Hot Tips for Successful Note-Taking

Photo by Austin Kleon

As the school year progresses, it becomes more and more important for your kids to preserve what their teachers have been saying in class to ensure they’ve got the information they need to pass those tests. Here’s a quick review for you to share with your son or daughter of some ways to make their note-taking more effective:

Listen Actively

Ask yourself, “What does the teacher expect me to learn? Why? What is he saying? How does it relate to the subject? Is it important? Is it something I need to be sure to remember?” Asking these questions makes it easier to separate what is important from what is unimportant. If you use the Notes:TM technique, this provides you with a steady supply of things to jot down on the right side of the line.

Observe Actively

Pay attention to clues you can pick up from the teacher and your reading material. Clues in the reading material can take the form of headings, bold type, italics, pictures, graphs, and diagrams. Some books have chapter outlines that contain important topics. Look at section and chapter summaries. Note the author’s or teacher’s conclusions.

Look for physical clues from the teacher too. Every teacher has a unique style; you can pick up on important points by becoming familiar with that style. Activate your antennae to the teacher’s facial expressions, gestures, body movements, and raised or lowered voice. Notice when she repeats an idea or word, and be attentive to what she writes on the board. Always sit as close to the front of the room as possible – it’s easier to pick up on important clues that way.

Participate

If you don’t understand something or have questions about it, ask! Join in discussions. Some people hold back, worrying about what others might think. Surveys show that people in an audience usually think highly of participators, often envying them for their courage even when they resent them for interrupting. Besides, what’s the worst other people can think – that you’re selfish in wanting to gain new knowledge?

Preview

If you know what the teacher is going to discuss, preview the material and find as much information on it as possible beforehand. Having some knowledge ahead of time will help you identify important points during a speech or lecture.

You’ll also know which concepts are unclear to you, so you can be prepared to ask questions. As you hear bits of information, you’ll find it easier to see how they fit together in the big picture. Previewing is one of the most effective ways to insure success and understanding.

Make the Auditory Visual

Your notes should be personal and meaningful to you, just like snapshots. Have you ever noticed how a picture from a vacation or important event brings a flood of memories – things you thought you’d forgotten?

When you’re taking in information, snap pictures of it by adding visual associations like symbols, drawings, and arrows as they occur to you. This way, your notes, even if reviewed months later, will remind you instantly of the material you knew was important at the time – and need to recall now.

Make Reviewing Easy

When taking/making notes, write on only one side of the paper. Use single sheets, not paper in a bound notebook. Then you can lay the sheets out in front of you or hang them up on the wall alter, when you need to review.

It’s also helpful to copy key notes onto three-by-five cards that you can carry around with you. When you’re standing in line, riding a bus, or waiting for a class to start, you can take them out for a few minutes of extra study or thinking time.

If students apply these tips to their note-taking, they will be more organized and more prepared to tackle whatever comes their way this year. They’ll be begging for their teachers to, “C’mon, gimme that test!”

* For one-on-one support from a SuperCamp facilitator, call our Grad Support Hotline at 1-800-285-3276, extension 170.

Student Motivation – What’s In It For Me?

Hop on over to YouTube. In the search bar, type in “Bored in school.” When the results pop up, you will see that there are over 25 THOUSAND videos that were either filmed while bored at school or were thought up during that same “lull” time.

It’s not the latest research. One need only watch the first 30 seconds of the video to know what’s happening: lack of attention and motivation. It’s common knowledge that teens have a harder time staying focused and motivated in work settings than adults do. Adults can look at a situation and usually discern some value in the mundane; teens – for the most part – usually look at a situation and dryly ask, “When will I ever use this?” The result is that they operate with low motivation, which keeps them from advancing. Out of desperation, parents and teachers try a host of things to get a student motivated. Personal tutoring, special classes, or extra attention at home can help, but motivation will stay low unless the student takes interest in what she’s doing.

With almost 30 years of research under our belt, we’ve found a number of factors that play into a student’s motivation, or lack thereof. The most important stems from a simple question:

“What’s In It For Me?” or WIIFM (pronounced wiffem) is what our kids need to be asking themselves in the classroom. Most likely, they’re already asking this question, but for the wrong reasons. WIIFM works because it is a step-based process and we know that we tend to be less overwhelmed when we can take things in “baby steps”. Jimmy knows that he wants to go to college, so his first baby step is paying attention in math class. The next baby step is studying for the big test. Maybe even asking that cute girl he sits across from to be a study partner. And so on. Helping kids and teens find the relationship between what they are being taught and the life that they’re living is the key to switching a “So what?” attitude to a “Now what?’ attitude. Learning is brought to life when students begin to connect the seemingly abstract events in their lives to who they are and their interests.

There are certainly other aspects that play into the enthusiasm with which a student looks at school and it is safe to say that some of the responsibility rests with our teachers. Much of the training we do with our Quantum Learning for Teachers professional development program focuses on facilitating effective classroom management based on motivation and designing engaging lessons that make content more meaningful.

The responsibility, however, always falls on the listener. By encouraging our children to be thinking ahead and thinking about what they want, we are helping them to become proactive, motivated learners – regardless of the situation.

Use It or Lose It! – Applying SuperCamp Skills Throughout the Year

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt

Imagine an ice cream cone. Two mammoth-size scoops of your favorite flavor perched ever-so-gently on top. Sounds amazing, right? The only problem is the summer heat blasting down on you and that precious dessert. The logical solution: eat now, eat fast (avoid brainfreeze!).

Summer is officially gone, our kids have begrudgingly made their way back to school, and it’s very possible that SuperCamp was the most delicious treat they got all summer. The day they graduated from camp, that SuperCamp ice cream cone was fresh, cool, and seemingly endless. But we all know that the first day of school is just like a heat wave – new friends, new classes, and pressure to fall back into old habits. If we don’t keep eating, all that good stuff will have melted onto the floor.

In order to make the camp-to-school transition smooth and ongoing, we at SuperCamp have created a number of strategies to assist you and your SuperCamp grad in holding onto powerful strategies, mindsets, and goals:

• Our grad support hub is QuantumLearner.com, which will be constantly updated throughout the year. This is where you can access pictures from your student’s SuperCamp experience. One way to offer support is to print off pictures of your son or daughter with their friends at camp and post them near their ‘Homework Spot’ at home. This will keep them enthused about using SuperCamp skills throughout the year. QuantumLearner.com is your first stop for Grad Support.

• NEW FOR 2009! We are proud to introduce our Grad Support Hotline at 1-800-285-3276, extension 170. Have your camper leave a message (anything regarding SuperCamp skills and tools) and one of our trained SuperCamp Facilitators will call back with a refresher, pep talk, or whatever is needed! Your son or daughter may be hesitant to ask for help; let them know that they might get to speak with a Facilitator who was at their camp and that all of our Facilitators are dynamic, fun, and love to help! Again, call our main number at 1-800-285-3276 and dial extension 170.

• Refresher videos will be available once-a-month on YouTube and QuantumLearner.com based on topics that are appropriate for the time of year, (i.e. Test-Taking Skills in December for Midterms). No boring lectures – all the sweetness of SuperCamp in a quick, informative fashion.

• Visit our student and parent support page for a quick review of some of the most common SuperCamp support topics.

• Facebook! As you’re reading this, it’s very possible that your child is currently on Facebook or has been at some point during the last 2 hours. With that knowledge, we have created a number of groups and support networks and even an official SuperCamp Facebook page as a way of bringing our world to theirs. Encourage your kids to keep in touch with their SuperCamp friends and staff members and look at pictures from camp. Facebook is a great way to stay connected, however, if your student has questions for staff about SuperCamp curriculum, please direct them to the Grad Support Hotline (800-285-3276×170).

• Find a time (after asking permission) to look over your student’s SuperCamp playbook with them and ask questions about learned skills. Top things to ask about: Goals, the Quantum Reading process, Strategies (SLANT, Notes TM, Mind Mapping), and the 8 Keys of Excellence.

• If you’re interested in having your son or daughter come back to SuperCamp in 2010 (and they were a student in Senior Forum), encourage them to come back on Leadership Training Team to further develop their skills while getting the chance to have a new, different camp experience. For more information, check out our teen summer camps page and scroll down to Leadership Training Team or call 1-800-285-3276.

We are so excited to have had your student at SuperCamp this summer and are committed to making sure you get the return on your investment. Encourage your kids to use our resources – we want to keep them successful.

We’re looking forward to helping you and your student keep that ice cream cone fresh and “non-melty” throughout the school year!