Module 6: Taking Lecturer Notes

Assalamualaikum. Today Encik Mohammad Kamil Ariff had taught us about Module 6. He covers from how to take, to the best way to take the notes. The lecture is easily put into two parts.

• Part 1: Taking lecture notes
• Part 2: Effective note taking system

Part 1

We should ask our self, why we take lecture notes? We could receive not only the lecturer's notes, but could learn to be an active listener. The lecturer in the university could always give a much more accurate record of information than the Internet because they study and make a research about their studies. We will able to interpret, condense and organize information. When the examination is near, the notes will be the repetition material.

The question always being asked by a student, 'how to take the lecture notes'. Encik Kamil teaches us two ways to take lecture notes.

Prepare before taking notes

Firstly, we need to read the text before the class started. When we read, it allows us to build background about the topic, have an idea about the lecture, identify main ideas to organize notes easier and be familiar with key terms. We will be ready to take notes. We should sit in the front because interested and motivated friends probably sit front. We also should review the notes we took from the last class.

Become an active listener

We need to review the last set of notes and sit in the lecturer's line of vision. We could decide what we want to listen, but also focus attention physically and mentally. We need to listen with an open mind and control our emotional responses. We also need to be active and always ask and answer questions.

Part 2

The students need to take the notes effectively. There are many ways to take the lecture notes and Encik Kamil taught us one of the best which is 'The Cornell Note taking system'.

Things to be included when the students take the notes is:

• Headings: Student need to always note the main point
• Details: Facts and explanations are required as well as definitions
• Discussion classes: Some lecturer style is to make class discussion and the student need to take the notes of the main questions
• Mathematics and Science classes: This requires strategy because it needs to be strategies carefully
• Power Point presentation: The most important thing to taking notes for Power Point is the headings and subheadings
• Online Lecture Notes: Student need to print the notes before the class to build some background knowledge

The exercise Encik Kamil gave us

We should take the notes as fast as we can,
But we also need to take it smartly