Structured Note-Taking Increases Comprehension

As I peer in the classrooms of high schools or middle schools the number one activity I see is students taking notes. Dr. Robert Marzano and colleagues in a meta-analysis of research have identified note-taking as one of the nine strategies that increase student understanding.

Now if you stop to read some of the notes that students take, you might wonder how this could ever be true. These notes seem to be nothing more than a "word dump". One way to help students build comprehension while note-taking is using a method like Cornell Notes. With this system, students not only write the important details, but use questioning strategies and summarization to build a greater understanding of the content.

Students could create a MS Word template for note-taking in the three column format or use a pdf generator for a print copy. Teachers, please help students be effective learners by teaching note-taking strategies.