February 2022 – Learning Aloud

Reality of Learning Tactics

Folks like me and many I follow get all excited about the latest learning tactics and the research that investigates if and why the tactics work. Every once in a while I think back to some observations I made while lecturing to large groups of undergraduates who took Introductory and Educational Psychology.

After an introduction to the Cornell Note-Taking system, I asked if anyone recognized what I was describing from middle-school or high school. Typically, a third-or so of the students would raise their hands. I then would ask how many were using the Cornell system to take notes on my presentation. In doing this for many years, I think I may have found one or two students who were using the system. For the occasional ed psych prof who reads my posts, give these questions a try and see what you discover.

I often ask about this experience in my grad courses seeking an explanation. Nothing much ever emerges from this request, but I would often observe that more research should be focused on the barriers to the adoption of proven study tactics. The Cornell system is simple enough. It can’t be exposure since the Cornell system is introduced in K12 and college study skill programs. Maybe the younger students were required to show that they were using the system.

The one exception I can think of to my observation regarding college student application of study tactics is the use of flash cards. At least some students in fields that require the memory for lots of specifics (I tend to think of PT and OT students) I noticed breaking out their decks of cards while waiting for my classes to begin. So there is this interesting exception to investigate. Why flash cards and note Cornell notes?

Specialized note taking

I think of specialized note-taking tactics as approaches that go beyond the learner-controlled recording of text and maybe some basic sketches. These approaches involve some attempt to scaffold what I would describe as elaboration. I like to describe elaboration as a type of personalization that goes beyond recording information in a verbatim way involving summarization and/or the addition of examples or cross-references to other existing knowledge. A challenge here is the possible, working memory overload required to personalize the information input, and whether the circumstances of the presentation and capabilities of the individual learner allow the capacity for elaboration. The application of note taking while reading and listening to a presentation can be quite different because of differences in the opportunity to control the rate of input.

Popular examples of specialized tactics proposed for the K12 environment include Cornell notes, sketchnoting, and concept mapping. All involve either an extension or a rerepresentation of ideas from the content to be mastered. I will admit a bias in not being a strong advocate of any of these tactics with perhaps the most enthusiasm for the Cornell system. My reaction is mostly based on the increased demands on working memory these systems impose and whether the product generated in the case of sketch notes and concept maps is more useful longterm as a summarization.

For those wanting to investigate sketchnoting and the Cornell system here are some resources.

Sketchnoting video, Kathy Schrock’s sketch noting guide, and an engineering setting argued to benefit from educators at Iowa State (see references below).

Cornell Notes

I use Evernote as an information archive. Evernote offers different templates and one is for Cornell Notes. The template offers a way to explain what I mean by a scaffold for personalization.

I have come to see note-taking as best understood as a three stage process (see references that follow). From this template, you can see how the middle stage – the after class or revision stage – would be applied. After taking notes and after class, you can generate a summary (bottom box) and generate questions (above the middle box). Developing a summary (something like Ahern’s Smart Notes) could involve elaboration. The questions could improve the effectiveness of review (study).

One final observation – I find it strange that there are so many carefully controlled research studies comparing taking notes by hand versus by a digital device and so few directly comparing these specialized note taking systems and traditional note taking.

References:

Chen, P. H. (2021). In-class and after-class lecture note-taking strategies. Active Learning in Higher Education, 22(3), 245-260.

Luo, L., Kiewra, K. A., & Samuelson, L. (2016). Revising lecture notes: how revision, pauses, and partners affect note taking and achievement. Instructional Science, 44(1), 45-67.

V. Paepcke-Hjeltness, M. Mina and A. Cyamani, “Sketchnoting: A new approach to developing visual communication ability, improving critical thinking and creative confidence for engineering and design students,” 2017 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2017, pp. 1-5, doi: 10.1109/FIE.2017.8190659.

Educational Influencers

I came across several studies from a group that have been investigating what could be described as education influences. Those of us who have attended educational conferences and followed educational topics on social media likely can identify several of the individuals these scholars now study. Back when Cindy and I attended several tech conferences a year, the same names seemed to surface across conferences as invited or highlighted speakers. Social media has increased the visibility of individuals who would qualify in this category.

The cast of characters seems somewhat different as some of the individuals I saw at conferences do not all expend their energy posting to social media. Others by way of high level of online activity and a message that attracts followers seem to have emerged without face to face appearances. More and more the payed invitations to present at conferences probably follows rather than precedes social media activity.

Because I come from a research tradition and attend researched focused conferences as well as what I would describe as conferences that were mainly attended by practitioners, I have always been intrigued by the lack of overlap between what seem two different worlds. The “rockstars” of one setting seem either invisible or avoiding the other setting. My training would argue that this is not the way it is supposed to work.

Personal observations aside I have come across a group investigating educational influencers and recommend their observations for consideration (see references at the conclusion of this post).

The work of the individuals I am now reading focus heavily on the role of social media and identify two concepts of interest – the micro-celebrity and the social media influencer. I will try to summarize their thinking but as always I encourage the reading of primary sources.

A micro-celebrity comes across as an ordinary person (probably a teacher or administrator in the beginning) who takes advantage of thoughtful self-presentation skills and engagement with online individuals they might encounter to increase their perceived status. They weave in their personal lives in their social media presentation and interactions to develop a sense of authenticity and connectedness. To some, the sense that one is reading or listening to the experiences of regular people is consistent with the understanding of social media as a democratic environment.

Once established some micro-celebrities take advantage of their followers to accept compensation for endorsing products and practices. The articles I cite seem to focus more on compensation for focusing on others and commercial products, but I would suggest that many I categorize in this group promote themselves and their own content. For example, they suggest their potential as a conference presenters or providers of professional development. Authors of texts and resources such as those available through teachers pay teachers would be included.

Without completely condemning this trend, the scholars studying this phenomena note that this process of micro-celebrity emerging as influences can have detrimental consequences. One area they have investigated is the qualify of resources available through teachers pay teachers focusing on content for the teaching of history. Analysis of these resources indicating that some of the resources are inaccurate and some even racist. They point to a concern that services such as teachers pay teachers exercise little effort a quality control. They have lobbied for improvements in such efforts. The concerns they express seem similar to what so many regulators are concerned about with the general lack of monitoring of information quality from politicians appearing on social media sites.

Carpenter, J. P., Shelton, C. C., & Schroeder, S. E. (2022). The education influencer: A new player in the educator professional landscape. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1-16.

Harris, L. M., Archambault, L., & Shelton, C. C. (2021). Issues of quality on Teachers Pay Teachers: an exploration of best-selling US history resources. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 1-19. [for a resource not behind a pay wall see this article from Slate]

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The people who make up your external brain

Back to a time when our expectations of social media were more optimistic. This interview Howard Rheingold conducts with Andy Clark claims the internet does not have to make us stupid. This discussion focuses on what habits make the difference. The notion that unproductive uses of online services are a habit rather than say a change in brain structure or an unchangeable requirement of a medium suggests the potential for learning or scaffolding.

I have come to this perspective after considering what some see as a problem with keyboard notetaking. The capacity to enter text faster via a keyboard in comparison to what most do with a pen would somehow seem to be an opportunity and not a liability. Why would this opportunity have to be utilized to enter verbatim rather than elaborated notes? It would seem an approach closer to transcription when notetaking with a keyboarding is a choice we make.

Moving On

I have decided that it is time to diversify my posts as many who read what I write here may not be that interested in notes and notetaking. My personal interest will require that I post on this topic from time to time. I will leave this topic for the time being with a recommendation.

A history prof from Bemidji State (my area of the woods) has an interest in this same topic and has hosted a book study group that meets regularly. The group is presently considering Ahrens’ book Smart Notes. The group has great discussions I cannot participate in because of the time difference (I am wintering in Kauai), but the content is available on YouTube.

Has taking notes been rediscovered

When I see many online references to something I am interested in, I sometimes wonder whether I have caught an early wave or my online interest has been noticed by some algorithm feeding me more of what I view.

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) had a recent article on notetaking strategies for children. The strategies are not new, but fit with present interest which involves strategies for a “processing” stage between original exposure and use. Sketch noting would make a great example of when this is necessary. The extra time required would not be practical in real time during exposure to information

Here is a second example. A post to Hacker news which seems an unusual outlet for consideration of notetaking. The focus on digital apps makes some sense. Read the interaction in response to the original comment about notetaking apps. The issue of committing to a specific app and not being attracted by every shiny new thing is a legitimate concern.

Adding a stage and an activity to the notetaking model

I came across a study on notetaking behavior that I thought might be a missing link in the other notetaking ideas I have been reading lately. Kiewra is a name that comes up repeatedly in thois area of research. I am guessing one of his students (Luo), Kiewra and Samuelson published a study in 2017 proposing that storage and review may not be an adequate way to engage in product note use. Perhaps a three stage approach would be more productive. Rather than just recording and review, effective notetaking might benefit from an intermediate stage – revision.

Luo, et al. (2016) investigate revision during pauses in a presentation or for the same amount of time immediately after the presentation. They speculate about benefits mostly from the increase in content added as notes or a type of retrieval practice explanation for later achievement gains.

I admit that this seems different from what I would describe as a generative effect. A three stage model makes some sense. For example, the Cornell notetaking system was developed to encourage a revision process and this additional activity was about more than just adding content that had been missed. Aherns book on Smart Notes proposed several types of notes generated over time:

Make fleeting notes.
Make literature notes.
Make permanent notes

Perhaps the focus on preparing for an exam is different than the Smart Note notion for long-term storage and personalized understanding. Whether for more meaningful use at a later date or to improve personal understanding, revision might make the most sense if was more what Ahrens had in mind.

Ahrens, S. (2017). How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking–for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers. Sönke Ahrens.

Luo, L., Kiewra, K. A., & Samuelson, L. (2016). Revising lecture notes: how revision, pauses, and partners affect note taking and achievement. Instructional Science, 44(1), 45-67.