Note-Taking: A Must-Have Skill For Children

Written By: Clinton Nwojo-Emeson

Note-taking is an essential skill that helps propel students highly in their various careers. Whether they are in a class, participating in brainstorming sessions, or jotting down points while reading, notes are simply an effective way of learning, reserving and remembering important information and ideas.

This piece seeks to explore the best techniques for taking notes in class and how students can benefit from them too.

• Students tend to write down everything being said by their teacher without listening
  The act of taking notes should be in the ratio of 75% listening and 25% writing. This way, the student can relate to all that the teacher has delivered and thus, works out the new concept in their head in order to solidify them and jots down the critical information in his own words. This is one of the ways to ascertain that learning has taken place.
• The use of notation symbol such as arrows, circle boxes, colours, mapping web, in taking down notes allows students to stay organized and properly lined up. This method is known as Dynamic Outline. The colorful nature of the notes, using symbols to represent words for easy recollection is without doubt, far more dynamic and easier to access than the block of text which most times appears cumbersome and boring to students.
• Mind-mapping helps to give a visual representation of ideas, connecting with them via circles and lines. This makes it easy to form connections between ideas. Usually, the central topic of discussion is circled in the middle and as the teacher carries on, sub topics are branched out into smaller circles. This is a great way to make strong visual connections with topics and keep them in your memory.
• Page-splitting. The process of separating the main topic from the subtext is also a great method. this case, page is split into two halves whereby the main topic is written on the left and on the right, notes are taken down. The left side helps for easy retrieval of information and helps make recalling more efficient.

In view of this, note-taking is an important tool that helps students in their academics because it helps them remember important information. This is a very personal practice as methods vary from person to person, especially as it is important for students to own their own learning style.

Clinton Nwojo Emeson is a Literacy Executive with Jordan Hill Creative Writing & Reading Workshop. He studied English & Literature and loves to write.