Writing to Learn

Note taking in class is completely different today. When I was an undergrad I got so excited to buy all new notebooks, pens, post-its, and highlighters in prep for a September start; color-coded of course and accessorized by a cute tote and pencil case! Remember staring at the pen wall in Business Depot? (this was before ‘Staples’ guys) and wondering, Felt-tip? Ball-point? Medium or fine? All those cool gel ones!? I mean honestly, how many variations in ink-pens are there!!?!? But if we’re keepin’ it real (and obvi that's what I’m up to)—the decision between blue or black ink really chooses you ;)

Anyway, regardless of whether you’re a huge nerd about back-to-school supplies (like me), nowadays (“nowadays” ? I went to high school in the nineties!), students prefer the click-clackety sound on a fresh new keyboard instead of wrangling some ineffective leaky pen across the page. Perhaps it is because they can “type faster” than they can write, or feel like files are organized better by keeping them all in one place (how a computer hard-drive differs in some way from a coiled notebook I’m not sure…)---doesn’t matter! because handwriting is slow, messy, and soooo 2002.

Well, it turns out that by passively listening to a lecture while typing verbatim your prof’s every word is kind of…mmm…. pointless – IF you are interested in learning that is. This article on edutopia by Ainissa Ramirez uses the current research by Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014) to explain how the real connection to any new topic or material happens by mind-to-pen-to-paper, wherein students are forced to synthesize what they hear and transcribe it as such. I must admit, I’ve found that using pen and paper is extremely effective when summarizing journal articles or other reading material that I want to recall later. Even though I can type WAAAAAYY faster than I can write (there it is. Told ya). I often find myself mindlessly dictating into a word document only having to re-read my notes, or worse, the entire article over again. Clearly this is NOT an effective use of my time (or brain power). Every chance for note taking is a unique opportunity to create experiential links between information and your powerful awesome brain. So at your next lecture, consider bringing a notepad and a fancy pen instead of your laptop. Because let’s be honest, you can check your facebook after class.

Cited

Mueller PA and Oppenheimer DM. (2014) The pen is mightier than the keyboard: Advantages of longhand over laptop note taking. Psychological Science 25(6):1159-1168.