the average student takes notes at a
rate of one third of a word per second
the average teacher speaks about two to
three words per second bottom line if
you're trying to copy down everything
your teacher is saying well he drones on
about Shakespeare you're going to fall
seriously behind note-taking is an
important skill in and out of school it
can make the difference between passing
and failing a test excelling at a job or
even enjoying a complicated movie and
most of us don't do it well welcome to
well cast we took a viewer suggestion
for this week's episode the art of
notetaking we're going to give you a
three step method for taking notes that
will actually help you learn numerous
studies over the years have proven
what's already pretty obvious people who
take notes remember the material better
than those who don't
but how much better a 1970 study by
developmental psychologist Michael Hal
found the students were seven times more
likely to remember facts one week after
hearing them if they took notes but
here's the thing most people don't know
how to take notes we're taught from a
very young age that when a teacher
starts delivering a load of information
for example Shakespeare described Romeo
Julius love as star-crossed that we
should start writing down as much as
what they're saying is possible too well
this is an incredibly inefficient way to
take notes why you're not actually
learning anything you're simply acting
as a human audio recorder a recorder by
the way that only picks up 1 out of
every 10 words and you're saving the
learning for later when you'll have an
even less complete lesson plan to look
over note-taking should actually act as
a form of learning something that helps
you work your way through the lesson as
the teacher is giving it so that when
you leave the classroom already
understand the concepts so how do you do
that we have a three-step method for
taking the kind of notes that force you
to learn the material inside the
classroom and not out pause and print
this sheet and put it in your binder
ready for your next class finished ok
let's go
step one don't write down facts right
down conclusions don't worry about
capturing every single thing your
teacher is saying spend more time
listening trying to understand the
lecture when you do start writing or
Matt your notes as a series of questions
posed by the teachers lecture fill in
your own answers for example question
what is the central theme in Romeo and
Juliet inclusion or than being a tragic
love story Romeo and Juliet is about the
consequences of deeply held grudges this
way you're recording the importance of
what the teacher is saying and not just
raw facts when you do need to include
data add only the most important points
under each question this is the evidence
for each questions answer step 2 use
colored pens yeah that's right this will
help you remember your notes visually
also if you establish a set template for
your notes be able to take them more
efficiently right questions in red and
definitions in blue conclusions in green
step 3
review your notes don't relearn them
spend at least 10 minutes organizing
your notes after class want to test your
comprehension try teaching the material
to a classmate this will be a great
marker to see if you've actually learned
anything note-taking is a valuable life
skill that doesn't lose its utility when
you graduate find ways to integrate
note-taking in your daily life you'll
soon find yourself in the exclusive and
creative group of people who bring out
their mole skins at lectures movies and
TED Talks all right we'll caster's let's
recap today we learned how to take notes
in a way that ensures you learn the
material during class time and not after
first write down your conclusions
instead of a barrage of facts second use
your questions to make connections and
third spend 10 minutes going over these
notes at the end of class and if you
should choose try going over these notes
by teaching them to a classmate or
friend hey who was that lady uh okay do
these tips help
let us know or if you have a wellness
topic that you'd like to see covered
Judas an email we'd love to see your
notes oh oh man
tweet us at watch webcast email us at
watch webcast at gmail.com or leave a
comment down below we'll see you next
time
[Music]