Med School Insiders
The video is excellent, and as the discussion progresses, I want students to write down what they want to answer in handwritten form on their iPad and add their insights and what they want to respond to. During the discussion, we don’t need to transcribe everything the other person says, which is a completely unthinking act. A highly passive mode of note-taking, which I don’t think is necessary at all. The notes we need are a learning tool that promotes understanding and memory.
So before you start taking notes, the first task is to understand the content. Students need to read the content they want to summarize and then repeat the content in their own words. Provide a summary of what you want to discuss. And place the summary at the top of the notes so that it can be easily viewed again and again. In addition to this, students should include 1-2 abstracts within their notes. The abstracts should be simple and direct, not a direct copy of the other person’s content.
At 6:30 of the video, an indentation is offered that is designed to be a clearer and more concise way of recording what is wanted to be discussed. Beyond that, I expect that the student’s notes will be organized and manageable. For better understanding and viewing, students’ notes should be clear and neat. Some students’ notes will be written very small, which is not correct, and I would like students to write in a larger font on their notes in response to the discussion. This will make it easier for me to check them afterwards.
Students should practice this at the next discussion after watching the video. After watching what your classmates have discussed, choose one of them and comb through the notes. And respond to the content of the classmate through the guide of note-taking. At the end of the discussion, students need to include their notes in pdf format and share them with me.
The workload for me from this activity is mainly on reading notes. The workload for this task, which is incremental depending on the number of students, is probably ideal at 60 students or less. More students may bring more workload, which will cause me to not be able to move forward properly to the grading of the next assignment.
Students will receive my ratings and feedback on bright space within a week of submission. Students can view my evaluations online and email me for a grading sheet if they have comments on the grading.
Overall, this is a very important part of improving students’ discussion skills. Students should focus on the important content summary and note-taking part before the discussion starts.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for sharing this great post with us. Knowing how to take note is vital for students, which raise their efficiency and easy to manage their various knowledge. I can not agree anymore that some students don’t have good writing habits, the words are cluttered and small, which makes others hard to recognize. So far, I already can see after students watching this video how biggest change they would make.
Hi Stephanie, thanks for sharing this great post with us. I believe that for a student learning how to take good notes can help the student achieve academic success. I really like the point you mentioned which is notes should contain 1-2 abstracts, and you can’t simply copy other people’s content. I think this is a good example of whether the student really understands the course content, and if so, the student’s notes will have his own vocabulary, ideas and even examples. Glad you shared your thoughts on note-taking with us.
Hi Stephanie! Thank you for sharing this amazing video on note-taking and the activities related to it. Without a doubt, taking effective notes is a crucial skill that can help improve academic performance and productivity. One thing you could consider doing is asking students to review their peer’s notes and provide constructive feedback. Peer review is an excellent way for students to gain a new perspective on their work and identify areas for improvement. It also promotes the development of critical thinking and communication skills as learners give and receive constructive feedback. By participating in peer review, students can also learn from one another’s strengths and weaknesses and apply those lessons to their own work.