Thinking Strategically to Record Notes in Content Classes

Although teachers today use a variety of teaching methods in content-area classrooms, lecture learning and note-taking still comprise a considerable portion of time in these classes. Unfortunately, most students are poor note-takers, typically recording only about one quarter of lecture notes. Strategic note-taking was developed to assist students during lecture learning and note-taking. In this study, 76 middle school students were assigned to an experimental or control group to assess the effects of strategic note-taking on notes recorded, a delayed recall measure, and a test. The results of multivariate analyses indicated that students who used strategic note-taking recorded significantly more notes and performed better on achievement measures than students in the control group. Limitations and implication for practice are discussed.