Note-Taking: Focusing On Concepts

Abstract

This experiment evaluates the hypothesis that note-taking promotes learning where it requires students to increase their focus on the ideas they record in their notes. It does so by increasing both the attention paid to the critical components of the key idea, and the amount of time students spend rehearsing the idea in working memory. Previous research indicates that when students use copy-paste functionality to take notes on text-based material, they learn less when they create wordier notes. We believe these results come from the low cost of such wordy notes. Using copy-paste functionality, students can easily select large amounts of text after a cursory read-through.

This experiment compares unrestricted copy-paste with restricted copy-paste, in which the amount of text students can select in any one action is limited. Restrictions are aimed at increasing attention paid to what is being recorded, and thus increasing learning. Two types of restrictions will be evaluated: those that are required, and those that are recommended.

Glossary

Note-taking: The act of recording ideas from learning material, either by marking up the learning material directly or creating a separate sheet of “notes.”

Selection: This term is used in the context of this study to identify the behavior of using the mouse and cursor to actively highlight a portion of digital text. Selection is first step for several online note-taking techniques, including copy-paste and annotation.

Copy-Paste: This is the act of selecting material, copying it to the computer clipboard (via a keyboard shortcut or menu), and then pasting it into students’ notes.

Research Question

Does note-taking promote learning by increasing focus on the ideas students are recording?

Background/Significance

Many researchers believe that the beneficial learning outcomes observed for note-taking are derived from an increased attention to learning materials. Most studies that evaluate what students record show that recorded ideas are much more likely to be recalled at testing than ideas that are not recorded. The wordiness with which an idea is recorded in notes may also be an attentional component of note-taking. However, the research is somewhat equivocal as to whether wordiness is beneficial or detrimental.

My own research has shown that the benefits of wordiness vary according to how notes are recorded. Specifically, when ideas are recorded using copy-paste functionality, wordiness appears detrimental to learning. This is not the case for handwritten or typed notes. There may be two processes involved here. First, wordy notes have little associated cost when pasted. Using the mouse to select more text takes an insignificant amount of time. Secondly, selecting more text may be an indicator of less focus on the important components of the idea being recorded. As ideas are easier to record than when they are typed or handwritten, students may be less motivated to identify the critical components for recording.

The hypothesis of this experiment is that increasing the cost of recording notes may motivate students to focus more on what they are recording. By restricting the amount of text students can select in any one copy-paste action, we hope to increase student focus. An earlier interface designed showed both lower learning and reduced usage, perhaps due to student frustration. Due to this inhibited behavior, we were unable to evaluate the stated hypothesis. In this experiment, we aim to design more user-friendly restrictions, and evaluate the difference between required restrictions, where students are not allowed to make inappropriate selections, and recommended restrictions, where students are told when their selections may be suboptimal.

Dependent Variables

Behavior

Note-Quantity: The total number of ideas students place in their notes is captured, as well as the number of words used to express those ideas.

Note-Wording: How students word their notes is recorded. Each ideas is either recorded Verbatim, Abbreviated, or in students Own words.

Completion Time: The time students take to complete the learning material is recorded.

Motivation/Interest

Experience: After taking the final test, students are given a survey which solicits their reaction to the tool they used. They are asked to identify their most and least favorite features of the tools, and how they believe the tool affected their note-taking behavior.

Tests

Note: all tests include both multiple choice and free response questions. The multiple choice questions all involve solving problems (for example, given a response structure, which variables are direct causes of an effect, or which interact to produce an effect). In addition, some free response questions ask students to explain terminology used in the module.

Normal Learning, immediate: Students are given a test immediately after studying the material.

Long-Term Retention, Normal Learning: Students return a week following the treatment (which lasts between 30 and 90 minutes) to take this test.

Normal Learning, review: After taking the long-term retention test, students are given their notes to review for 5 minutes. Following this review period, students take a final test.

Independent Variables

Note-taking Treatment

Unrestricted Paste: Students can only create notes by copy-pasting material from the learning content to their notepad. Students can select as much material as they like in any single pasting action.

Required Restriction: Students can only create notes by copy-pasting material from the learning content to their notepad. However, students are restricted with regards to how much text they can select in any single pasting action. These restrictions are absolute, so that any restrictions above the given criterion will not be allowed.

Recommended Restriction: Like "Required Restriction," only now students are told when the criterion is violated, but can still choose to make the selection.

Read-Only: In this condition, students do not take notes, they are only allowed to read the material.

Student Variables

SAT Score: All students are asked to provide their SAT scores, as in previous studies SAT-Math was found to be an important covariate.

Pretest score: Prior to the learning material, students take a pre-test similar to the normal tests described above.

Preferences: In the survey, students are asked how they prefer to take notes in their regular student-life.

Hypotheses

Note-taking benefits students because it allows them to simultaneously coordinate two representations of the same material, the fixed one created by the content author, and their own set of notes.

Findings

If coordination is an important factor in note-taking, the highlighting tool should perform worse on learning outcomes than the copy-paste tool, as it does not involve the creation of a separate set of notes.

Descendents

None at this time

Further Information

Wiley, J. (2001) Supporting understanding through task and browser design. Proceedings of the Twenty-third annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, (pp. 1136-1143). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.