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A tsunami. That’s what Jonathan Lewis calls the onslaught of information students face in each course they take at ���۴�ý. As the assistant dean of operations and faculty in the University’s College of Education, Lewis knows what he’s talking about. 

Thankfully, it’s a challenge with a solution.  

Methods abound for taking notes in college courses. Because UOPX instructors typically don’t deliver content via lecture, some traditional recommendations for note-taking may not apply as readily to UOPX students. But Lewis offers what he calls a recipe for finding the “nuggets” of information or wisdom that will help students on their educational journeys.

One of the best known note-taking methods, the , was developed decades ago at Cornell University by Walter Pauk. Students start by dividing a piece of paper (or electronic document) into three labeled sections: “Cue,” a long vertical section on the left side of the paper; “Notes,” a large vertical section to the right of “Cue”; and across the bottom, a “Summary” section.

• The “Notes” section is filled with facts shared by the instructor or from videos or class readings.
• “Cue” is where students put their questions about those facts and information.
• A summary of what they’ve learned — the main takeaways — goes at the bottom. 

Other methods for taking notes include outlining information with headers, subheads and bullet points; summarizing key takeaways in sentences; and a mapping system (also called “mind mapping”), which visualizes relationships between information and ideas. 

The idea that we each have a specific, dominant learning style (such as visual, auditory, reading or kinesthetic) isn’t as prominent as it used to be. These days, a multisensory, multimodal approach to learning is favored. So, you may want to capture class notes in a variety of ways, such as jotting down a summary while also drawing a mind map, a hierarchy or even a doodle that connects the information to something in your own experience.

And while typing notes may be faster, there’s research to support the benefits to retention and learning of taking pen to paper. A supports previous findings that the act of physically writing (versus typing on a keyboard) “contributes extensively to the brain’s connectivity patterns that promote learning.”

That said, , this one with of 68 students, found no meaningful difference in learning recall depending on whether they were taking notes on a tablet, laptop or paper. The study authors concluded that “students should be encouraged to pick the note-taking method that appeals most to them.”

Lewis agrees that setting yourself up to learn as much as you can is very personal. Preparations should start early, even before a class begins, he says.

“Open your calendar alongside the course syllabus and make notes of major assignments, estimating the time you’ll need to complete each one,” he recommends. “Reconciling your personal calendar — your obligations to family and work, if you have a job — with what’s expected from you in class is an important note-taking step that students omit.” 

Because ���۴�ý classes start on Tuesday, Lewis suggests getting up early Tuesday morning to read through the discussion question and what you’ll need to complete the assignment, making notes of the key topics and deliverables.

“As you’re reading the discussion prompt and the assignment particulars, take notes about what’s expected of you. You might print them, record them or take a picture with your phone. There are multiple ways to capture that information,” he says.

When you turn to tackle the readings or activities for that week, you can then pair up the reading with your notes about what you need to accomplish. “The reading is this wall of material, and you only have to process a small element of it,” Lewis says. “You’ve got to be tactical, making sure you’re keying in on the points that are required in the discussion and/or assignment.”

Those “nuggets” (e.g., the learning objectives) are what students need to get down, whether as written notes, photos or in some other form.

While it may be tempting to skip the first step of documenting what you need to accomplish and what you’ll be measured on, Lewis cautions against it.

“If you don’t capture the requirements first, then you’re blindly going through the readings or watching videos,” he says. “You’re not empowering yourself to know what the objectives are: What will you be measured on? What are you trying to get out of this?”

At the end of a course, students should feel they’ve acquired the skills outlined at the start in the syllabus, not least because those skills are foundational to the next course they’ll take. 

In fact, great notes from one class can serve you well in those to follow. “I recommend using a big binder where you keep your notes,” Lewis says. “It’s a program binder, not a course binder. As you flip through it, you might say, ‘Wait a minute, this sounds kind of familiar,’ and you go back to notes from a previous course that connects to what you’re learning.”

Of course, the “binder” doesn’t need to be a physical notebook. “I’ve seen people do this with electronic folders and files,” Lewis adds. “Whatever tools work for you.”  

Remember the Cornell Note Taking System mentioned earlier? It includes a place for students to log questions they have about what they’re learning. As you consume information from your course and start to process what you’re hearing, watching and reading, you’re almost certainly going to have questions. A critical part of taking notes is getting answers: That’s where your instructors come in, says Lewis.

“Overarching questions are welcomed by faculty, and they can engage with you in conversations. You can bounce your critical notes and questions off them to make sure you understand what you’re learning,” he says.

Online education can be very solitary, so it’s important to deliberately build in ways to interact and connect, he adds. “Availing yourself of your faculty member is a free learning opportunity, and it also creates a connection. People underestimate how valuable those relationships are.”

Strong skills for taking notes are just one part of pursuing your education. ���۴�ý understands that students benefit from support, which is why a variety of resources is available, including math and writing assistance, financial literacy education, life coaching and counseling, library access and more. Explore these and other student resources at ���۴�ý.