Taking Notes with Graphic Organizers – Education & Teacher Conferences Skip to main content

Taking Notes with Graphic Organizers

research-based advice for students

research-based advice for studentsWe’ve blogged (quite energetically) about the difference between handwritten and laptop notes.

Of course, other note-taking differences merit investigation as well.

For example: if students take handwritten notes, is it better to give them:

a complete lecture outline,

a partial lecture outline,

a bare-bones lecture outline,

or

a complete graphic organizer,

a partial one, or

an empty one?

Over at the Learning Scientists, Carolina Kuepper-Tetzel explores this question, and adds some thoughts of her own.

One Man’s Experience

This article particular caught my eye because it applies so directly to my own work.

When I talk with teachers, students, or parents about brains, I always provide them with option #5 above: an incomplete graphic organizer.

My goal: reduce working memory load. (I’m always focused on reducing extraneous working memory load.)

The informal feedback I get is strongly positive. Many teachers, in fact, tell me that they’ve started using the same form with their own students.

When you read Dr. Kuepper-Tetzel’s post, you’ll see how well (if at all) my practice accords with the research we have.


Recent Blogs

Executive Functions: Setting the Record Straight
Guest Post

If you’ve been in education long enough, you’ve probably heard...

ChatGPT and the Future of AI—The Deep Language Revolution by Terrence Sejnowski
Erik Jahner, PhD
Erik Jahner, PhD

Every semester, a few essays arrive so polished they almost...

Interleaving Meets Prequestioning: A Powerful Combination for Learning?
Andrew Watson
Andrew Watson

A few weeks ago, I wrote about an intriguing research...