[nradov]

I question the value of taking notes at all. Of course different people learn in different ways, and I'm sure some students can benefit from taking notes. But for me the process of note taking is too distracting. Better to just focus on the lecturer and really listen. Then maybe write a few short notes afterwards for points not adequately covered in the assigned text.

[bonestamp2]

I'm the same as you, although I believe most people are not like us. In fact, I find visual input so distracting that when I'm on a conference call and we're talking about something very complex, I actually close my eyes to listen/concentrate even better. This technique felt like magic when I first discovered it and it still does every time I use it now. Unfortunately, this method isn't socially acceptable in face to face interactions. :)

But, I know my wife does not learn well this way. I also help my kids with their homework every night and I've tried this method with them when they don't understand something -- it doesn't work well for them either. Everybody does learn differently and I wish I learned how I learn best while I was actually in College; I probably could have saved myself a lot of time by not taking notes at all.

I hope there is now, but at least when I transitioned from high school to college, there weren't any simple resources to prepare me for the workstyle adjustments that I should have made. So, I appreciate this article at least in the sense that it is trying to offer students a framework for success. That said, I wish it offered some alternative suggestions for those who can't write notes and "listen" at the same time.

[atoav]

I don’t see a contradiction there. As you said: differnt people learn in different ways. Just speaking for myself, but I can concentrate more if I take notes and not less (unless the thing is very visual in nature).

[dogweather]

> differnt people learn in different ways.

There's something intuitive about that, but I think the data show the opposite. We all learn the same way.

https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/learning-...

[pfranz]

I wish to see more research on stuff like this. I believe I've seen similar studies showing different learning styles were more effective depending on the topic, not the person.

In my experience, a lot of learning is a back and forth between rote memorization (like vocabulary) and building concepts/associations. Rote memorization can also be a lookup table to focus on higher-level concepts--like memorizing your times tables. Spaced repetition (like Anki) focuses on rote memorization. Lectures and note taking, like this, are a mix focusing on concept building while homework is both generally focusing more on rote memorization.

But there is some difference person-to-person. For example, many people I know work through things by talking out loud. I struggle with this and feel like I have to ruminate on my own to flesh out ideas.

[filesystem]

"We all learn the same" is not the correct conclusion to draw from this report. The only thing this report claims is that all existing studies about differing learning styles are flawed and therefore not reliable.

The actual conclusion, straight from the source you linked:

"But psychological research has not found that people learn differently, at least not in the ways learning-styles proponents claim."

[sukilot]

That's not what your link says. The link says no one is a pure visual or auditory learner.

[jldugger]

There is probably a value in taking notes after a lecture -- repetition and recall is a strong component in memory formation.

[ska]

In my experience (on both sides of the lectern) there is even more value in taking a few before the lecture.

With typical lecture structure, you get a little review tying in the last subject(s), a little bookkeeping/admin (next week we will...) and then a new topic or topics, followed by some synthesis.

If you've had a quick look at the new topic already, you'll know where your understanding is good and where it isn't. You can pay attention to the right bits, and ask questions if needed.

Review afterward is very useful, but probably more topic-by-topic not lecture-by-lecture. After the lecture you add that material to your ongoing review.

[jldugger]

You're not wrong. I just finished reading "Make It Stick" which covers these topics and one of the many examples from college lectures is a student who was doing the readings before the lectures.

As you point out, asking questions is useful, and trying to answer them yourself first is even more so. One student classification researchers have identified is rule vs example learners. Rule based learners seek out rules to learn something, while example learners typically try to memorize examples. Rule based learners tend to do better in scholarly tasks / exams. However, example based learners can be taught to be more like rule based learners with a few hacks: prompt them to compare different examples, instead of reviewing one example at a time, inserting questions into the marginalia / chapter headers, etc.

[spelunker]

Taking the notes help me learn. I'm also the forgetful type so I have trouble remembering the details of a lecture after the fact.

Writing by hand is slow for me, though, so I found myself paying attention more to the note-taking than the lecture.

Taking notes via laptop was a game changer for me. I could take voluminous notes and keep up with the lecturer. It was wonderful! Not all upside, of course, as laptops come with their own problems, the biggest probably being ease of distraction, but I think it was a net benefit for me.

[sukilot]

Record the lecture, so you can replay a high quality copy instead of a badly rushed copy.

[zelly]

I think it's really useless to take notes on what is already written in 1000 other places with much more legibility and coherency. Sometimes I see people with tomes of notes that is basically a duplicate of the textbook, and I can't help wondering that this is just a holdover from the days before the printing press.

[janderland]

I write notes to solidify the idea in memory. Placing the idea in a real space helps me relate the ideas spatially. If I can remember one thing on a page, I can usually remember the rest of the page.

[zelly]

I guess it's the recitation and active recall that helps--not necessarily the writing/typing stuff down on paper itself. I suppose it's also possible to do this by drawing on a whiteboard or...eek...preparing and drilling flashcards.