Dear MEL Topic Readers,
When the best way to take note is by hand
When you take notes in class or a meeting, which
do you prefer, typing on the keyboard or writing by hand? In most cases, you
can take notes faster by typing than by writing with a pen and paper. But that
does not necessarily mean you learned it better. According to a study conducted
in a US university, even though those who typed and wrote showed no significant
difference when it comes to remembering the fact, students in the latter group were
able to explain what they learned better. The researchers found that students
who used keyboards simply typed what was said without thinking so much while
those who took notes by hand wrote what they thought was important. It seems
like verbatim notetaking versus summarizing, the former of which involves shallower cognitive processing. Indeed, when you take notes, you tend to
process the information more deeply and write down only the essence or what you
think is important, which certainly requires more thinking.
It sounds like typing is nearly just moving
your fingers without thinking too much while writing activates your brain more
but moves your hands less.
But what if there is no textbook to annotate in
and you have to make notes on your own piece of paper? Will you revise it
later?
Whichever the way you prefer, using your brain is the key to learn things better.
Enjoy reading the article and think about how you
take notes in the next class or meeting.
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