Transcribed versus organised note-taking effects depend on lecture format: transcription won with audio lectures, summarising won with text¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Bui et al. (2013) consistently found better memory with transcribed than organised notes across three experiments, while Bretzing and Kulhavy (1979) found summarisation and paraphrasing better than verbatim copying with a text. → Jansen 2017

Evidence¶

Jansen 2017¶

Jansen, R. S., Lakens, D., & IJsselsteijn, W. (2017). An integrative review of the cognitive costs and benefits of note-taking. Educational Research Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2017.10.001

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review of three Bui et al. (2013) experiments (n = 80, n = 76, n = 76) using an 11-minute audio lecture with organised versus transcribed note instructions, tested with free recall and short answer tests.

"Results consistently indicated better memory performance with transcribed notes compared to the organised note-taking condition. It therefore appears more important to write down as much information as possible, than to organise the information."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Laptop versus longhand note-taking effects are mixed: typing benefited memory in some studies but longhand benefited conceptual questions in others — related
• Lecture modality (written, audio, video, live) shows no consistent effect on memory for lecture content or on the note-taking effect — related
• Better note quality and quantity relate to better memory, verbatim overlap relates negatively, and noted propositions are far more likely to be recalled — related
• Test format and timing moderate note-taking effects: congruent note-taking and testing modalities improved performance, and transcribed notes won only at immediate test — related