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Listen for concepts. Isolated facts are meaningless and difficult to remember; accomplished listeners relate them to central themes and principles and make associations with their own experiences. A lecture outline from the instructor is very helpful in assisting a notetaker in this task.
Pay attention. A high level of concentration is needed to select important information and to retain it while writing it down, all this time continuing to monitor the ongoing presentation.
Discourage distractions. Allowing distracting conversations and behavior from classmates detracts from attention, and if necessary, the notetaker should politely ask these distractors to be quiet.
Regard difficult material as a challenge. Concentration is required in order to understand complicated or technical information in class. Listen for cues as to importance. These cues can be explicit or implicit. Explicit cues are those stated directly, as in "Remember this". Implicit cues include voice inflection, loudness, and repetition, and indicate that information is important. Information written on the chalkboard is often significant and should be copied in the notes.
NOTETAKING FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS
The following general suggestions are intended for the individual taking notes as a service to deaf or hard of hearing students.
Appearance of notes. The appearance of notes can either draw or repel the reader. Main topics should be clearly defined. Margins should be wide, and indentations to separate information should be used liberally. Pages should not be densely covered with notes; a reasonable amount of white space should be maintained on each page to permit the notetaker or the user of the notes to add information later.
The consistent use of standard formatting cues such as capitalization, underlining, and asterisks will help to clarify the information being presented. Rules, warnings, and important information should be emphasized. Lists, diagrams, and illustrations should be used whenever possible.
Language. Students with a major hearing loss often have problems with the English language. To facilitate reading comprehension, notes should employ simple sentence constructions, e.g., write verbs in the simple present or past tense and in the active voice.
Difficult and technical vocabulary should be defined in simple terms. When necessary, examples should be given to better explain concepts and relationships.
Organization. Information should be organized and presented in a logical manner. The sequence of facts and information should make sense to the reader. To assist the notetaker in this task, he/she can ask the instructor for an outline of the lecture notes or a clarification of the concepts being taught.
If the notetaker misses information during a class, he/she should leave a space in the notes for later clarification by the instructor. Notes must be as clear and complete as possible. In order to produce high quality notes, the notetaker may need to rework the notes after the class.
Assignments and tests. It is particularly important that the notetaker record in detail the assignments given to the class, including their due dates and other information important in carrying out the assignment. Complete information that is given the class by the instructor about upcoming tests should also be recorded clearly.
Feedback from the student. The notetaker should seek feedback from the student(s) for whom he/she is taking notes and adapt the notes to the student's language and instructional needs. Students should be encouraged to share with the notetaker any concerns and suggestions they have pertaining to their notetaking needs in the course.
Mechanics of notetaking. The following are specific suggestions concerning some of the details of notetaking for deaf and hard of hearing students (Osguthorpe et al., 1980).
- (a) record course name and date at the top right corner of the first page, and number each page
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