Notes on notes

Some thoughts on how to take notes in physics.  This is all personal preference, but it has served me well.

1.  Use a bound notebook, ideally with quad-paper.  Spiral-bound notebooks fall apart and binders are cumbersome (and the pages fall out before long).  Bound notebooks keep you "honest."

2.  Use a new page for each new class and/or topic.

3.  Write on only side of the page - it makes it easier to read, particularly if you use pen (which can bleed through to the other side).

4.  Give each new page a heading and date.

5.  Use color to highlight central concepts and/or put boxes around important ideas or equations.

6.  Draw pictures that represent the problem - label relevant things in the diagram.

7.  Don't use a laptop to take notes.  You spend too much time getting down trivial details and will inevitably miss something critical.  It is also way too tedious to include equations, pictures, graphs, calculations and anything that really demands visual representation.  The evidence is also pretty clear on this - taking notes on a laptop is not as helpful (toward understanding or remembering) as taking notes by hand.  

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-learning-secret-don-t-take-notes-with-a-laptop/

8.  Keep a running page of the important equations or ideas - maybe on the inside cover of the notebook.  Label formulas.

9.  If things are moving too quickly for you, leave space for omitted notes – with a heading of what that topic is.  And then touch base with me or a classmate to fill in the gaps.

10.  Leave space in your notes – don’t cram them all together.  Again, writing on one side of the page is helpful.

11.  If you have questions, but don’t want to ask them in class (or see that we have moved beyond that topic already and you don’t want to revisit it at the moment) – write down the questions in the margin of your notes, and circle it.  And then seek out the answer during a break, after class, or by email.  But get your question answered!

12.  If taking notes on a laptop is really important for your learning, take images of the board and incorporate them into your notes.  Some students like OneNote or EverNote for note-taking, but other programs exist and may be worth considering. 

13.  By and large, if it is on the board it should probably be written down.  For me personally - if I think it is important for the students, I will write it on the board.

14.  Never be shy about asking for extra help – even to have me look at your notes.  Sometimes I can tell where you went wrong in your thinking by seeing errors in your notes.

15.  I AM ON YOUR SIDE.