Laptop versus longhand note taking: effects on lecture notes and achievement

There has been a shift in college classrooms from students recording lecture notes using a longhand pencil-paper medium to using laptops. The present study investigated whether note-taking medium (laptop, longhand) influenced note taking and achievement when notes were recorded but not reviewed (note taking’s process function) and when notes were recorded and reviewed (note taking’s product function). One unique aspect of the study was determining how laptop and longhand note taking influence the recording of lecture images in notes and image-related achievement. Note-taking results showed that laptop note takers recorded more notes (idea units and words) and more verbatim lecture strings than did longhand note takers who, in turn, recorded more visual notes (signals and images) than did laptop note takers. Achievement results showed that when taking laptop notes, the process function of note taking was more beneficial than the product function of note taking (i.e., better image-related learning and similar text-related learning). When taking longhand notes, the product function of note taking was more beneficial than the process function of note taking (i.e., better text-related learning and similar image-related learning). Achievement findings suggest that the optimal note-taking medium depends on the nature of the lecture and whether notes are reviewed.

[1]  Renata Whurr.  Writing and long term memory: Evidence for a “translation” hypothesis , 2003, Brain and Language.

[2]  Nelson F. DuBois,et al.  Note-taking functions and techniques. , 1991 .

[3]  R. Mayer,et al.  Note taking as a generative activity. , 1978 .

[4]  John P. Rickards,et al.  The encoding versus the external storage hypothesis in note taking , 1978 .

[5]  Norman Edward Gronlund,et al.  Assessment of student achievement , 1997 .

[6]  Joel Myerson,et al.  The role of working memory abilities in lecture note-taking , 2014 .

[7]  F. di Vesta,et al.  Listening and note taking. , 1972, Journal of educational psychology.

[8]  J. Sweller.  COGNITIVE LOAD THEORY, LEARNING DIFFICULTY, AND INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN , 1994 .

[9]  P. Lachenbruch.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.) , 1989 .

[10]  M. Barak,et al.  Wireless Laptops as Means For Promoting Active Learning In Large Lecture Halls , 2006 .

[11]  Keiichi Kobayashi,et al.  What limits the encoding effect of note-taking? A meta-analytic examination , 2005 .

[12]  Charles A. Hughes,et al.  Benefits of Notetaking: Implications for Secondary and Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities , 1991 .

[13]  J. Young.  When Computers Leave Classrooms, so Does Boredom. , 2009 .

[14]  W. Kintsch.  The role of knowledge in discourse comprehension: a construction-integration model. , 1988, Psychological review.

[15]  Joanna K. Garner,et al.  Both handwriting speed and selective attention are important to lecture note-taking , 2014 .

[16]  R. F. Lorch,et al.  Text-signaling devices and their effects on reading and memory processes , 1989 .

[17]  Andrew D. Katayama,et al.  Getting Students “Partially” Involved in Note-Taking Using Graphic Organizers , 2000 .

[18]  Joan K. Gallini,et al.  When Is an Illustration Worth Ten Thousand Words , 1990 .

[19]  The relationship between levels of note-taking and achievement. , 1984 .

[20]  M. Graham,et al.  College adults are not good at self-regulation: A study on the relationship of self-regulation, note taking, and test taking , 2003 .

[21]  C. Marlin Brown,et al.  Human-Computer Interface Design Guidelines , 1998 .

[22]  Kenneth A. Kiewra.  Teaching How to Learn: The Teacher's Guide to Student Success , 2008 .

[23]  Joseph R. Boyle,et al.  Differences in the note-taking skills of students with high achievement, average achievement, and learning disabilities , 2014 .

[24]  M. McDaniel,et al.  Enhancing learning during lecture note-taking using outlines and illustrative diagrams , 2015 .

[25]  Musaed Alhussein,et al.  Challenges of Digital Note Taking , 2016 .

[26]  Goodith White,et al.  Note perfect: an investigation of how students view taking notes in lectures , 2001 .

[27]  Richard E. Mayer,et al.  Multimedia Learning , 2001, Visible Learning Guide to Student Achievement.

[28]  J. Glover,et al.  Nobody Knows How to Remember that Prose. , 1980 .

[29]  E. G. Aiken,et al.  Memory for a lecture: Effects of notes, lecture rate, and informational density. , 1975 .

[30]  Terence J. Crooks,et al.  Student note-taking related to university examination performance , 1984 .

[31]  Kenneth A. Kiewra.  Investigating Notetaking and Review: A Depth of Processing Alternative , 1985 .

[32]  Ananda Mitra,et al.  Changes in Student Attitudes and Student Computer Use in a Computer-Enriched Environment , 2000 .

[33]  Carrie B. Fried,et al.  In-class laptop use and its e V ects on student learning , 2006 .

[34]  Robert L. Williams,et al.  Thinking Skills and Work Habits: Contributors to Course Performance , 2003 .

[35]  R. T. Kellogg,et al.  Cognitive effort during note taking , 2005 .

[36]  Kenneth M. Cramer,et al.  Virtual Lecture Hall For In-Class And Online Sections , 2006 .

[37]  S. McKelvie,et al.  Effects of attendance, note-taking, and review on memory for a lecture: Encoding vs. external storage functions of notes. , 1986 .

[38]  D. Bligh.  What's the Use of Lectures? , 1971 .

[39]  A. Paivio,et al.  Dual coding theory and education , 1991 .

[40]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  A power primer. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[41]  Daniel M. Oppenheimer,et al.  The Pen Is Mightier Than the Keyboard , 2014, Psychological science.

[42]  R. Mayer,et al.  Generative Effects of Note-Taking during Science Lectures. , 1986 .

[43]  James D. Riley,et al.  The effects of notetaking while reading or listening , 1979 .

[44]  Richard Skolnik,et al.  Utilization of Laptop Computers in the School of Business Classroom , 2008 .

[45]  Richard E. Mayer,et al.  Note-taking fosters generative learning strategies in novices. , 1989 .

[46]  R. Gagne.  Conditions of Learning , 1965 .

[47]  M. Harris,et al.  Effect of Note Taking and Review on Recall. , 1973 .

[48]  Alfred Bork,et al.  Multimedia in Learning , 2001 .

[49]  Montserrat Castelló,et al.  Students’ Note-Taking as a Knowledge-Construction Tool , 2005 .

[50]  R. Mayer.  Applying the science of learning: evidence-based principles for the design of multimedia instruction. , 2008, The American psychologist.

[51]  M. Wittrock.  Learning as a Generative Process , 1974 .

[52]  Kenneth A. Kiewra.  How Classroom Teachers Can Help Students Learn and Teach Them How to Learn , 2002 .

[53]  College Students’ Beliefs about Exam Preparation , 1997 .

[54]  Gabriel A Radvansky,et al.  Note taking, review, memory, and comprehension. , 2011, The American journal of psychology.

[55]  Kenneth A. Kiewra,et al.  Revising lecture notes: how revision, pauses, and partners affect note taking and achievement , 2016 .

[56]  W. N. Dember,et al.  The role of time and cuing in a college lecture , 1992 .

[57]  S. Corbridge,et al.  Online Learning versus Simulation for Teaching Principles of Mechanical Ventilation to Nurse Practitioner Students , 2010, International journal of nursing education scholarship.

[58]  Candice Stefanou,et al.  Note-taking in the college classroom as evidence of generative learning , 2008 .

[59]  Gilles O. Einstein,et al.  Note-taking, individual differences, and memory for lecture information. , 1985 .

[60]  Adrienne E. Williams,et al.  The impact of laptop-free zones on student performance and attitudes in large lectures , 2012, Comput. Educ..

[61]  William G. Holliday,et al.  How college science students engage in note‐taking strategies , 2006 .

[62]  R. Mayer,et al.  Spontaneous spatial strategy use in learning from scientific text , 2017 .

[63]  Martin A. Conway,et al.  Writing and Long-Term Memory: Evidence for a “Translation” Hypothesis , 1990 .

[64]  Joel Myerson,et al.  Note-taking with computers: Exploring alternative strategies for improved recall. , 2013 .

[65]  A. Aleman,et al.  Inter- and Intramodal Encoding of Auditory and Visual Presentation of Material: Effects on Memory Performance , 2000 .

[66]  undefined Eurofound.  Third European survey on working conditions 2000 , 2011 .

[67]  Joanna K. Garner,et al.  What predicts skill in lecture note taking , 2007 .

[68]  Jacob Cohen.  Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 1969, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Research Design.

[69]  Thomas J. Keefe.  Using Technology To Enhance a Course: The Importance of Interaction , 2003 .

[70]  Nancy M. Aguilar-Roca,et al.  Learn before Lecture: A Strategy That Improves Learning Outcomes in a Large Introductory Biology Class , 2010, CBE life sciences education.

[71]  Daniel B. Horn,et al.  Patterns of entry and correction in large vocabulary continuous speech recognition systems , 1999, CHI '99.

[72]  Bonnie B. Armbruster.  Taking notes from lectures. , 2000 .

[73]  Yolanda Jacobs Reimer,et al.  Empirical user studies inform the design of an e-notetaking and information assimilation system for students in higher education , 2009, Comput. Educ..

[74]  Robin H. Kay,et al.  Assessing laptop use in higher education classrooms: The Laptop Effectiveness Scale (LES) , 2010 .