Reading, Notes, and PBJ

Reading your textbook is to taking notes as peanut butter is to jelly. That is, it is helpful to read your textbook and it is helpful to take notes in class. However, it is even better to combine your reading with your note-taking!

Reading your textbook and taking notes in class are not two separate activities. It can be helpful to link these two activities together - both before, during, and after class.

Before class, start a new page in your notebook. Write "Reading Notes" and the page numbers at the top of the page. Now, as you complete the assigned reading before class, write an outline of the main topics and headers of the reading. Also, write down a few definitions of key words (which will probably be in bold in your textbook.) You should be able to fit all of these notes on one page in your notebook.

During class, start a new page in your notebook. Write "Class Notes" and the current date at the top of your page. As the instructor teaches, listen for the main topics, headers, and key words that you wrote down before class. This will help you focus on the most important topics during lecture. Write down details in your class notes on these key topics. Also, write down details on any other topics that the instructor spends a lot of time on during class.

After class, review your class notes. Do you understand everything that you wrote down? If a concept or term is unclear, go back to your textbook to clarify.

This may sound like a lot of work, but is actually an effective and efficient study system. By connecting your readings and your notes both before, during, and after class, you focus your time and energies on the most important topics, concepts, and terms. The process of going back and forth between your textbook and your notes - making comparisons, reviewing the material, adding detail - is also an effective learning strategy.

What Science Tells Us About Reading

We have all been there: after you finish reading the last page of a book chapter you come to the grim realization that you cannot recall a single thing you just read. Were your efforts a waste of time? Probably.

The field of cognitive psychology started studying this problem decades ago. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure neural activity, cognitive psychologists are able to assess which reading strategies stimulate the learning centers of the brain and which do not.

According to Jim Baucomb, the science strongly supports three simple strategies that greatly increase your memory and comprehension when reading a textbook, your notes, or anything else.

1. Generate your own questions as you go along.

2. Create visuals that represent what you are learning.

3. Stop periodically to summarize in your own words what you just read

Reading is more than looking at words

Have you ever read through a section of a textbook, then realized you don't remember a single word that you just read?

Some strategies for engaged reading:

1. Highlight words or phrases that you do not understand. Stop and look up the meaning of the word/phrase in the dictionary or online.

2. When a question emerges from the reading, stop and write down the question. Discuss these questions in class with your peers or your instructor.

3. At the end of a section, briefly summarize the main points - for example, create an outline for the section.

4. Use critical thinking skills while reading. Examine the evidence for claims. Review the sources. Compare and contrast to other readings you have completed for the course.

5. At the end of a section, go back and re-read the topic sentence for each paragraph in the section.