The Cornell Note-Taking Method

There are many different strategies designed to help you take more effective notes. No one method is better than another, the goal is to find a method that works for you. Give this tried and true method a chance.

The Cornell Note-Taking System : separates your page into 3 separate sections - the page looks like an offset, inverted T (see below).

Section 1 : is on the right side of the paper and is the largest section (approximately 6 ½ inches). On this section you write the lecture or textbook notes.

Section 2 : is on the left side of your paper and called the cue side (approximately 2 inches wide). Leave it blank while you read and fill it in later as you review. Fill it in with comments that highlight the main ideas, clarify meanings, give examples, or link ideas and examples. You can also draw diagrams.

Section 3 : is on the bottom of the page and called the summary areas (approximately 1-inch). This is where you write a sentence or two to summarize the notes on the page. When you review, use this section to reinforce concepts and provide an overview.

Sample Page with the Cornell Note Taking System

How do psychologists account for remembering?

What's a "memory trace"?

There are three memory systems - sensory, short-term and long term?

How long does sensory memory retain information?

How is information transferred to STM?

What are the retention times of STM?

The capacity of the STM is 7 items?

How to hold information in STM - rehearse.

What are the retention times of LTM?

What are the six ways to transfer information from ST to LTM?

Psych. 105 - Prof. Martin - Sept. 14 (Mon.)

MEMORY

Memory tricky - Can recall instantly many trivial things of childhood, yet forget things recently worked hard to learn & retain.

Memory Trace

  • Fact that we retain information means that some change was made in the brain.
  • Change called "memory trace."
  • "Trace" probably a molecular arrangement similar to molecular changes in a magnetic recording tape.

Three memory systems: sensory, short term, long term.

  1. Sensory (lasts one second)
  • Ex. Words or numbers sent to brain by sight (visual image) start to disintegrate within a few tenths of a second & gone in one full second unless quickly transferred to S-T memory by verbal repetition.
  1. Short-term memory (STM) (lasts 30 seconds)
  • Experiments show: a syllable of 3 letters remembered 50% of the time after 3 seconds. Totally forgotten end of 30 seconds.
  • S-T memory - limited capacity - holds average of 7 items.
  • More than 7 items - jettisons some to make room.
  • To hold items in STM, must rehearse - must hear sound of words internally or externally.
  1. Long-Term memory [LTM] (lasts a lifetime or short time)
  • Transfer fact or idea by

•  Associating w/information already in LTM

•  Organizing information into meaningful units.

•  Understanding by comparing & making relationships.

•  Frameworking - fit pieces in like a jigsaw puzzle.

•  Reorganizing - combining new & old into a new unit.

•  Rehearsing - aloud to keep memory trace strong.

Three kinds of memory systems are sensory, which retains information for about 1 second; short-term, which retains for a maximum of 30 seconds; and long-term, which varies from a lifetime of retention to a relatively short time.

The six ways (activities) to transfer information to the long-term memory are associating, organizing, understanding, frameworking, reorganizing, and rehearsing.

You can also use the Cornell Note taking system to synthesize your lecture and text or assignments notes. See the suggested layout below (Note: dimensions are minimized).

CUES AND JOTTINGS

TEXTBOOK NOTES

LECTURE NOTES

SUMMARY

 

Russell Conwell Center

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