What is the point of having to take down notes in class?

Well, in all of the classes I took notes in I had to turn in the notes after the test, so it was more of a required thing.

Taking notes did help me remember a lot of stuff, though.

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

[QUOTE="jetpower3"]

Actually, many colleges save that sort of effort and cost by simply posting the relevant course material online for everyone in the class to see.

jetpower3

That may be less expensive than printing out handouts for students, but they shouldn't have to do even that much. If students lack the will to take control over their own educations, then teachers shouldn't have to follow behind them holding their hands. If students aren't willing to put forth the effort to succeed, then let 'em fail.

I suppose it depends on what the student is good at and how he or she learns. When I was in college, I hardly ever took notes, except for mathematical related concepts. Even if I took notes, I hardly ever looked at them. When I needed to study, it was more of a matter of understanding the concepts, either through what I remembered and/ or through reading in the textbook, and then if needed practicing them through homework until it stuck.

I agree that there is a limit to what the instructor should do for the students. However, in my experience, that line can be quite fine. And it doesn't always come with the idea of a student lacking the motivation to succeed in the realm of education, especially if one has a learning disability.

Yeah, but one of the major purposes of education is so that you can get a job. Teachers might coddle someone because "he learns differently", but how much does that matter when he gets hired for a job? That dude's boss isn't in the business of catering to the new employee's special needs, he's in the business of making money. If one person's job performance is suffering because of his special learning needs, then there are plenty of potential applicants out there who can learn the job on the fly without someone holding their hand.

And if education is largly to train people for work, then why should school be any different? Either adapt your practices, or get left behind by the competition.

You remember things better if you hear it, see it, and write it down

When I was in school I ran into the same thing. The teachers would encourage us to take notes, and most kids did.. but I found that I learned much better by just intently watching and listening to the lesson.

I guess the best way that I can explain it is that some people learn more from being exposed to a lesson than others. You can put 30 people in a classroom, and teach them all the same lesson. However, only 2 or 3 of them might have picked up everything that the teacher was really trying to get across to the class. The other 27 need to take notes and review it later. I had a couple of teachers who told me flat-out that they knew that I learned 2-3 times more from the same lesson than the rest of the class, and that they understood why I didn't take notes. It wasn't laziness at all. Taking notes literally impaired my ability to learn the material.

taking notes actually helps me concentrate more, not to mention it's better memorized within your mind, and since taking notes = you have to listen to what the instructor says, understand it, and translate that into small phrases or sentences of your own, it helps with understanding too.funsohng

See.. it never worked that way for me. I learned much better by remembering what the teacher said verbatim, and putting it into perspective right there as the lesson was still going on. Once I took my eyes off the teacher and started writing things down, I lost my concentration.

I think this has to do with the way some people's minds work. For me (and I'm betting the OP), it was always easier and more effective to understand what was going on BEFORE I left the classroom. I struggled in a few classes where teachers more or less forced us to take notes. The only notes that I found ever really helped me were equations that I knew I would have to remember. Abstract things... things that I couldn't associate immediately in my head as the lesson was being given. I was one of those kids who could get the right answer more often than most, but couldn't always show my work. The teacher would show us an equation to use in a certain type of problem, my mind would concoct another way to get the right answer, but I could never quite put my finger on what I was doing. Therefore it was really hard to show my work.

I suppose one could ask the question, "Would I benefit more from scrambling to take notes, or from just sitting and listening?"

When you're taking notes, your attention does seem to be divided greatly--

1. You're trying to listen to what the lecturer says and understand what they say.

2. You're trying to write it down.

3. You're trying to make sure you wrote it down correctly.

And you might also be trying to understand what you wrote. I think all of these points are especially true in math classes. I'm a graduate mathematics student, so, yeah.

I suppose one could ask the question, "Would I benefit more from scrambling to take notes, or from just sitting and listening?"

When you're taking notes, your attention does seem to be divided greatly--

1. You're trying to listen to what the lecturer says and understand what they say.

2. You're trying to write it down.

3. You're trying to make sure you wrote it down correctly.

And you might also be trying to understand what you wrote. I think all of these points are especially true in math classes. I'm a graduate mathematics student, so, yeah.

MathMattS

Isn't that PRECISELY why students should practice taking notes before they ever need to take notes?

I mean...unless you're working under the assumption that you're NEVER going to have to ever take notes, isn't it better for students to actually develop their note-taking skills before they ever get into a situation in which taking notes is absolutely essential? If a student finds note-taking to distract them from the lecture, isn't it in their best interests to develop a note-taking method that DOESN'T distract them? Or to find a way to NOT get distracted while taking notes?

[QUOTE="jetpower3"]

[QUOTE="MrGeezer"]

That may be less expensive than printing out handouts for students, but they shouldn't have to do even that much. If students lack the will to take control over their own educations, then teachers shouldn't have to follow behind them holding their hands. If students aren't willing to put forth the effort to succeed, then let 'em fail.

MrGeezer

I suppose it depends on what the student is good at and how he or she learns. When I was in college, I hardly ever took notes, except for mathematical related concepts. Even if I took notes, I hardly ever looked at them. When I needed to study, it was more of a matter of understanding the concepts, either through what I remembered and/ or through reading in the textbook, and then if needed practicing them through homework until it stuck.

I agree that there is a limit to what the instructor should do for the students. However, in my experience, that line can be quite fine. And it doesn't always come with the idea of a student lacking the motivation to succeed in the realm of education, especially if one has a learning disability.

Yeah, but one of the major purposes of education is so that you can get a job. Teachers might coddle someone because "he learns differently", but how much does that matter when he gets hired for a job? That dude's boss isn't in the business of catering to the new employee's special needs, he's in the business of making money. If one person's job performance is suffering because of his special learning needs, then there are plenty of potential applicants out there who can learn the job on the fly without someone holding their hand.

And if education is largly to train people for work, then why should school be any different? Either adapt your practices, or get left behind by the competition.

As someone who had special learning conditions throughout both primary and secondary education (extended time, occasional notes, etc.), I haven't been burnt by the help I get and I can say it isn't necessarily akin to holding one's hand. I am a very competent self learner, and I probably was better at that than I was in school. But one need not depend on the other. Learning on the job is more about practice and experience than it is about having how well you take notes or do on a test. There's a reason why many people do well in school and not so well in the workforce, and vice versa.

As someone who had special learning conditions throughout both primary and secondary education (extended time, occasional notes, etc.), I haven't been burnt by the help I get and I can say it isn't necessarily akin to holding one's hand. I am a very competent self learner, and I probably was better at that than I was in school. But one need not depend on the other. Learning on the job is more about practice and experience than it is about having how well you take notes or do on a test. There's a reason why many people do well in school and not so well in the workforce, and vice versa.

jetpower3

But see...isn't that the thing? You DO need special learning conditions, whereas some other dudes just plain whine about having to write ****ing notes during lecture. People with ACTUAL special needs...that's a different case. But I just sort of get annoyed when people with NO special needs act like people should make things easier for them just because they don't feel like doing it on their own.

[QUOTE="jetpower3"]

As someone who had special learning conditions throughout both primary and secondary education (extended time, occasional notes, etc.), I haven't been burnt by the help I get and I can say it isn't necessarily akin to holding one's hand. I am a very competent self learner, and I probably was better at that than I was in school. But one need not depend on the other. Learning on the job is more about practice and experience than it is about having how well you take notes or do on a test. There's a reason why many people do well in school and not so well in the workforce, and vice versa.

MrGeezer

But see...isn't that the thing? You DO need special learning conditions, whereas some other dudes just plain whine about having to write ****ing notes during lecture. People with ACTUAL special needs...that's a different case. But I just sort of get annoyed when people with NO special needs act like people should make things easier for them just because they don't feel like doing it on their own.

You have a point.. But I got straight A's without taking notes most of the time. I didn't skip on taking notes because it was easier that way, I did it because I learned the material better that way. If you can learn everything in one run-through while the teacher is teaching, why distract yourself with taking notes?

It helps you to remember the main points of the lecture for a future test or quiz.

Writing is better for your memory

tell me this, how fast can you think in WPM?

how fast can you type in WPM?

how fast can you talk in WPM?

now how fast can you write in WPM?

slowing things down helps your brain remember things easier

Writing is better for your memory

tell me this, how fast can you think in WPM?

how fast can you type in WPM?

how fast can you talk in WPM?

now how fast can you write in WPM?

slowing things down helps your brain remember things easier

Thessassin

For most people, that's true. But why is it that I learned to play guitar by playing songs super fast and then slowing them down to the proper pace? I couldn't seem to play them slowly or at the proper pace until I had "fast-forwarded" through the song a few times first. Some people learn to run before they can walk.

But, in most cases, I agree with what you're saying. It's scientifically sound.

[QUOTE="Thessassin"]

Writing is better for your memory

tell me this, how fast can you think in WPM?

how fast can you type in WPM?

how fast can you talk in WPM?

now how fast can you write in WPM?

slowing things down helps your brain remember things easier

hartsickdiscipl

For most people, that's true. But why is it that I learned to play guitar by playing songs super fast and then slowing them down to the proper pace? I couldn't seem to play them slowly or at the proper pace until I had "fast-forwarded" through the song a few times first. Some people learn to run before they can walk.

But, in most cases, I agree with what you're saying. It's scientifically sound.

[QUOTE="hartsickdiscipl"]

[QUOTE="Thessassin"]

Writing is better for your memory

tell me this, how fast can you think in WPM?

how fast can you type in WPM?

how fast can you talk in WPM?

now how fast can you write in WPM?

slowing things down helps your brain remember things easier

Thessassin

For most people, that's true. But why is it that I learned to play guitar by playing songs super fast and then slowing them down to the proper pace? I couldn't seem to play them slowly or at the proper pace until I had "fast-forwarded" through the song a few times first. Some people learn to run before they can walk.

But, in most cases, I agree with what you're saying. It's scientifically sound.

All compliments accepted :P

Writing it down helps you better commit the lessons to memory.

It really depends on the student. Different people are able to learn in different ways. Some people can simply listen to the teacher and are able to understand it. Others need the teachers to tutor them privately in order to learn better. Others need to be able to study and review their notes in order to succeed, while others learn better visually or doing it hands on. It depends on the student. Some people benefit from taking down notes, others don't even need it.

It varies person by person. Normally I am bored during the lecture because the professor moves through material at the pace of a crippled squirrel, and my attention isn't at all compromised by writing notes anyway since I don't have to mentally reprocess the notes as I am rewriting what the professor already said which I am already thinking about while writing. I usually don't usually use the notes to study, merely to concentrate on the class and commit the material to memory. (I remember a lot more of what I write down than what I hear)

I personally never take notes and always get As and Bs but I do realize that people have different learning styles and for some people, notes are neccesary.