Is Note Making An Effective Learning Method?

When I started law school, I read a book that taught me how to make case briefs. Since then, I had the habit of meticulously making case brief on every case that I read. This provided me with a lot of clarity about the general concepts, but it all seemed a bit meaningless when it was exam time. Suddenly, it felt like all the time spend on making notes could have been better utilised. This brings us to today’s questions, should I take notes to study a subject?

The simple answer is that you don’t have to make notes to study a subject. Writing something tells your brain that it need not be memorised because it’s already written down. If your goal is to memorise what you write, note taking would be an ineffective practice. The steps you take to make notes, like summarising, highlighting and re-reading, are not efficient study methods. Going over your notes is just a waste of time compared to better alternatives like flash cards, problem solving or other higher order learning methods. That said, sometimes taking notes can be helpful. Notes can make excellent reference material and can aid reflection. They can help focus your attention during lectures and are useful when taking down information that need not be memorised, like a grocery list.  

Let me explain why this is the case

Your Brain Doesn’t Think The Information You Write Down Is Worth Remembering:

There is this research from 2014 that found that taking notes leads to you instantaneously forgetting the information because the brain categories this information as not worth memorising since it’s written down. The traditional idea behind studying something is to remember the information so you can use it when it’s necessary. By this logic, memory becomes an important element of learning. Since the purpose of taking notes is to help you remember information, and if your brain is going to instantaneously forget that information, isn’t it better to find an alternative to note taking?

It’s One Of The Least Effective Study Methods:

Besides the previous research, there are other studies that point out the redundancy of taking notes. A different study analysing several study methods found that note taking was one of the least effective methods to study something since it includes elements of re-reading, highlighting and summarisation. When you highlight a text, make notes of it and then expect to study from the notes by re-reading them, you’re not really learning anything compared to more efficient alternatives like flash cards, memory palace or higher order thinking. To provide an analogy, it’s like hitting a nail with a shoe when you have a hammer. Its better to use the more appropriate tool.

I have to highlight here that this research is not fool proof. In this study, it’s general applicability and available evidence that determined the efficiency of a method. This means there is a likely situation where highlighting, note making or re-reading could be efficient, but it’s not considered in this research because its testing for general applicability based on existing evidence. 

At the end of the day, every research has its drawbacks. But that doesn’t mean they are not worth considering. The inefficiency of note taking is an interesting argument, but then what are the suggested alternatives that are more effective?

What Are The Better Alternatives?:

This one article suggests that the best way to study something is to activity engage with the information. The article asserts that taking note impedes cognitively engaging with the material at hand. Focusing on notes focuses our attention on individual points rather than the underlying theme. The author of the article proposes that it’s better to think critically about an information presented in class and take part in class discussion rather than take notes. While I do not doubt that actively engaging with the content helps you remember and understand the information, I am sceptical of the idea that you could understand and remember everything that happens in a lecture merely through class discussions and critical engagement.

The fact is, there is considerable limit to our working memory and our short term memory. Both the short term memory and working memory only last for about 20 seconds, and an average person can only hold up to 7 new bits of information at a time(source). Assuming that all information in a lecture is not presented in one single logical chunk, it is unlikely that the brain will retain several ideas and concept at the same time. This means, while trying to critically engage with the topic, you may miss out on some concepts that apply to the discussion, and, since you never wrote it down, it’s unlikely that you will remember it in the future. Plus, there is nothing preventing you from making essential notes while still having a class discussion. This may be a better alternative because every important point would be covered either in the discussion or your note.

Are Flashcards A Better Alternative?: 

Another very popular alternative is to use flashcard softwares like Anki or SuperMemo. While the practicality of this method has been proven by research, I would still criticise this approach because of its over focus on memorisation. Having excellent memory of something or memorising a lot of information about the subject does not mean that you understand the subject or can contribute to the field. To say that you have properly understood the subject, you need to develop higher order thinking. The focus on memory seems to be motivated by the idea of getting better grades. But, as we already discussed, grades are not as relevant as a person may think. While it may help you remember a lot of concepts that may help you get higher grades, you are wasting the time that you can spend developing higher order thinking skills.

Then the best method to learn something is through problem-solving and through theorising in the relevant field. While memorisation may help you get top grades, it will not teach you how to think like a physicist or how to think like a mathematician. This is done by actively working on the problems in the field and the theorising on it. Remember that the purpose of education is to build a mental framework from which you can see the world; i.e., properly understanding a subject means it alters the way you think about the world (source). 

That said, if a person is engaging in higher-order learning, does that mean that the person does not have to take notes at all? I don’t believe this is the case. Even the research study that found that note taking is a less efficient method of learning only did so because it looked at the efficiency of this matter generally. Note taking is not a study tool that applies in all context. Clearly, making case brief did not help me during my law exams. But that doesn’t mean that the case briefs I made did not help me at all. There are situations where taking notes can be a useful.

When Should I Make Notes?:

Going back to my story on case briefs, while it did not help me during my exams, it was quiet useful for class discussions and reference. It help me have an overview of that laws related to a particular topic, and, in case a professor requested the brief of a case in class, I could just read it out of my notes instead of trying to re-collect it from my memory. In the legal field, memorising the facts of the case are not as relevant as understanding how a law is being applied. Therefore, memorising the cases merely to present it in class would have been a terrible choice on my part. It was probably a better choice to keep the notes and then focus on memorising the legal theories.

So, if notes have some applicability, what are the instances in which you should make notes? 

Take Notes When You Don’t Have To Memorise Something:

Like the above example of case briefs, there are instances in life where you do not have to memorise a certain information. For example, consider making a grocery list. Memorising the list just for the small instance where you go to the market would be a wasted use of time. Instead, it would take much less effort to write a list on a piece of paper and use it as a memory substitute. Something similar can be said for instances where you are presenting something or when you are giving a speech. It would certainly require some practice before you can present or give a speech smoothly, but relying purely on your memory may lead to an embarrassing situation where are you forget the content you’re supposed to present in front of a huge number of people. In this instance, wouldn’t it be better to have the information in writing?

Take Notes During Lectures:

Unlike what the previous article suggests, there are studies that found taking notes during a lecture can help you actively reflect on its content. As I mentioned before, humans have a very limited short-term and working memory. Reflecting on every concept you just heard may not be possible with just the help of these memories. Instead, it is better to write down the information you receive and then to contemplate importance and relevance. 

Similarly, taking notes during a lecture can help you focus your attention on what is being said, even if you are not focusing on the bigger picture. This can be useful for students who cannot just listen and absorb everything that is happening. To take notes, you have to actively listen to what is being said in class, and if you are trying to limit your notes to just include the key point that are being discussed, it would increase your active listening because now you have to read out the unimportant parts of the lecture from the more important part of the lecture. 

You can later use these notes as a reference for higher-order learning.

Take Notes For Greater Comprehension: 

Imagine you’re dealing with a complex concept you’re unable to understand. You can either try reading the content over and over again or you may just follow the advice of creating a flashcard from the information. The problem here is, flashcards are a tool for memorisation and will not work unless you already understand the content you’re trying to memorise. In these instances, it is important to use lower-level learning methods to break down the concept and understand it before committing them to memory or using them for higher order learning. In such instances, note-taking can be a suitable tool that will help you break down complex information into words that are more familiar to you. Once you understand the content, over focusing on the notes or re-reading the content is not advisable. It is better to move onto memorisation or higher order learning.

Take Notes To Sell: 

This point is not as typical as the points above, and it’s not directly related to learning. But I recently came across a website that sells medical notes for a price. This made me realise that the notes you take may be a saleable good that holds value to other students in your field. You could re-distribute your notes among your juniors, sell it online, or even use them as an outline to write your own book. Regardless, if you’re studying something interesting, chances are that there are people out there who are interested in gaining more knowledge about it. Having proper notes can be advantages in these situations as it presents an excellent business opportunity.

Conclusion – Make Notes But Only When Necessary:

We saw many instances where note-taking can be useful and others where they can be a waste of time. At least for now, there is no formula that helps you determine when to use note-taking. 

If you are dealing with important information that has to be committed to memory, it’s better to go with flash cards or memory palace. If you are dealing with information that need not be memorised completely (if only an essential idea is required) I suggest memorising the important bits while keeping the rest of the information in a written or digital copy. That said, always remember that no research is perfect. There can be unexplored situation where note taking is more advantageous than any other method.