The Diagram Disconnect: An Examination of Note-Taking Behaviors In CollegeStudents

Note-taking in college courses is prevalent yet often ineffective. One potential reason is a disconnect between the infor-mation in lectures and that recorded in notes. Whereas science-based lectures frequently include diagrams, students notesoften fail to include them. This disconnect likely inhibits learning and may be exacerbated by digital note-taking. We in-vestigated students note-taking during two mini neuroscience lectures and its relation to recall. Students were assigned todiagram presence (diagram embedded in notes for first or second lecture) and note-taking method (typed or handwritten)conditions. Students recalled more in the diagram first condition. There was no recall difference based on note-takingmethod. Including diagrams in notes for the first lecture likely primed participants to attend to diagrams in the subsequentlecture, helping them realize the importance of the diagram. The lack of a note-taking method effect is inconsistent withpast research, but may reflect increasing use of digital note-taking.