48 For Instructors: How to Take Notes

Collaborative Notes Folder Activity

This activity is a take on collaborative notes, a way for students to collaborate together to develop notes that they can share and provide a resource for their classmates. This activity takes it a step further and asks students to not simply write notes all in the same document but provide a folder for them to share the varied ways they write notes. This helps support ideas that not everyone writes (or takes notes) the same way or should have to.

First, you want to create a Google Folder (or any kind of shared folder that all the students can access and add their content to). Then pick a text from their course readings and materials (this can be a more easy to understand text that will make experiment with notes easier or a more difficult one to challenge them to create notes on).

Next, introduce the activity to your students as a way for them to experiment and find what way of note-taking works for them. Encourage them to try a way of taking notes that they’ve haven’t done before. This should also be a low-stakes assignment, so they feel more open to the idea of experimenting.

You can also build on this activity throughout the semester or have it be a one-time activity for students to consider in their note-taking in the course and in future courses. This can also help students take ownership together on their learning and help one another provide collaborative resources through contribution-oriented pedagogy. Collis & Moonen define contribution-oriented pedagogy as “approach in which students find, create, submit, and/or share resources using a Web-based course-support environment” and “identified as a model that is particularly valuable for forms of distance and computer-based learning” (“Contribution”). And so, this kind of activity can be especially useful for hybrid or online courses as well, as it provides a digital space for students to support one another with resources within a classroom environment.

Then, ask students to write and contribute those notes in the folder (perhaps have them read the above chapter before starting to give them different ideas on how they can approach note-taking). You may also want to explain that their submissions can come in a variety of formats (from word documents, pdfs, image files, screenshots of their print notes) just as the above chapter expands on.

Finally, you’ll want to take some class time to review, discuss, and reflect on the notes. Also, be sure to explain to students that the purpose of this activity is to share what they’ve written (since students can be sensitive (just like we can be) about sharing their writing).

Here are some example questions to consider for discussion:

• Which kinds of note-taking stand out to you? Which of these kinds might you explore going forward?
• Did the kind of note-taking you chose work well for you? Would you continue to take notes this way? Why or why not?
• How did other ways of note-taking (yours or another classmate’s) work to support your understanding of the text?

You can even consider facilitating this discussion through a shared Google Docs where students can type their answers to help support the different ways students communicate and comment on their answers to support discussion. Or even include a reflective journal after the activity to help students think more in depth and individually about the process and potential ways of note-taking. However, an in-class discussion can help students see the myriad of ways their fellow classmates take notes and help build community between them.