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Since much of the content of college courses is presented in lecture form
and many of our students have had little, if any, formal training on how
to take lecture notes, helping students take more effective lecture notes
becomes extremely important. For students with certain types of disabilities,
the ability to follow a lecture and take adequate notes is very difficult.
To meet the learning needs of all students in a class, each instructor
should look closely at the organization and structure of each classroom
lecture. By incorporating visual and auditory aids, instructors can help
all students, not just those with disabilities, follow lectures more effectively.
Most students learn best when they have a visual framework to help
them organize information. By making use of the blackboard or overhead
transparencies, you can greatly enhance a student’s ability to
organize lecture material. Some ideas to consider include:
- List main points on the blackboard as you speak.
- Outline your lecture on the board or overhead transparencies
as you speak.
- At the end of class, a complete lecture outline should be visible.
- Provide students with a blank or partially completed outline
listing main headings. Students fill in the blanks with specifics
from the lecture as you speak.
- Conscientiously use enumeration and other transitional phrases
to help students identify main ideas and see the connections between
ideas as you speak.
- Help students distinguish between major and minor ideas. Show
these distinctions clearly on the blackboard or overhead transparencies.
- Be sure to identify and label examples or analogies. Students
often write down the example, but have no idea what concept the example
illustrates.
- Clearly label anecdotes. Students often record the funny story,
but miss the main idea.
- Occasionally review the notes your students are taking. The
difference between what you’ve said and what your students have
written down can be dramatic.
- Allow students to tape record lectures, but stress that a tape
of the lecture is no substitute for a written record of the class.
For a taped lecture to be beneficial, students must take notes from
the tape starting and stopping the tape as needed.
- Help students see the connection between textbook reading and
classroom lectures. Refer to chapters and page numbers as you speak
to reinforce these connections.
- Begin lectures with a review. Always start your lecture with
information already familiar to the class.
- Repeat important points.
- Encourage students to preview chapters and review previous lecture
notes before coming to class.
- Encourage students to write a summary paragraph at the end of
each lecture. You may want to model this technique on the
board at the beginning of the semester and allow five minutes at the
end of class for students to write their summary paragraphs.
- Encourage students to revise their notes as soon as possible
after class.
- Help students develop their own glossary for the technical vocabulary
of the course.
- Put new terms and definitions on the board or overhead transparencies.
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