Don’t write down everything the teacher says

Over the years that I’ve been teaching college classes, there’s a disturbing trend which I assume was picked up in grade school: the students believe that good note-taking involves writing down as much as they can of what the professor says during the lecture.

This misunderstanding of how to take good notes results in a lot of push-back over my technology policy (which is to be as tech free as possible).

“But I type faster than I write!” the students argue.

This may be technically true, but a little bit of friction tends to go a long way. When I have to stop and write stuff down by hand, I write fewer things (and therefore become more selective about what I capture) and I put myself in a position where I need to think about my learning.

Typing up a page of notes might mean that I never look at it again.

So, don’t write down what the teacher says.

Instead, engage in learning and write down only what needs to be taken away.