heaven, etc

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Metaphor

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emotion progression

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a summer's day (fade away)

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the sun (fade away)

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the darling buds of May (fade away)

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the poem itself (eternal)
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Mapping method
The mapping method visualizes the newly-learned knowledge by presenting the relationship between each fact or idea (see below).