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1. Read the directions to students rapidly – when complete pencils down
   
2. Discuss with the students about how they felt when they got really behind. Did they give up because they were lost?
   
3. Remind students of tips from pg. 229-231(What to do if you get lost)
   

1. Get students to stand in a large circle. Give every student something to hold…usually a pen/pencil. Read the directions. Have students follow the directions (move object left when they hear left, and move object right when they hear right).
   
2. Then ask them some of the follow up questions on the instructor sheet.
   
3. This demonstrates how hard it is to understand the story/content when your mind is distracted or focused on something else.
   
4. What are some other examples of things that can distract you when you are in classes? Taking notes?  Pen clicking, eating, phone, students coming in late, not being ready to take notes, other student’s on their computer, etc.
   

o Mini-lecture – Obstacles to Listening

• On pieces of paper, have the following obstacles listed.  Ask for student volunteers to read what is written.  Afterwards, discuss what it means, share your personal experiences with the obstacles, tips for overcoming it, etc.
• Prejudging: “Prejudging means that you automatically shut out what is being said, and it is one of the biggest obstacles to active listening.  You may prejudge because you don’t like or agree with the information or the person communicating.  You may also have prejudging problems because of your environment, culture, social status or attitude.” (pg. 219)
• Talking: “Not even the best listening in the world can listen while he or she is talking. The next time you are in a conversation with a friend, try speaking while your friend is speaking – then see if you know what your friend said. To become an effective listening, you need to learn the power of silence.” (pg. 220)
• Becoming Too Emotional: “Emotions can form a strong barrier to active listening.  Worries, problems, fears, and anger can keep you from listening to the greatest advantage. Have you ever sat in a lecture and before you knew what was happening your mind was a million miles away because you were angry or worried about something? If you have, you know what it’s like to bring your emotions to the table.” (pg. 220)

 o Tips for improving listening which helps with note-takin

Awareness: Recognize right away when one of the problems begins to happen, and you are able to stop it.  Listening is a skill so realize that you are practicing all of the time. 

Physically & Mentally prepared to listen: Talk about how difficult it is to pay attention if you’re hungry, tired, have a bad attitude (believe that you will learn nothing) or thinking about your problems.  Suggest to students to "Let problems go at the door…visualize setting “baggage” down at the door. You can pick it up when you leave. Try to imagine that for the next 75 minutes, what happens in these four walls is the only thing that exists.

Set a Goal: When you are watching TV what do you do if the show is boring or you are not interested in it? –CHANGE THE CHANNEL. Well, school is not TV.  Some students look at teachers as entertainment. Come to class and look at the instructor like, “how are they going to entertain me?” Hope it’s not boring today!” Can’t change the channel on your teacher…  It is your personal responsibility to get interested even when the lecture is not. It’s your responsibility to be “engaged” even if the lecture is not “engaging”.    You do not have the luxury in college to only pay attention to material that interests you if you want to be successful.  Boredom is a choice and material is not inherently boring because what interests you is very personal.  Set a goal to listen 100% regardless of what happens

Sit Front and Center: Ask students "What is the main reason why people don’t sit in the front?"  They will often say to not get picked on or to hide.  Tell them that instructors often pick on those in the back.  Ask "How nosey are you? Are you easily distracted?" Then provide reasons to sit in the front.  Participation is easier in the front, can help to build courage, because it appears as if it is a conversation between you and your instructor.  You see no one in front of you so you are less distracted by other students because you cannot see them (checking their phones, eating a snack, etc.)

Fake it: Have your body win over your mind.  Demonstrate this next tip by sitting in a chair slouching and then sitting up alert and focused.  Say "When you are feeling bored or sluggish, sit up straight and fake being fascinated and interested in the content.  This really works."  "Don't fake it till you make it.  Fake it to become it. - Ann Cuddy

o Cornell Method Overview

• Provide an explanation of the history to the method.  It was developed 1949 at Cornell University by Walter Pauk as a response to his frustration over student low test scores. He created the method for students to develop a test study guide with their notes.
• Explain the following steps after they set up their paper to include the cue column, notes section and summary section.

Source: https://www.umfk.edu/images/new/content/learning_center/cornell_diag.jpg

Record

• Take notes as you normally do in the “note taking” area.  
  
• Focus on capturing key points and supporting details
  

• As soon as possible after class, read through notes and fill in the gaps.  Further underline/highlight to clarify the main points.  If you missed parts of the lecture, you might consult the textbook or another students notes to fill in the gaps even more.  Note any questions that you have that were not answered in the lecture.
• Think about questions that your instructor could ask on the content.  Write them in the "cue column." 
  
• Effective questions have four qualities.  1.) The question is open ended and requires much more than a one word answer.  2.) The question covers the main points the instructor is making in the lecture.  3.) The answer to the question is in your notes. This is important because you'll be using these questions to study.  4.) The question will "cue" you to explain the material without giving you the answer (no leading questions).
• Summarize the content at the end.   How would you explain this information to someone else?  Put the main points/supporting details in your own words.  If you can explain it, then you really understand it.  
  

Recite And Review

• Cover the main note area. Quiz yourself with the questions from the “cue column”
• Explain how the method allows them to create a study guide because they are developing questions that they can quiz themselves with by covering their notes.  This eliminates the need to rewrite notes in a question and answer format such as in notecards.

o Cornell Method Practice

• Play one of the segments from actual college level lectures of Aims classes.  You can play only a portion or all of it.
• Shawna Lee Washam – PSY 235 “Death & Dying” (22.52) – This is a good one to start with since it is more slow paced.
• Stephanie Newton – ART 111 “Pompeii Italy” (18.48)
• Joanne San Nicolas – BUS 216 “Jurisdiction” (16.57)
• Steven Sager – HIS 102 “Post WWII European Migration”(15.43)
• Megan Friesen – LIT 115 “Hamlet” (22.28)
• Allan Obert – PSY 102 “Psychological Disorders” (17.55)
• Raymond Romero - BIO 105 "Intro to Atomic Structures" (13:02)
• Have students take notes only in the notes column.  You might take notes yourself on the white board to demonstrate, talk about it and then let them take notes without guidance.  Demonstrate how you develop questions that the content will answer and give them time to practice it on the lecture sample.  At the end, ask them to write a summary.  You might have a volunteer share their summary.

• As part of the practice, ask the students to do one or all of the following.

Self-Reflection

• Give a detailed description of how you took your notes during this lecture; provide reasons, saying why you did what you did.
  
• Are you satisfied with your notes? Why or why not?
  
• If you had to start taking these notes again, what would you change? Why?
  
• What could the speaker have done to help you with your note taking? Then, think about how you might change your approach with this speaker again?
  

Peer Comparison

• What were the main ideas that you missed? What were the supporting details that you missed?
  
• What did you learn from comparing your notes with a classmate?
  
• How could you use this strategy in the future?
  

Compare with Sample (these are available on the D2L instructor forum)

• What were the main ideas that you missed? What were the supporting details that you missed?
  
• How might you change my formatting for taking notes?
  
• Would my questions/headings be helpful to use as a study guide? Why or Why not? If not, how could you improve your questions/headings?
  
• What did you learn most from comparing your notes?

o Ticket Out the Door:  During our next note-taking practice sessions, what do you want to work on to improve your note-taking skills?  

* Collect the student’s notes on the first practice session to provide feedback to them for improvement.

Day 2

o Think Pair Share:  Question – Why are students often reluctant or absolutely refuse to abbreviate words while taking notes during class? 

• When students are sharing what they discusses, hopefully they say that they might forget what their abbreviations mean.  Then you can reveal that you have an easy solution which is a legend at the top of their page.  While they are scanning and questioning their chapter reading, they might note terminology that is sure to come up in lecture.  For example, in a history class, you might read that the class topic is “Civil War Reconstruction.”  You can expect to write the terms “reconstruction” and “Andrew Johnson – president at the time.”   To abbreviate them, write R= Reconstruction and AJ = Andrew Johnson in the legend.  Then, when the poor student is trying to write fast to keep up, you can simply write R…  AJ..
• Show the options for abbreviations in the textbook pg. 224 and how they can also use common symbols. 

o Other Note-taking Methods

• Explain other options for taking notes and how they need to decide what fits the class best.  These can be used within the Cornell notes framework (in the notes section).
  

1.  Matrix Notes: Table format that visually shows connections between concepts.   Example of Charting or Matrix Notes  This can be great for science classes.  Students can create matrix notes from the textbook reading and then enhance/add to from lecture content. 
• Give students a scenario. They are in a Human Anatomy class and needing to learn bone cell types. From their reading, they see that there are four different types. Osteogenic, osteoblasts, osteocytes and osteoclasts (osteo means "bones").  Read and show them a sample description of one type  "The osteoblast, the bone cell responsible for forming new bone, is found in the growing portions of bone, including the periosteum and endosteum."
Source: Boundless. “Cell Types in Bones.” Boundless Biology. Boundless, 23 Jun. 2016. Retrieved 31 Jul. 2016 from https://www.boundless.com/biology/textbooks/boundless-biology-textbook/the-musculoskeletal-system-38/bone-216/cell-types-in-bones-816-12058/
1. Ask them to brainstorm the possible categories they could use to set up a matrix to contrast each type.  Write down what they come up with on the white board.   
2. Show them the following sample Bones Cells Matrix Example.  

• Show another Human Anatomy example with the process of what happens when blood sugar rises or decreases.