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A System For Effective Listening and Note-Taking: Before Class

A systematic approach to listening and note-taking can enhance understanding and memory retention of lecture content. The approach involves preparing for class by reviewing previous notes and readings, staying alert during class by resisting distractions and paying attention to verbal and non-verbal cues, and following up after class by clarifying notes, highlighting key points, and periodically reviewing notes and testing memory. Note-taking is recommended as one way to actively listen and compensate for the faster pace of speaking compared to thinking.

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Alaydin Yılmaz
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68 views1 page

A System For Effective Listening and Note-Taking: Before Class

A systematic approach to listening and note-taking can enhance understanding and memory retention of lecture content. The approach involves preparing for class by reviewing previous notes and readings, staying alert during class by resisting distractions and paying attention to verbal and non-verbal cues, and following up after class by clarifying notes, highlighting key points, and periodically reviewing notes and testing memory. Note-taking is recommended as one way to actively listen and compensate for the faster pace of speaking compared to thinking.

Uploaded by

Alaydin Yılmaz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A System for Effective Listening and Note-taking

The experts say that you can think about four times faster than a lecturer can speak. Effective listening
requires the expenditure of energy; to compensate for the rate of presentation, you have to actively intend
to listen. Note taking is one way to enhance listening, and using a systematic approach in the taking and
reviewing of your notes can add immeasurably to your understanding and remembering the content of
lectures.

Before Class
• Develop a mind-set geared toward listening.
• Test yourself over the previous lecture while waiting for the next one to begin.
• Skim relevant reading assignments to acquaint yourself with main ideas, new technical terms, etc.
• Do what you can to improve physical and mental alertness (fatigue, hunger, time of day, where you sit in
the classroom all affect motivation).
• Choose notebooks that will enhance your systematic note-taking; a separate notebook with full-sized pages
is recommended for each course.
• Intend to listen

During Class
• Listen for the structure and information in the lecture.
• Resist distractions, emotional reactions, or boredom.
• Be consistent in your use of form, abbreviation, etc.
• Pay attention to speaker for verbal, postural, and visual clues to what is important.
• Label important points and organizational clues: main points and examples.
• When possible translate the lecture into your own words, but if you cannot, do not let it worry you into
inattention.
• If you feel you do not take enough notes, divide your page into five sections and try to fill each part every
10 minutes (or work out your own formula).
• Ask questions if you do not understand.
• Instead of closing your notebook early and getting ready to leave, listen carefully to information given
toward the end of class; summary statements may be of particular value in highlighting main points; there
may be other important material, possible quiz questions, etc.

After Class
• Clear up any questions raised by the lecture by asking either the instructor or classmates.
• Fill in missing points or misunderstood terms from text or other sources.
• Edit your notes, labeling main points, adding recall clues and questions to be answered. Key points in the
notes can be highlighted with different colors of ink.
• Make note of your ideas and reflections, keeping them separate from those of the speaker.

Periodically
• Review your notes: glance at your recall clues and see how much you can remember before rereading the
notes.
• Look for the emergence of themes, main concepts, methods of presentation over the course of several
lectures.
• Make up and answer possible test questions.

15
SRSU Academic Learning Center Skills Handouts
Rev. 2013 Sp

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