Cornell Note-Taking

Students are often curious about different note-taking strategies. One format that is quite popular is the Cornell note-taking system, developed by an educator named Walter Pauk. The basic format is to have an approximately 6” note-taking column on the right of the page, a 2.5” cue column on the left of the page, and a space for summary notes along the top or bottom of the page.

 

Here is a brief summary of the system as is outlined on a Brigham Young University site:

 

http://ccc.byu.edu/learning/note-tak.php

 

1. Record – Write down the main points, facts, and ideas of the lecture on the right-hand side of your page. Use telegraphic sentences, leaving out unnecessary words. After lecture, make sure you fill in information so that your notes will still make sense to you after several weeks.

 

2. Reduce (or question) – Read your notes, and reduce the key ideas to phrases or questions based on the material. Write the cues or questions in the smaller 2.5” column on your page.

 

3. Recite – Reciting is very important in retaining information. Reciting is more than just rereading – it means you state the ideas out loud and in your own words. Cover up your notes in the 6” column, look at the cue words and questions, and practice recite the information from your memory.

 

4. Reflect - This means thinking about (pondering) the information. Reflecting is going a stage farther than just reciting content. Here are some samples of questions to help yourself reflect: “How do these facts and ideas fit into what I already know? How can I apply them? How is knowing this important? What is the significance of these facts and ideas?”

 

5. Review – As the web site indicates, “The way to prevent forgetting is to review and recite your notes frequently. A good guideline to follow is to review your notes nightly or several times during the week by reciting, NOT rereading.” Reviewing will help students understand and remember information much more than cramming will.

 

6. Recapitulate – This is a summary of your notes at the bottom of the page, which can be done after you’ve gone through the other stages. It should be written in your own words. You can also summarize an entire lecture on the last page of your notes.

 

There are many online resources about Cornell. Here is a sample of some that you might find useful:

 

A handout showing the columns on the page, with guidelines for how to use the format:

 

http://www.clt.cornell.edu/campus/learn/LSC_Resources/cornellsystem.pdf

 

Another explanation of the Cornell system, with a completed content example at the bottom of the page:

 

http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/enreadtp/Cornell.html

 

A Cornell note format generator – this site allows you to create your own printable template, including customized page size, line spacing, and colour:

 

http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/cornelllined/

 

Learn how to create your own Cornell template using WORD:

 

http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/5_Minute_Tips/General/Word_Templates_and_Cornell_Note_Taking/

How long will it take you to complete your thesis?

University Microfilms (www.umi.com), with its archive of over 2.4 million graduate-level theses, profiles these incredibly dedicated Ph.Ds:

Fifty-six years after she fled Nazi Germany, Nina Rubinstein returned to Frankfurt at age 81 to defend the dissertation she submitted in 1933. She was awarded her Ph.D. in 1989.

And there's "the dissertation that wouldn't die." The University of Chicago accepted Frank P. Bourgin's work, comparing New Deal social reforms to the founding fathers' intentions, 44 years after its initial rejection because of allegedly unwarranted conclusions. Since then, other historians have come to share his views, and in 1985 Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., prevailed on the University to reconsider. Bourgin finally was awarded his Ph.D. in 1988, at age 77.

Now that's perseverance!  Your path should be much less difficult and significantly shorter, especially if you heed sound advice such as that offered in the book Surviving Your Dissertation: A Comprehensive Guide to Content and Process*:

1. Taken as a whole, a dissertation can seem like a forbidding and overwhelming challenge. Use the principle of successive approximations to divide it into manageable slices. Tackle the dissertation one step at a time - the review of the literature, the research question and statement of purpose, the method, the results, and the discussion.

2. Establish a regular weekly schedule that allows for several hours of concentrated dissertation time. Many students recommended reserving some time each day for the dissertation. Your own schedule will, of course, be influenced by your other commitments, but the important thing is the structure and the regularity. A firm schedule will help guide you through the inevitable stages when ideas are not forthcoming, when obstacles arise, or when temptations lure you to greener pastures.

3. Get your thoughts on paper. Don't allow yourself to obsess and mull over ideas too long without putting those ideas down in type. Seeing words on a page or on a computer screen has a way of generating momentum. Don't worry at the outset if your words aren't polished. The important thing is to develop a pattern of producing some output on a regular basis.

4. Talk your ideas over with others.... discussing your ideas with friends and colleagues can help you view your work from a fresh perspective and keep you motivated.

5. Give yourself privacy and quiet. Arrange a space or area of your house or office that is identified with studying and only studying.  This is particularly important in the dissertation process. Make this space sacred so that you engage in other tasks, such as writing bills and talking on the phone, in other areas. This is a straightforward application of the behavioral principle of stimulus control.

6. Recognize that even the most productive plowhorse needs a break. Give yourself some time off for enjoyable distractions and do so in a way that reinforces progress.

*This book and others especially for graduate students are available in the Learning Skills section of the Resource Centre in Student Development Services, Room 210, UCC. The centre is open Monday to Friday 8:30am-4:30pm. For a listing of other books and helpful websites see http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/learning/index.html?grad 

Did you know that graduate students can schedule a confidential appointment with one of Western's learning skills counsellors to discuss thesis time management or other issues related to the successful completion of a Master's or PhD? For more information call 519-661-3559 or stop by Student Development Services, Room 210, UCC.

روز پژوهش و صرف ناهار با وزیر پژوهش و ابتکارات انتاریو

 

روز جمعه گذشته 25 ژانویه دانشکده های مهندسی و علوم نتایج کارهای یکسال گذشته خود را در محل Convention Center لندن یرگزار کردند. در این روز که روز پژوهش نامیده می شود از صنایع مختلف و سازمانهای دولتی دعوت می شود تا با جدیدترین نتایج دانشگاه آشنا شوند.

در انتهای روز پس از اینکه به همراه دکتر برروتی به دانشگاه برگشتیم، ایشان به من و روهان گفت که برای روز سه شنبه (یعنی امروز) به همراه رن برای صرف ناهار با وزیر پژوهش و ابتکارات انتاریو آقای جان ویلکینسون دعوت شده ایم در حالیکه خودش و دکتر برینس دعوت نشده اند.

در مهمانی امروز که حدود 15 نفر بودیم و بغیر از وزیر و همراهش معاونین پژوهشی دانشکده ها حضور داشتند، پس از صرف ناهار وزیر ابتدا یک سخنرانی داشت و سپس به سئوال و جواب چند نفر جواب داد. دکتر برروتی از ما سه نفر خواسته بود که با وزیر صحبت کنیم و او را در جریان کارهایی که در گروهمان انجام داده ایم قرار دهیم. بنابراین من هنگام پرسش و پاسخ مترصد اولین فرصت بودم تا صحبت کنم. پس از اینکه وزیر به من اجازه داد تا صحبت کنم، ابتدا در مورد گروه تحقیقاتیمان و کارهایی که انجام می دهیم صحبت کردم و سپس در مورد دانشجویان اینترنشنال مطالبی را گفتم. از آنجائیکه وزیر در صحبتهایش از وجود ملل مختلف در کانادا صحبت کرد که با صلح در کنار هم زندگی می کنند و نیز اینکه تحقیقات در کانادا باید به سمت رقابت با کشورهای دیگر باشد، به وزیر گفتم که بدون شک دانشجویان اینترنشنال در دانشگاهای انتاریو نقش بسیار مهمی را در جهت تحقیق و توسعه ایفا می کنند ولی دولت کانادا و انتاریو تسهیلات و مشوقهای کمی را برای این دانشجویان در نظر می گیرد؛ بعنوان مثال دانشجویان اینترنشنال نمی توانند برای بیش از نود درصد اسکولارشیپها اقدام کنند و باید با همان پولی که از استاد و دانشگاه می گیرند بسازند. این واقعیت باعث می شود که دانشجوی اینترنشنال پس از فارغ التحصیلی و برای ادامه تحصیل در مقطع دیگر و یا پیدا نمودن کار چشمش ابتدا به سمت دانشگاهها و بازار کار در آمریکا باشد. بنابراین دولت باید مشوقها و تسهیلات خیلی بیشتری را ایجاد کند. وزیر هم در جواب من گفت که او قبلا در این مورد با وزیر آموزش صحبت کرده است و آنها می خواهند تغییرات جدیدی را بوجود آورند. پس از پایان این نشست آقای دکتر ال نگار که معاون پژوهشی دانشکده مهندسی است و اصالتا اهل کشور مصر است به من گفت که به موضوع خیلی مهم و خوبی اشاره کردم.

روز پژوهش- از چپ به راست: لورنزو- روهان- من- کریستین و رن. دکتر برروتی هم در پشت صحنه در حال مصاحبه با خبرنگار سی بی سی کانادا می یاشد.

از چپ به راست: من- آقای جان ویلکینسون- رن و روهان