Articles

1. Learning to Listen
2. Note Taking
   • Lectures notes
   • Text book notes
   • Suggestion for better outlines
   • Knowledge Maps
   • Suggestions for better mapping
3. Test taking
   • Attitude
   • Preparation
   • Types of tests
   • Suggestions for Better Test Taking

Learning to Listen

Listening is perhaps the most difficult learning skill to master. To be an effective listener means to forego thinking and passing judgement until a lecture or speech has been completed. To think while a speaker addresses an audience means that all of what is being said is not being comprehended. In both lecture and conversation there is nothing more annoying than a person who speaks when you want them to listen.

Your mind can process information about four times as fast as the average person can speak, and it requires considerable concentration to match the speed of processing with the delivery of spoken words. It also means being able to read between the lines, interpreting emotion, intonation, and body language along with that which is heard, anticipating what will be said next and what has been said in your own words. Psychologists studying the process of listening have found that a very small percentage of people recall even 50% of what they have heard, though they agree that listening skills can be taught or self-taught in a relatively short period of time.

Psychologists have also shown that upward of 80% of test questions originate from lectures as opposed to reading from a text. In many cases the questions students asked in class were those that appeared on the test. One particularly effective means of listening can be demonstrated with a simple experiment. The next time you are in a lecture try to anticipate test questions that may appear based on what the lecturer has said. When the test is completed, compare the questions you anticipated with those that appeared on the test.

Teachers, perhaps without knowing it, provide subtle cues which reveal the topics to be covered on a test. They may raise the tone of their voice, accentuate a particular point, draw connections between one piece of new information and that which has already been learned, or may spend more than the typical amount of time covering a particular topic. The ability to anticipate test questions by identifying these cues will improve your success with tests and exams.

Note Taking

Lecture Notes

Parallel to being an effective listener is being an effective note taker. There are several ways to take effective notes, one should be chosen which reflect the learner's processing preferences. One effective way to arrange notes is in a hierarchical fashion, so that main topics appear at the top level of the hierarchy to the left of the page, much like a table of contents. As seen in Figure 1, the page is set out in a hierarchical structure, with the more super-ordinate concepts at the left of the page. Related subordinate concepts are indented one or more spaces, and examples and particular thinking types are represented with some graphical icons (see Figure below). Choose a set of icons and use them regularly.

Hierarchical Notes (here)

The figure below lists a few icons that can be used to cue different thinking types:

1. an exclamation point (!) to represent "this must be learned well" and should appear by major ideas, items that are likely to appear on a test, and information that may be central to understanding what is being learned,
2. a question mark (?) to represent an area that you don't clearly understand or you question the validity of. These can later be crossed out when you understand the concept being taught and come to represent another icon for something that was more difficult to understand than average,
3. a star can represent important information that might be used in formulating an argument or as content for a student project,
4. circled numbers to represent a list of items,
5. circled or blocked off text around key terms, new concepts, or list related words such as first, second,..., finally,
6. a line drawn vertically beside a group of sentences or a paragraph where noteworthy, but not critical, information exists,
7. words, phrases, or margin notes circled and connected with a thin line to represent related or causal information. Arrows at the end or ends of the line can represent the direction of causality,
8. underlined phrases or sentences to represent smaller bits of noteworthy information,
9. the shorthand "def'n" to represent a definition which may be accompanied by a vertical line or underlined sentences, or
10. the shorthand "eg." to represent an example, and finally,
11. a check mark to represent a statement, sentence or paragraph to which you strongly agree (an X could be disagree).

These are just a few possibilities. It is important to start with a small set of icons for thinking types you already make use of. Later you may want to expand the number of icons you use. Use some of the examples here or create a set of your own. You may also want to create icons for descriptions, evaluations, or compare/contrast thinking types, or any other that you can think of.

Another helpful practice is to include a one or two inch margin at the left of a page for summary notes, adding memory cues, or developing a mnemonic that will help solidify the new information and make it more accessible when the time comes to remember it. The icons used throughout Learning to Learn serve a similar purpose. Like icons used to trigger types of thinking while reading, the icons throughout the pages of this site are also supposed to cue you to execute a particular type of thought.

Text Book Notes

Taking notes while reading is very similar to taking notes while listening. If the book is yours, mark it up. Create a set of icons to represent thinking types like those in Figure 2. Use them regularly while you read. When you are done reading a particular section, spend a few moments reviewing your notes. An example of an icon used in recording after thoughts might include: for lecture notes, a different colour pen to identify after thoughts, and for text notes, writing comments in the page margins and circling them. When you go back later to review the notes prior to a test review, the thinking associated with that bit of learning will be triggered by the visual or textual cues you set. Knowledge of the processes or thinking associated with bits of knowledge, adds a metacognitive component to it, increasing the network of connections made in the brain. It is arguable whether metacognitive processes become automated and integrated into or knowledge of something, or whether it fades as it become less required through knowledge itself becoming internalized or automated.

The structure of the page can also be visualized, imagining the layout in the minds eye and recalling where bits of information appeared. By adopting a set of mnemonics (visual association, verbal chaining, etc.) to accompany your listening and note taking skills, you will have a set of tactics which are effective in many learning situations.

Suggestion for better outlines

1. Observe carefully the standard outline form. Any change, transposition, or incorrect indentation is evidence of disregard for order and accepted authority.
2. Avoid the most common error in outlining--leaving off the title or designating it as the main topic.
3. Be sure your outline performs two functions:
   1. the arrangement of ideas
   2. the relative importance of ideas
4. Remember that a subtopic results from division of a topic. Therefore, there will always be at least two subtopics-A and B, 1 and 2, a and b.
5. Know the order of outlines:
   1. time
   2. numerical
   3. alphabetical
   4. place
6. Use the outline as an aid for memory, a blueprint for easy recall, an organization frame for written tests and themes, and a time-saver at examination time.
7. Use a left column for highlighting and review of the notes in the right column.

Knowledge Maps (or mind maps)

Knowledge mapping is essentially drawing a diagram of the information. For those who are better at recalling form or shape than they are at recalling words, this may be a preferred method of note taking. The figure below is a simple knowledge map for some concepts associated with visual perception. This map might include the thinking type icons, diagrams, colour, and examples as a means of enhancing learning. At the center of the map is the main idea (super-ordinate concept), surrounded by two or three subordinate concepts. Create a knowledge map of a topic that is familiar to you. Arrange your knowledge of a topic similar to the knowledge I've associated with visual perception. Then try the same exercise for a new topic you are learning by reading. Draw a map of the knowledge passed to you while you read.

A Knowledge Map for Visual Perception (here)

Suggestions for better mapping

1. Have a clear idea of the form your map will take. For example, will it have radiating lines or will it look like a wall of building blocks.
2. Use shapes that are meaningful--triangles are good for three part ideas, concentric circles for sets and subsets, octagons for things not to do (ie. a stop sign).
3. Use colour coding if you can--one topic completely in blue, another in red, another in black, and so forth.
4. Make sure the units of the map are distinct and clearly separated from one another.
5. Write the words so that you need not rotate the paper to read them.

Test Taking

Attitude

Think of a test or exam as another learning experience. Use tests as a way to review content, and when you get it back make the appropriate corrections so you don't make the same mistake twice. Identify the types of questions where you lost points and spend more time studying for those questions the next time. Avoid seeing a test as a way for teachers to defeat you.

Also, avoid fear. Despite adequate studying, a student who becomes anxious just before a test has great difficulty retrieving information that was clearly in their mind just an hour or two earlier. Anxiety uses up enough processing space to hamper the retrieval of information from memory. Perhaps the best way to avoid anxiety and antagonism toward the test or teacher, is to prepare for a test from the time the material begins to be taught. Absorbing a little at a time and reviewing notes and summaries regularly is a much more gentle way to study than trying to cram for a test.

Preparation

To glide smoothly into test time requires a plan which includes listening, taking notes during lectures, preparing book or article summaries, and reviewing. Make studying an ongoing process rather than something you do before a test. With a solid plan in place you may only need to briefly go over your notes the evening before a test.

A plan might begin by deciding how you intend to take notes and review. With the skills and strategies discussed above, a plan can be developed for getting the most out of your learning time. Begin with a quick review of the topic as a whole. Read through the headings, introductory and closing paragraphs, and opening and closing sentences. Note any italicized, bold, or other atypical fonts. Review the table of contents, index, and references to help you build a framework from which information in lectures can be absorbed. An initial review of a topic provides enough information for lecture materials to connect. Following a lecture, review your lecture notes within an hour or two, and thoroughly read through the assigned readings that you reviewed before the lecture. Use maps or hierarchical notes and a number of thinking type icons for both lecture and textbook notes. Mark up your text books (if they belong to you) by writing comments to yourself in the margins. Finally, prepare a summary of the two. Summarize by writing down the main headings from each set of notes in a logical fashion with related material from lectures and readings appearing in sequence. Write them in either hierarchical or map form, whichever works best for you. Note where the same material is covered in both lectures and readings. Chances are a related question will appear on the test. After completing the summary of your notes, review it. Be sure the information that was supposed to be attached to the summary headings (your memory cues), in fact is. If a heading does not cue a memory, go back to your notes and find out what it was supposed to cue.

Types of tests

Four types of tests are common: Alternative choice (multiple choice, true/false), fill in the blank (each of which are considered objective), short answers (both objective and subjective), and essays (a subjective test). Most exams will have a combination of these, though tests are quite often of one type. Knowing what type of test you will be taking should determine how you study for it. Fill in the blank tests are geared toward definition. If a test is to be fill in the blank, study the main concepts within a topic, preparing a definition list. Multiple choice or true/false require you to recall small bits of discrete information, or the parts of a whole topic. Study for these tests by learning a variety of discrete, although important, facts related to each of the topics to be covered on the test. For short answer tests (ie. a paragraph or so), prepare yourself a series of questions that can be answered in a paragraph or less and answer them. These will likely be of subtopics of the main topics and can be developed by reviewing your notes and summaries. Essay tests require a different approach to studying. These questions require that you summarize a relatively large body of information. As with short answer tests, prepare a list of questions which can be answered in a given amount of space (in this case perhaps 2 or 3 pages). These will likely be summaries of the main topics. They are also more likely to be on a topic that is covered in both the text and lectures.

Two types of memory come into play when studying for a test: recall and recognition. To some extent, recognition memory is required for all test types; you must recognize what the question is asking. In a multiple choice or true/false test you are asked to recognize what the correct answer is through cues placed in the question and answers. You can get a multiple choice question correct by eliminating the wrong answers rather than identifying the correct one. Fill in the blank tests, to a lesser extent, require recognition memory to derive cues from the surrounding sentence, you must still recall the correct word or phrase for the blank, but recognizing cues in the question can help the process along. Essay questions are quite different. They require that you string together a number of topics or subtopics in a logical and coherent manner. There is little to recognize from the question, recall is the primary memory involved here. Likewise, short answer tests require more recall than recognition than do multiple choice or fill in the blank tests, though less recall and more recognition than essay tests.

Think of a test in terms of the type of memory you will be using. Study accordingly. Do you need to focus at one end of the continuum on discrete bits of information, at the other end of the continuum on the whole picture, or somewhere in between on main ideas or logical collections of related ideas?

Suggestions for Better Test Taking

1. Review by selecting the important subject matter; concentrate on it rather than on the trivial or incidental.
2. Review by listening for hints and helps given by the teacher prior to a test.
3. Review by predicting questions for the test. Think how questions can be asked on specific subject matter.
4. Review by organizing the subject matter into logical divisions. Keep a sense of unity by being aware of relationships among parts.
5. Review by changing your point of view. Let your imagination add interest to the subject.
6. Review by knowing what question words mean. Learn what the teacher expects when certain keywords are used.
7. When you take a test or examination read all questions and instructions carefully and repeatedly until you understand exactly what the answer and the presentation of the answer require.
8. Budget your time based on marks awarded for each question. Allot enough time for those questions that will earn you the most marks.
9. After initially reading through all the questions, answer first, those you are most confident with. Do the objective questions first, they may provide clues for writing an essay question.
10. Know the general implications of key and qualifying words in both objective and subjective tests. Do not, under any circumstances, make exceptions for what the qualifying word asks for.
11. If you don't know the answer to a multiple choice question and you are not penalized for wrong answers--GUESS.
12. On objective tests give the precise answer; on essay tests give the complete answer. Always remember that quantity without quality will not get a good grade.
13. Observe all rules of neatness, mechanics, and clarity. The attractive paper that is easy to read gets the better grade.
14. Check your paper carefully before you turn it in. Unless you are absolutely sure that you have made a mistake, don't change any answers. The first impression, as psychological tests have shown, is more reliable.
15. Improve all future test and examination grades by carefully checking all returned papers. Note your errors and shortcomings so you will not repeat them on the next test.

see Armstrong and Lamp (1990)