The Cornell Note-Taking Strategy for Improving Student Content Learning

BILL QUERRY EDU 742

H E L P S T U D E N TS T A K E ORGANIZED NOTES

What is Cornell Note-Taking?

Cornell Notes are a graphic

organizer and formative assessment tool that enables students to keep their classroom notes organized while summarizing the main points of a lecture quickly, and reviewing for summative assessments more efficiently.

Students can use Cornell Notes

during a lecture or while they read the assigned chapters in textbooks or other reading material.

Why Cornell Notes?

Cornell Notes can help focus class discussion and show

how students record, summarize, ask questions, and utilize information.

Students write to learn: write notes in column format;

write questions that synthesize the content of the notes; and write daily summaries of notes. communication; communicate their thinking coherently and clearly to peers, teachers, and others; analyze and evaluate the thinking and strategies of others; and learn to express their ideas.

Students organize and consolidate their thinking through

How to Use Cornell Notes

When using Cornell Notes, the notepaper is divided into three

sections The right side of the page is called the note-taking column. Students record notes during class using short sentences and fragments that transcribe essential facts.

Eliminate all unnecessary words. Use bulleted lists for easy

skimming, and as much shorthand as possible (without sacrificing readability.) Develop a vocabulary of abbreviations to always use, like "ex" for "for example," "v." for "very," "tho" for "though," "1st" and "2nd" for "first and second."

Finally, students leave lots of whitespace between points and

paragraphs to go back and fill in sections later.

 Students learn to

recognize and make connections among ideas and understand how ideas build upon one another. determine the central idea of a text, article or other reading material, analyze, and provide an objective summary. an excellent addition to a classroom notebook or portfolio.

Students learn to

Cornell Notes make

More Background
The left margin is called the cue column, which contains information

that signals the information in the notetaking column. When students review notes they should jot down questions and memory joggers in this column that help connect ideas listed in the notes section.

When studying, students may find these cues help them recall

important facts.

The bottom section is where the summary of the notes goes. After the assigned reading is completed, and notes have been taken,

students can compare their notes, ask questions, and summarize the material through their notes. Students should sum up notes on each page in one or two sentences that encapsulate the main ideas.

Lets Begin Taking Organized Notes

Divide the paper into three

sections.

Draw a dark horizontal line

about 5 or 6 lines from the bottom. Use a heavy magic marker to draw the line so that it is clear.

Draw a dark vertical line

about 2 inches from the left side of the paper from the top to the horizontal line.

Name Your Document

Write the

course name, date, and topic at the top of each page.

Begin To Write Notes

The large box to the right

is for writing notes.

and topics.

Skip a line between ideas

Don't use complete

sentences. Use abbreviations, whenever possible. Help students develop a shorthand , such as using "&" for the word "and".

Summarize Main ideas

Write a

summary of the main ideas in the bottom section.

Review Your Notes

Review the

notes as soon as possible after class. ideas, key points, dates, and people, and write these in the left column.

Pull out main

Re-read, Study, and Succeed

Re-read notes in the

right column.

Spend time studying

the ideas in the left column and the summary at the bottom.

These are the most

important ideas and will probably include most of the information.

Here is an example of a completed Cornell Note page for a science lesson.

Another Sample Cornell Note

Advantages of Cornell Notes

Students will be able to read closely and analyze key

details of what they read.

Students will be able to summarize informational text.

Cornell Notes provides teachers with a quick check-in for student understanding.

Cornell Notes is an effective strategy for helpings

students better understand and remember more of what they read or view. The practice also supports struggling readers in making and developing connections, formulating questions, focusing and monitoring reading, and analyzing what they have learned.

Advantages Continued
Timely feedback enables teachers to modify work and

make adjustments to the classroom schedule. Also, the difficulty level of the reading material can be differentiated.

Struggling readers can be given less complex material and

more advanced students can receive more complex texts.

Cornell Notes can also be used for taking notes on

lectures, videos, and presentations. Cornell Notes is also an excellent close reading strategy.

Consider The Following

The Cornell Note-taking system is based on research

done in the area of memory and learning. It is a very valuable teaching tool because it takes students through the cycle of learning. It is much more than just a way to record information. It also teaches students to record, reduce, recite, reflect, review, and recapitulate.
be one of the most valuable skills students learn. The Cornell Note-taking system incorporates what students do with their notes once they have taken them. By using Cornell Notes consistently, students learn to see writing as a tool for learning.

Teaching Cornell Note-taking takes time, however it can

And Remember This

Students learn to synthesize; use bullets; use lists and

charts; write summary paragraphs and sentences; and to organize their thoughts.
revise and review later. Cornell Notes help students find important information easier. Cornell Notes focuses on important concepts like vocabulary words, dates and people, theories, processes, etc. taking notes during any kind of lecture or reading across all content.

Cornell Notes help students stay organized, so they can

Lastly, Cornell Notes provide an efficient method of

Strategy Review
The Cornell Note-taking system originated at Cornell University based on

research done in the area of memory and learning theory. It is a very valuable system because it takes students through the cycle of learning.
It is much more than just a way to record information. Teaching Cornell

Note-taking will take time, however it will be one of the most valued skills that students will take with them when they enter college.
The Cornell Note-taking system incorporates what students do with their

notes once they have taken them. By using Cornell Notes consistently, students learn to see writing as a tool for learning.
Link to You Tube on Cornell Note-Taking

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtW9IyE04OQ

References
Using The Cornell Note Taking System
http://www.uhv.edu/ac/study/pdf/cornell.notetakin

g.pdf
Cornell Notes

http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.ht ml