Applying Listening and Note Taking Skills

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Applying Listening and Note Taking Skills

• A Presentation for
• Student Support Services participants
• Troy, AL 36082

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Objective of this Workshop

• To motivate you to improve your academic
  listening and note taking skills.
• provide you tips you can apply in order to
  improve your note-taking skills.
• Note You will need to use view this
  presentation on a computer that is connected to
  the Internet as the majority of this information
  is available through hyperlinked videos.

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1st What is the 1 criteria you must meet in
order to be an effective note taker? Hint
Common Sense criteria . . .

• First, to be a good note taker, you must be
  PRESENT (at the lecture or conference session).

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2nd What is another Critical prerequisite for
being an effective Note Taker?

• If you want to be a good note-taker, you must be
  a good listener!
• Source Saeman, J. (2006, December). Become a
  good note taker. Retrieved July 9,2009, at
  http//www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/b
  ecome-a-goodnote-taker-78697.html

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Good Listeners are . . . Active Listeners who do
the following . . .

• Attend (not just physically) -- They Indicate
  through eye contact or other behaviors that they
  are present, listening, and understanding what
  they hear)
• Paraphrase (Restate in their words information
  that they hear whenever possible)
• Synthesize (Interpret and apply what they hear)
• Display Quietness (Listen as others speak and
  before offering feedback or probing with
  follow-up questions)

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Good (Active) Listening Skills precede Good Note
Taking Skills

• WATCH VIDEO Active Listening.
• Left click or Right Click on picture 1 at left to
  OPEN the hyperlinked video Russ Peterson.
• Left click or Right Click on picture 2 at left to
  OPEN the hyperlinked video How to be a Good
  Listener.

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Next, Find out if you have good listening habits
by asking yourself the following questions. . .
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Do you Have Good listening habits?

• YES or No?
• 1. Do you tend to refer to certain subjects as
  dull just because they are not in your major
  field of interest?

If the Answer is Yes Suggestion Learn to
glean (collect) from every lecture something that
you can use later.
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Do you Have Good listening habits?

• YES or No?
• 2. Do you Criticize lecturers/instructors?

If the Answer is YES Suggestion Consider that
the message is ten times as important as the
appearance or mannerisms of the speaker. Listen
for the message!
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Do you Have Good listening habits?

• YES or No?
• 3. Do you try to outline EVERYTHING?

If the Answer is YES Suggestion Be Flexible.
Listen for the speakers organizational pattern.
You may be surprised to realize that most
effective speakers themselves speak from an
outline.
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Do you Have Good listening habits?

• YES or No?
• 4. Do you create distractions or permit others
  to distract you during lectures?

If the Answer is YES Suggestion Adjust to the
noise level and then find a way to tune it out,
even if it means you have to move to another seat
so that you can hear.
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Do you Have Good listening habits?

• YES or No?
• 3. Do you maximize every moment?

If the Answer is NO Suggestion Learn to use
your time. If the lecturer takes a moment to
drink water or make a note on the board, use that
time to summarize mentally what you just heard.
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Now, consider Your attitude toward Note Taking .
. .

• Is it a SKILL? Yes, it requires effort to learn,
  and practice and time to learn to apply well.
• Will it help you? Yes, if you learn to use it as
  a Study Skill and not just see it as something to
  do while someone else is talking.

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Note Taking, a Basic Study Skill

• WATCH VIDEO Sandra Sinfields Essential Study
  Skills.
• Left click or Right Click on the picture at left
  to Open Hyperlink.

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Note taking is a Study Skill

• It is important to choose a note taking system,
  according to Sandra Sinfields video, as the
  right note taking system helps students manage
  information gained through lecture, study more
  purposefully, and set the foundation for future
  research assignments.
• Many colleges and learning institutes suggests
  particular note taking systems that they believe
  will benefit their students or clients based on
  the style of instruction offered.
• The Cornell System is one such system widely used
  by college students who have to record notes in a
  LECTURE setting or from a book. It is a simple
  system that requires students to include the
  following information in their notes
• (A) Specific details from the lecture or
  textbook (B) General inferences, key words, and
  categorizing details, and (C) Rephrased
  information/summarized information gained through
  reflection on lectures.

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Cornell Note Taking System

• WATCH VIDEO Cornel Notes at
  http//www.youtube.com/watch?vU-FCogxQFHI
• Right click on picture at the left and click Open
  Hyperlink.

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CORNELL PAGE LAYOUT
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In short, All pages of your notes, regardless of
the note taking system you choose, should include
. . .

• Your Name
• The Date
• The Course Number or Name
• Page Number of Notes

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Note Takers Symbols and Abbreviations
SYMBOL or ABBREVIATION (ampersand sign) ABBREVIATED WORD / PHRASE And
No. or number
equal to, is the same as
b/4 before
ref. reference
w/ with
gt greater than
lt less than
i.e., that is
vs. versus, as opposed to
e.g., for example
etc. et cetera
Q. question
b/c because
w/o without
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FINAL TIPS When to Take Notes

• Instructors usually give clues to what is
  important to take down.
• Some of the more common clues are
• Information written on white or black board
• Repetition of particular terms
• Emphasis
• -- Emphasis can be judged by tone of voice and
  gesture.
• -- Emphasis can be judged by the amount of time
  the instructor spends on points.
• -- Emphasis can be judged by the number of
  examples the instructor uses.
• Word signals / Word Cues (e.g. "There are two
  points of view on . . . "
• "The third reason is . . . " " In conclusion . .
  . ")
• Summaries given at the end of class.
• Reviews at the beginning of class.

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The End

• Remember to complete your evaluation form to
  receive your workshop credit.
• For more information on other offered or
  available workshops, please ask the SSS staff.
• To suggest workshop topics, please make a note on
  your evaluation form or tell an SSS staff member
  your idea.
• Enjoy your learning experience here at Troy
  University.