Hello my Socratica friends!
We’re here to help you be a great student.
Today we’re going to demonstrate a technique for note-taking called “The Cornell Method.”
This method will help you take fast, efficient notes in class, plus it organizes your notes
to make reviewing easier.
You can also use this technique to take notes when you read your textbook or watch a video.
First, divide your paper into sections: Draw two lines, creating 3 areas.
The bigger column on the right is where you take your notes in class.
The smaller column on the left is where you’ll write cues
to help you navigate through your notes.
And the section at the bottom is for a summary.
You’ll fill in these last two sections after class when you review your notes.
In class, your teacher is presenting information in complete sentences, which is a good thing.
That helps us understand the ideas.
But that doesn’t mean you should write down those complete sentences word-for-word when
you take notes.
Now that you’ve heard the complete sentence and understand it, you can write down
a simplified version of the information.
We’re now going to play the beginning of one of our lessons,
on the History of the Atom.
Watch how we take simplified notes, not writing down every word, but just the key points.
We might say The Atomic Age started with the work of John Dalton (1766-1844).
Dalton proposed the Atomic Theory in 1803.
This picture of the world where everything is composed of atoms helped explain what had
been observed in chemical reactions.
For instance, different elements always combined to form chemical compounds in amounts that
were simple whole-number ratios.
Dalton proposed that each element had its own unique type of atom,
with a certain characteristic weight.
These atoms were very small, solid particles that were indivisible.
That was the model of the atom for almost a hundred years.
Since Dalton’s first conception, the model of the atom has evolved over time.
Each time new experimental observations were gathered that couldn’t be explained by the
atomic model of the day, the model had to be revised and refined.
For instance, the discovery of subatomic particles meant Dalton’s model, that said atoms were
indivisible...needed some work.
In 1897, J.J. Thomson (1856 - 1940) was the first to discover a subatomic particle, the
electron, through his experiments with cathode rays.
At this time, people weren’t sure if cathode rays were waves, or particles.
Thomson was using magnets and electrically charged plates to deflect cathode rays
(and thereby estimate their mass).
He showed that cathode rays must be made up of negatively charged particles that were
over a thousand times lighter than the smallest atom (that’s hydrogen).
Before this experimental result, it was thought that THE smallest particle WAS the hydrogen
atom.
To account for his observations, Thomson proposed the “plum pudding” model of the atom.
If you’ve never had plum pudding, that name may not make a lot of sense to you.
So imagine you have a dense chewy cake with little raisins all through it - maybe like
a raisin bagel, or a chocolate chip muffin, if you prefer.
The cake part is the bulk of the atom, and it’s positively charged, while the little
sweet bits of raisin, or chocolate would be the negatively charged electrons.
Let’s compare our notes to a transcript of the lesson.
You can see that our notes are much simpler and faster to read.
Notice how we used abbreviations wherever possible,
and that we left space between the major ideas.
If you read these short notes on their own, without hearing the lecture first, they might
not make sense to you.
But after you’ve heard the lecture, these notes will help you remember
the most important points.
Now wait a minute - don’t go anywhere.
You’re not finished taking notes when the lecture is over.
When you get home from class, you should re-read your notes.
Take this time to correct any obvious spelling mistakes.
It’s also a good idea to check your notes with a friend,
to make sure you didn’t miss anything important.
And now is the time to fill in those other sections.
These are going to make reviewing your notes much more efficient.
On the left, there’s a space for “Cues.”
Here, you will write short words and phrases that will cue your memory.
You can use these to quickly scan through your notes and find the most important information
when you need help on your homework or when you’re studying for a test.
On the bottom of the page, there’s a space for a summary.
This is where you write a very brief summary, or the take-home message, of the lecture.
Here I would write something like “Model of the Atom has changed over time
with new discoveries.
Dalton (indivisible), Thomson (plum-pudding model)...
and we know that more models arecoming in the rest of the lecture.
Remember, your teacher is giving you a lecture about what is really important and
what you most need to know.
Unfortunately, no one can remember every lecture, word-for-word.
But when you have a great set of notes, you can take the very best part of a lecture
home with you.
Your notes are just as important a resource as your textbook.
These notes are going to help you when you do your homework,
and when you study for a test.
Taking great notes is a key part of being a great student.
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