Friday, February 17, 2012

notes, notes, everywhere...

...nor any thought to think?*


I'm always taking notes, most of which I never find/see/understand after the ink is dry. But just as I was wondering why in the world I bother to scribble all that, and after a week of checking blank or doodle-filled, hence useless, notebooks, something I had written weeks ago (and could not find for you now even if you offered cash) popped into my head. I realized that whether the student actually goes back and re-reads his/her notes or not, the very act of putting pencil (leaky pen, fluorescent highlighter, crayon crumb, whatever) to paper somehow reinforces the fact or idea in those growing, connection-building brains.
At least, I hope it does.

So how do I get the students to take better notes?
Pretty colored pens and post-it notes? Copying my example to the letter? Grade them hard if they do not take quality notes? Any suggestions?




*my apologies, Mr. Coleridge.

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