The Effect of Encoding and an External Memory Device on Note Taking

College students were randomly assigned to seven note-taking and review conditions in order to determine the relative importance of the functions of encoding and either an externally provided or a personally produced memory device. Results of the post-test showed that a combination of encoding and reviewing either one’s own notes or an outline of the lecture produced the best recall scores, while either personally encoding notes or being provided with a lecture outline during the lecture accompanied by “mental” review produced the least recall. The findings are discussed in terms of practical suggestions for professors and their students.     

A more equitable account of the note-taking functions in learning from lecture and from text

Previous research investigating the encoding, encoding-plus-storage, and extermal-storage functions of note taking has failed to equate processing opportunities among the groups. The present studies did so by having the encoding group take notes on two occasions without review, the encoding-plus-storage group take notes one time and review notes the next, and the external-storage group twice review a set of borrowed notes. Three forms of note taking were used: conventional, and note taking on skeletal and matrix frameworks. In both Experiment 1, involving lecture learning, and Experiment 2, involving text learning, an advantage was found for the encoding-plus-storage function on tests involving factual-recall and recognition performance but not on tests measuring higher-order performance. With respect to note-taking forms, no advantage existed for any form when information was acquired from lecture. When text material was used there was some advantage for conventional notes and a clear advantage for not taking notes at all, but instead twice reading the material. These findings were explained relative to observed note-taking behaviors, the opportunity for review, and the processing demands proposed by the combination of reading and note taking, particularly when notes must be classified into an existing framework.     

Use of Student Notes and Lecture Summaries as Study Guides for Recall

Abstract

This study represents an extension of previous research on interfering and facilitating variables affecting the encoding function of note taking by adding several review conditions. Ninety-six subjects were assigned to five note-taking and three non-note-taking groups. Subjects heard a 16-minute segmented lecture and recalled lecture content 48 hours later. The review of notes neutralized both the interfering and facilitating effects on recall of note-taking manipulations reported in previous research. Review of student-generated notes resulted in better recall than did review of lecturer-generated summaries.     

An integrative review of the cognitive costs and benefits of note-taking

Students frequently engage in note-taking to improve the amount of information they remember from lectures. One beneficial effect of note-taking is known as the encoding effect, which refers to deeper processing of information as a consequence of taking notes. This review consists of two parts. In the first part, four lines of research on the encoding effect are summarized: 1) manipulation of the lecture material, 2) manipulation of the method of note-taking, 3) the importance of individual differences, and 4) the testing procedure used in the empirical studies. This review highlights the fragmented nature of the current literature. In the second part of this review five forms of cognitive load that are induced by note-taking are distinguished. Cognitive load theory is used to integrate the divergent results in the literature. Based on the review, it is concluded that cognitive load theory provides a useful framework for future theory development and experimental work.     

Note Taking on Trial: A Legal Application of Note-Taking Research

This article is about note taking, but it is not an exhaustive review of note-taking literature. Instead, it portrays the application of note-taking research to an unusual and important area of practice—the law. I was hired to serve as an expert witness on note taking in a legal case that hinged, in part, on the completeness and accuracy of handwritten meeting notes. Based on my own research and that of others, I rendered three opinions about handwritten notes: (a) They omit most of what is said, (b) they omit details, context, and essential qualifiers, and (c) they contain inaccuracies or vague statements. This article tells the story of how I came to investigate note taking, become an expert witness, and render those three opinions. It concludes with a call to investigate note taking in non-academic settings such as meetings and to uncover ways to boost and improve note-taking methods.     

Note taking and student verbalization as instrumental learning activities

Note taking and verbalization are considered as instrumental student activities which influence the relationship between the learning task and the learning outcomes. Research has demonstrated no significant relationships between the type of test anticipated and the amount of notes taken. The time interval between the presentation of the instructional stimuli and the criterion test does influence the amount of notes taken with a delayed test expectancy resulting in more note taking activity than immediate test expectancy. The probability of a student recalling an item on a test is greater if that item is present in the notes than if it is not present. Studies which compared note taking to no note taking conditions have shown a facilitative effect for note taking, but the effect is influenced by type of review condition and the time interval between note taking and criterion test. Research on the effects of verbalization in instructional settings has failed to show any clear benefits for methods which involve greater student verbalization. Controlled laboratory studies have shown that overt verbalization positively influences associational learning, serial learning, and discrimination learning. Alternative theoretical explanations for the effects of note taking and verbalization are discussed, and a structure for future research on these topics is provided.     

口译笔记初探

口译,一项特殊的语言处理行为。坊间对口译员有"民间的外交家"之称。口译一度神秘。口译笔记,似乎一直都颇具争议。巴黎和会时期,欧洲译坛曾视译员借助笔记为实力不济。而如今中国的各大对外场合,小至商务谈判,大至记者招待会,现场口译总会依靠口译笔记辅助记忆。近几年,许多国内学者纷纷在不同的外语类核心期刊(尤其是《中国翻译》)发文,试图从不同角度来探讨口译笔记。2006年以来,市面上便出现了口译笔记教学的专业书籍,可见口译笔记正逐渐引起重视。本文试图从国内三大主流口译笔记入手,也谈谈口译笔记,望能抛砖引玉。     

Note-Taking and Memory in Different Media Environments

Through this study the authors investigated undergraduate students’ memory recall in three media environments with three note-taking options, following an A x B design with nine experiments. The three environments included no-distraction, auditory-distraction, and auditory–visual-distraction; while the three note-taking options included no-note-taking, taking-notes-on-paper, and taking-notes-on-computer. The results of word recalls from 21 participants showed significant interactions between media environments and note-taking options. In the no-distraction environment, the participants had better word recall taking notes on paper than taking notes on computer or not taking notes. However, in the auditory–visual-distraction environment, the participants had better word recall with no note taking than taking notes on computer or taking notes on paper. The participants’ comments provided insights for implications for learning in different media environments.     

记笔记对不同任务类型的影响的实证研究

通过调查某大学30名英语专业四年级学生的记笔记行为，试图揭示记笔记的两大功能（解码功能和外储存功能）对不同类型的任务表现（近迁移和远迁移）的影响。实验表明：记笔记与不记笔记（解码功能）对近迁移和远迁移任务表现没有显著影响，复习笔记与不复习笔记（外储存功能）对近迁移任务没有显著影响，但对远迁移任务却有显著的消极作用；还讨论了该结果对英语教学的启示，包括对考生参加含有记笔记任务的测试的指导意义等。     

Getting Students “Partially” Involved in Note-Taking Using Graphic Organizers

Encoding benefits (DiVesta & Gray, 1972) of graphic-organizer and outline note-taking using spaced study and review (Robinson, Katayama, Dubois, & DeVaney, 1998) were investigated. In 2 40-min periods separated by 2 days, 117 undergraduates studied a chapter-length text along with a set of complete, partial, or skeletal graphic organizers or outlines. Two days later, the students reviewed their materials for 10 min and then completed factual and application tests. On the factual test, there was no effect for either study notes or amount of information. However, on the application test, graphic organizers were better than outlines and partial notes were better than complete notes. Having students take notes using partial graphic organizers may be preferable to giving them complete notes because of encoding benefits.     

The effects of achievement goals and self-regulated learning behaviors on reading comprehension in technology-enhanced learning environments

Studies examining students’ achievement goals, cognitive engagement strategies and performance have found that achievement goals tend to predict classes of cognitive strategy use which predict performance on measures of learning. These studies have led to deeper theoretical understanding, but their reliance on self-report data limit the conclusions that can be drawn. We employed a behavioral approach instead and assessed learning processes by logging learners’ behaviors as they used educational technology. We examined the relationship between achievement goals, strategy use, and comprehension scores of 160 undergraduates who studied a hypertext passage in a technology-enhanced learning environment (TELE) equipped with tools that support learning behaviors including highlighting, taking notes, review of annotations, seeking additional information and monitoring understanding. Results of a path analysis indicated that higher mastery goals predicted more information-seeking and note-taking and marginally more monitoring of learning. Performance avoidance goals negatively predicted note-taking and information-seeking. Performance approach goals did not predict the behaviors we traced. Of the behaviors we traced, highlighting and monitoring predicted increases in comprehension scores. A behavioral approach to assessing learning processes confirmed only a subset of paths from achievement goals to learning processes to learning outcomes originally discovered with self-report data.     

Note-taking: A significant and integral part of learning environments

Although note-taking is an important representation of the knowledge transition that takes place in formal learning environments, surprisingly, it has largely been ignored by the educational community as a phenomenon of study. This article makes a case for note-taking as an entity for study in the domain of educational technology. Research done to date is reviewed, and possible research questions are identified.     

口译笔记的认知理据

口译笔记是影响口译质量的一个重要因素。文章从认知科学的角度出发分析了口译笔记的特点和规律,指出口译笔记的具体操作和激活扩散模型、图式理论、连通主义等许多认知领域的研究成果有密切的联系,其中尤其是吉尔的精力分配理论,对如何做口译笔记有很强的实践指导作用。     

Note-taking During Discussion: Using a Weekly Reflection Assignment to Motivate Students to Learn from Their Peers

The benefits of in-class discussion, a form of active learning, are well-documented; in particular, discussions allow students the opportunity to learn from their peers. Yet students often treat discussions as ‘down’ or ‘free’ time. If students are not taking notes during discussion and reviewing those notes later on, they may not be learning much from this activity, despite their professed understanding of its value. This article reviews the benefits of discussion and the important functions of note-taking before introducing an online weekly reflection assignment that was designed to motivate students to take notes during discussion, particularly on their peers' contributions. An analysis of past weekly reflection text and survey data from students confirms the utility of the assignment. Intended and unintended benefits of the weekly reflection assignment are shared, as well as its limitations. The conclusion offers suggestions for future areas of research to complement this study.     

Optimising the use of note-taking as an external cognitive aid for increasing learning

Taking notes is of uttermost importance in academic and commercial use and success. Different techniques for note-taking utilise different cognitive processes and strategies. This experimental study examined ways to enhance cognitive performance via different note-taking techniques. By comparing performances of traditional, linear style note-taking with alternative non-linear technique, we aimed to examine the efficiency and importance of different ways of taking notes. Twenty-six volunteer adult learners from an information management course participated in this study. Cognitive performance scores from a traditional linear note-taking group were compared with another group by using a commercially available non-linear note-taking technique. Both groups were tested in two settings: after a classroom lecture and a panel forum discussion. Tasks included measures on story comprehension, memory, complexity of mental representations and metacognitive skills. Data analysis revealed that the non-linear note-takers were significantly better than the linear group both in terms of the quantity and the quality of the learned material. This study demonstrates the importance of using cognitively compatible note-taking techniques. It identifies the cognitive mechanisms behind effective note-taking and knowledge representation. Using such techniques enables deeper understanding and more integrated knowledge management.     

Laptop versus longhand note taking: effects on lecture notes and achievement

There has been a shift in college classrooms from students recording lecture notes using a longhand pencil-paper medium to using laptops. The present study investigated whether note-taking medium (laptop, longhand) influenced note taking and achievement when notes were recorded but not reviewed (note taking’s process function) and when notes were recorded and reviewed (note taking’s product function). One unique aspect of the study was determining how laptop and longhand note taking influence the recording of lecture images in notes and image-related achievement. Note-taking results showed that laptop note takers recorded more notes (idea units and words) and more verbatim lecture strings than did longhand note takers who, in turn, recorded more visual notes (signals and images) than did laptop note takers. Achievement results showed that when taking laptop notes, the process function of note taking was more beneficial than the product function of note taking (i.e., better image-related learning and similar text-related learning). When taking longhand notes, the product function of note taking was more beneficial than the process function of note taking (i.e., better text-related learning and similar image-related learning). Achievement findings suggest that the optimal note-taking medium depends on the nature of the lecture and whether notes are reviewed.     

Note-taking within MetaTutor: interactions between an intelligent tutoring system and prior knowledge on note-taking and learning

Hypermedia learning environments (HLE) unevenly present new challenges and opportunities to learning processes and outcomes depending on learner characteristics and instructional supports. In this experimental study, we examined how one such HLE—MetaTutor, an intelligent, multi-agent tutoring system designed to scaffold cognitive and metacognitive self-regulated learning (SRL) processes—interacts with learner’s prior domain knowledge to affect their note-taking activities and subsequent learning outcomes. Sixty (N = 60) college students studied with MetaTutor for 120 min and took notes on hypermedia content of the human circulatory system. Log-files and screen recordings of learner-system interactions were used to analyze notes for several quantitative and qualitative variables. Results show that most note-taking was a verbatim copy of instructional content, which negatively related to the post-test measure of learning. There was an interaction between prior knowledge and pedagogical agent scaffolding, such that low prior knowledge students took a greater quantity of notes compared to their high prior knowledge counterparts, but only in the absence of MetaTutor SRL scaffolding; when agent SRL scaffolding was present, the note-taking activities of low prior knowledge students were statistically equivalent to the number of notes taken by their high prior knowledge counterparts. Theoretical and instructional design implications are discussed.     

The encoding versus the external storage hypothesis in note taking

College students (N = 85) read a passage in which each sentence had been normatively assessed as to its importance to the overall meaning of the passage. Students expecting an essay examination took notes on sentences of higher structural importance than those anticipating a multiple choice test, even though there was no difference in the number of notes taken or in total test performance. The students took notes on 31% of the passage sentences and such notes were of high structural importance value. Most importantly, note taking seemed to serve as both an encoding device and as an external storage mechanism, with the latter being the more important function. The external storage function not only led to enhanced recall of the notes, but also facilitated the reconstruction of other parts of the passage.     

汉英交替传译中的笔记策略

近些年来,人们对汉英交替传译研究这一课题越来越关注,笔记策略也自然成了人们关注的焦点。该文通过对现有国内外有关汉英交传笔记方法的研究,总结和梳理出一套可行的汉英交传笔记策略。从而提出:要在熟练所有笔记方法的基础上,反复地练习,不断的修改和完善,最终总结出一套适合自己的笔记方法。     

交替传译笔记技能培养之自主学习模式

口译笔记是影响口译能否顺利进行的重要因素之一。笔记用得好,能有效地帮助译员储存和组织源语信息;反之,用不好或不会用,则会成为分散译员注意力并影响口译顺利进行的最大干扰因素。基于此,立足于分析交替传译受训者在笔记记录中存在的主要问题及导致记笔记困难的主要原因,从而提出在口译教学中采用自主学习模式进行笔记技能的培养。