What drives this paradoxical finding? Mueller and Oppenheimer postulate that taking notes by hand requires different types of cognitive processing than taking notes on a laptop, and these different processes have consequences for learning. Writing by hand is slower and more cumbersome than typing, and students cannot possibly write down every word in a lecture. Instead, they listen, digest, and summarize so that they can succinctly capture the essence of the information. Thus, taking notes by hand forces the brain to engage in some heavy “mental lifting,” and these efforts foster comprehension and retention.
—Cindy May, “A Learning Secret: Don’t Take Notes with a Laptop” (HT: Jack Yoest and Brian Lund)
Uh-oh! Dr. Clark – please fix your link to this very important article!!!
I teach music and am always nagging students to take analysis notes by hand – with a pencil/pen and paper, in order to exercise/preserve their cognitive skills.
There is a real positive difference in comprehension and retention, when creating hand-written notation. Those who only interact w/ screens do not absorb content nearly as deep or permanently.
It is as though the mediation blocks the intimate connection that occurs by doing real-time, tangible tasks. Humans learn best by DOING.
: )
Linked fixed. Thanks.
When I was working at Barts, I think it was the Christian Union President, Cleve, who complained about lectures going through his hand to the paper without engaging the brain. So leaving out the laptop is clearly only a start.
I always took notes by hand in lectures. Never fails.