Helping Students Develop Understanding:
Summarizing and Note Taking

Found Blur Motion by ilouque on Flickr

Summarizing and note taking strategies are closely linked and can be two of the most useful academic skills a student may possess.  They assist students in identifying the most important aspects of what they are learning.
 Practical applications of summarizing and note taking in the classroom may include:

• teaching students the rule-based summarizing strategy
  
• using summary frames
  
• teaching students a variety of note-taking formats such as informal outline, web, and combination notes 
  
• giving students teacher prepared notes
  
• reminding students to review their notes
  
  

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Summarizing

Effective summarization requires the student to decide what information needs to be deleted or substituted and what information to keep.  To achieve this they must delete some information, substitute some information, and keep some information.  The deletion and substitution of information involves the analyzing of information at a deep level. 

Summarizing techniques, such as the "rule-based" summary strategy or "summary frame" strategy can be demonstrated and practiced using word processiong or interactive whiteboard programs. 

Students may develop additional summarizing skills through the utilization of other summarizing tools.

Resources for Summarizing
Discussion Forums
Screen Capture and Screen Casting

Note Taking

Note taking ties in closely to summarizing.  To take effective notes students need to be able to synthesize the content, prioritize data, and organize the information. 
The use of note taking can take on a number of forms in a classroom.  "Teacher-prepared" notes, in which students copy notes prepared by the teacher, provide students with a clear picture of what the teacher considers important.  The "Informal Outline" format for note taking uses headings and indentation to highlight major ideas and related details.  The "Webbing" format uses circles to indicate the importance of certain topics.  The larger the circle, the more important the concept.  The "Combination Notes" format combines informal outline with the webbing format.

The practice of these strategies enhances a students'  ability to understand specific content for learning.

Resources for Note Taking
Digital Note Taking Tools
Social Bookmarking Tools