Jessica Skordal
T O P I C :
Refuses to Take Notes
Jessica Poses the Question. . . .
September 10, 2007
How do you inspire students to take notes and pay attention to you in class when all they do is spend time talking and not paying attention? I have a student who says he can't take notes because he's not smart enough. I have offered to slow down, help him with note taking skills, and even allow him to come in during seminar (study hall) to work with me on the notes. He has refused them all. I don't know how to help him and he is not doing well in the course. Any suggestions?
Shane Hampton answers. . . .
October 17, 2007
Jessica, one thing that my mentor has taught me to do in her class is give the students lecture guides. A lecture guide is a typed copy of your lecture with blanks for the student to fill in material as the teacher lectures. This technique may be a little more work for a teacher, but in the long run, it pays off in a couple of ways. One, the lecture guide helps the students follow along, including the slower students. Two, many times the lecture guide will meet special education modifications, and what we call at F------ High School 504 Plans, which are plans for students who have learning disabilites, etc. I am witness to its good effects on students, especially in a heavy lecture-based class.
Jane Keen answers. . . .
October 18, 2007
I have a student that is really, really slow, and doesn't try to take notes because it makes him feel like he is dumb to be so slow (which isn't the case... he is actually really reponsive verbally, it's just note taking). I have been taking extra steps for him. I know we don't have a lot of time or anything, but I have found it to be worthwhile.
I make an outline of the notes for him with things to fill in as we go. I also print out definitions with missing pieces. He has been keeping up a lot better, and his grades have improved.
I also watch him really closely and keep him on the ball. I make sure he is always writing, and I walk around the class a lot, making sure I walk by his desk often. I watch him as he writes, and make sure he gets it before I move on. Sometimes I even spell out complicated words when I say them, just to make sure that he knows how to write them.
It does take some extra time both of yours and out of class. However, he was failing, and is now passing the class, so it really helped him a lot.
As I have been doing these reforms for this student, I have been keeping good and encouraging communication with him. When I first noticed that he was having such a problem, I took him aside between classes and asked him if he was having trouble, and what the trouble was. He told me that he was having difficulty keeping up, and I asked him if he would put more effort into it if I tried to help him out a little. I also asked him for suggestions on activities we could do in class to make him more interested and what I could do for him to help him keep up. We made a plan together.
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