Note taking: How to Teach and Scaffold this Skill

Carolyn Boyles
Jul 07, 2008

Many students who have deficits in reading and writing skills also have difficulty in taking notes and summarizing information presented in class or from their readings.  Directly and explicitly teaching a structured note taking strategy is important - even critical - as students move into expository texts and content.

One scaffolding strategy that can reduce the writing required, separate key points from details and be used as a study strategy when preparing for review and test taking is a variation of the Cornell Notes strategy.  Students are given a structure for their note-taking with cues provided that direct their attention to where to record information and what to write.  This scaffolding can be faded as students become proficient and as they are older and are better able to discern key ideas from details.