When I first saw the word "notemaking" I thought it was just another word for "notetaking" but this is obviously not the case. I grew up in school taking notes, and if I ever did "make notes" I was not aware I was doing something different. Notetaking refers to students' written notes from a lecture or class discussion (which is what most of us have probably done throughout our entire school career). Notemaking is the act of recording notes from printed materials. Notemaking allows you go back again for more information, while notetaking does not. Studies show that students who take better notes generally do better in school. Recording the notes, also called "process function" and reviewing the notes later, known as "product function" are both required to create valuable notes. This is referred to as the "encoding and external functions." The encoding function is something I have always had trouble accomplishing, which is being able to pay attention to the lecture while writing or taking notes. However, this allows students to deepen their understanding and transform the information they received. The external storage function gives students the opportunity to review their notes and main ideas before using the information on a test, essay, or quiz. Overall, I think students need to be taught the correct way (or successful way) to take notes so they will be organized and feel better about the entire process.
Why are some students so good at listening to a lecture and taking awesome notes and some students aren't (like me, for example)?
Why don't most teachers teach us good notetaking procedures when we are young?
Great post, Lindsey. You're one of the only ones so far to focus on that distinction between process and product functions, as Fisher and Frey call them. Dr B
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