PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 68: Ecology Education II
Tuesday, August 9, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM, Meeting Room 521 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Parallel notetaking: A strategy for effective use of Webnotes.
Pardini, Eleanor*,1, Domizi, Denise1, Forbes, Daniel1, Pettis, Gretchen1, 1 University of Georgia, Athens, GA
ABSTRACT- Many instructors supply online lecture notes (Webnotes) but little attention has been given to how students can make the best use of this resource. Webnotes are a hybrid text: they are a written resource which functions to supplement other course textbooks, and at the same time they are a guideline for or record of an oral resource, the class lecture. As a new kind of text, Webnotes present a new challenge to students. Many students print out Webnotes, but are unsure of how to use them effectively. Based on observations of student difficulties with these notes, a strategy called parallel note-taking was developed for using online notes. The strategy is a hybrid of research-proven strategies for effective note-taking and reading. To implement parallel notetaking, the student prints out the Webnotes and places them in a three-ring binder. On the backs of these pages the student draws a wide margin. On the wider side of the margin the student writes notes that parallel the text of the Webnotes, and on the narrower side writes process notes, summaries, predicted test questions, and other annotations. Parallel notetaking can be an effective way to use Webnotes because it engages students during lecture, encourages them to draw together information from multiple sources, and promotes critical thinking about main ideas. It also allows students to monitor learning, self-test, and review before exams.
Key words: education, reading, notetaking, Webnotes