Effective Note-Taking

For my upcoming Calculus 295 test this week I decided to prepare by taking a different approach to the note-taking throughout the week. I used both of the note-taking strategies Dr. Blumin recommended this week, the 1 Plus 3 notes and the Plug-In Notes for preparation for the exam. These note-taking strategies cater to a visual or kinesthetic learner, as they provide an organized way to view the material and they provide visual examples to relate the notes to. I used the 1 Plus 3 notes for each topic within chapter 3 of the class material, but I used the Plug-In notes strategy for the topic which i found the hardest: Related Rates. I separated the Related Rates Topic from the rest of the topics because I felt that I needed to spend extra time on this topic to understand it. Spending extra time on the topic meant making a study aide that was more effective, so I added visual appeal to the problems to make them easier to understand. Doing so really appealed to me as a kinesthetic learner as I could relate the problems to real life examples and diagrams.

1 Plus 3 Notes

The 1 Plus 3 Notes strategy (shown above) was extremely helpful as it really organized the material, making it easier to interpret. I am also a very linear learner, and it helped to let me know which topics came after each other. This is a very important thing to know within a Calculus course as each topic is cumulative and builds upon the previous topic. I can also pinpoint my misunderstandings with material and find out how to solve them. With this note-taking strategy I was able to do 3 things all at one: View the key topics, Assess each topic with examples from each, and create test questions based on all of the information. The best thing about this strategy is that it serves as great exam preparation as well.

Plug-In Notes

I used the help of the Plug-In Notes strategy to grasp a greater understanding of the Related Rates topic withing my Calculus class. The Plug In Notes required me to leave spaces between the material taught in class so that I could later add visual examples or graphic organizers to understand the material shown. In this case I wrote down the problems in class, but later drew detailed pictures to give myself a visual aspect to the problems. Doing this enabled me to gain a greater sense of how to approach the problems by thinking about how they would actually happen in a real life setting.

The use of two of these strategies came in the clutch as I have an exam this upcoming week. I feel that with these strategies however I can link all of the topics I've learned and make sense of the things I do not understand. Aside from providing an effective note-taking strategy these techniques are great for organizing data, making them more visually appealing and easier to assess. I would recommend these strategies to anyone who like to add visual aspects to their notes, and to those who like to have a list of all the information with detailed examples right beside them.