Hey, I'm Dan Willingham. I'm a professor of studies, human learning. I found that the notes my students take during class frequently have something missing.
And in this video, I want to explain the problem and how to fix it. As you know, sometimes you get a question wrong on a test where you knew the content, but there's one little aspect of it that you didn't quite get. And then that turns up on the test.
For example, say you're taking an American history test and there's a short answer question. Why is it important that the British didn't know? who planned the Boston Tea Party.
And you actually had in your notes, to this day, no one knows who planned the Boston Tea Party. And you figured, that's the thing I'm supposed to memorize. Now it turns out they gave you that information on the test and you're supposed to say something else about it. One of the ways this happens is in the process of taking notes.
That bit about the Tea Party was probably mentioned as evidence of some other larger point, a point about the rebellion or about the British colonial government, something. So you needed not just to get that fact about the tea party into your notes, you needed to connect it to some other fact that was mentioned during the lecture. But as you know, you're usually rushing just to get the facts into your notes. It's not so easy to simultaneously be thinking about how they connect.
So here's what you do. For any lecture, there's going to be a main topic of the day, and then there are some key conclusions about that topic, usually between three and seven of them. You want to make certain you get those clearly in your notes. Put a star next to each one so you can easily find it again.
Now your instructor will probably tell you, this is one of our big points today, but even if she doesn't say so in so many words, if you're looking for it, you'll be able to tell from her body language and her voice, this is a conclusion she's emphasizing. Then after class, ideally within a day or two, look at every other idea in your notes. Every fact, every example, every classroom demonstration. and make sure you know which of the key conclusions it relates to and how it relates. Is it an example of the key conclusion, evidence that supports it, the exception that proves the rule, what?
That's going to go a long way to ensure you don't just get things down, you actually know what they mean. In class, get the facts. After class, make sure you've got how the facts connect.
Give it a try and let me know in the comments how it goes. Hello