Why is it important to write down important details while listening
Notetaking provides several benefits beyond that record of what was presented in a lecture or class activity. Effective notetaking:
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Listening To Take Good Notes: Hearing is a spontaneous act. Listening, by contrast, is something you choose to do. Listening requires you not only to hear what has been said but to understand as well. Understanding requires three activities:
The best way to concentrate is to start with anticipation. Review your notes from the last lecture and make sure you go to class having read the assigned material. Use this method to cultivate a mindset that is needed for 100% concentration during a lecture. Be a comprehensive listener! Comprehensive listening has to do with the feedback between speaker and listener. The speaker has an obligation to make his/her words comprehensible to the listener. The listener, in turn, must let the speaker know when he/she dose not understand. Both parties must make a conscious effort to accept their individual responsibilities. You might think this is a 50/50 proposition which, in part, it is; however, both parties must be willing to give 100% for effective listening comprehension to be achieved. The best way for you to let the speaker know that you don't understand is to ask questions. A surprising number of students are too embarrassed to ask questions. The only dumb question is the one that goes unasked. Twelve Guidelines to Effective Listening:
Taking Good Notes: Learning to take notes effectively will help you improve your study and work habits and to remember important information. Often, students are deceived into thinking that because they understand everything that is said in class, they will therefore remember it. As you take lecture notes and make notes from your textbook, you will develop the skills of selecting important material and discarding unimportant material. The main secret to developing these skills is practice. Check your results constantly. Strive to improve. Notes help you to retain important facts and data and to develop an accurate means of recording and arranging necessary information. Here are some hints on note making:
Lecture Notes: There are many note-taking techniques available to help you become a more efficient note-taker. The following are two very good examples. The first example deals with taking good lecture notes and the second with textbook notes. The notes you take in class are really a hand written textbook. In many instances, your lecture notes are more practical, meaningful and more current than a textbook. If you keep them neat, complete, and well organized they'll serve you splendidly. The Cornell System of taking lecture notes is a prime example. The keystone of this system is a two-column note sheet. Use 8 1/2 by 11 paper to create the note sheet. Down the left side, draw a vertical line 2 1/2 inches from the edge of the paper. End this line 2 inches above the bottom of the paper. Draw a horizontal line across the bottom of the paper 2 inches above the paper's edge. In the narrow (2 1/2") column on the left side, you will write cue words or questions. In the wide (6") column on the right, you will write the lecture notes. In the space at the bottom of the sheet, you will summarize your notes. NOTE: You can use this system if you use lined notebook paper too. Disregard the red vertical line and make your own line 2 1/2" from the left edge of the paper. Refer to the Textbook Study Strategies for a complete description and illustration of the Cornell System.Textbook Notes: The second example of efficient note taking deals specifically with taking textbook notes and preparing for exams. The Soprano Study/Reading Technique involves six steps for accomplishing this. This system, in contrast to the SQ4R system in the Study Skills package, is another method for note taking. You should look at both methods carefully, try them both, and then decide which will work the best for you. The six steps of the Soprano Technique are:
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