As a college student, one of the things that throws most of us off when school starts are the lectures. If you took AP or dual credit courses in high school, you may or may not be used to fast paced lectures and presentations. Regardless, every professor is different and may choose to run their lecture halls how fast, or how slow they prefer. Here are some simple hacks for taking notes:
Print Outs
If your professor posts their lecture presentations online (such as PowerPoint slides, or PDF files), print them out and write additional notes, reminders, shortcuts, etc. when needed. Professors may lecture at an incredibly fast pace, and if you like to hand-write your notes, you’ll end up getting behind and lost. Professors may include information they presented verbally or ad-libbed on tests, which are not on the PowerPoint slides, or PDF files.
Forgot To Print Out Notes?
Don’t panic! Create an outline by sectioning information off by their slide number or by the title of each slide. Then, once you print out your notes, you can easily transfer the additional notes you took during class onto your handouts.
Recording Lectures
There are times when we are more focused on the task at hand, we tend to miss additional information that the professor stated: whether that be additional information, short-cuts, etc. However, do remember to ask your professor for permission to record their lecture before doing so. Some professors are very particular when it comes to recording their lectures.
Color Code
Color coding may be very helpful because it allows you to categorize your information; therefore when you are doing homework or studying, you will be able to refer to a specific detail more diligently. The use of color can also help you concentrate because your eyes will not fall into the habit of skimming over your notes, worksheets, readings, etc. You can color code using: pens, highlighters, sticky note strips, etc.
Rewriting Information
It is said that active learning is more effective than active learning. This means that if you are writing down notes, or side-notes to help with understanding concepts, etc. it’s a lot easier for you to retain that information versus sitting there and listening, or “absorbing”, the information. If a concept is important, or confusing during lecture, try to rewrite it in your notes in a way that is more simplified, and which makes sense to you.
Everyone learns through different combinations of the types of learning: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. To increase your chances of acing your next quiz or exam, it is important that you find out what works best for you, and use it to your advantage. If one method doesn’t work, try another method — keep trying until you find a system which works for you, and helps you pass with flying colors.