Cornell Notes

The Cornell Notes system (also Cornell note-taking system, Cornell method, or Cornell way) is a note-taking system devised in the 1950s by Walter Pauk, an education professor at Cornell University. Pauk advocated its use in his best-selling book How to Study in College.^[1] Studies with small sample sizes found mixed results in its efficacy.

Overview

The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing notes. This system of taking notes is designed for use by a high school or college level student. There are several ways of taking notes, but one of the most common is the "two-column" notes style. The student divides the paper into two columns: the note-taking column (usually on the right) is twice the size of the questions/keyword column, which is on the left. The student leaves five to seven lines open, or about two inches (5 cm), at the bottom of the page.

Notes from a lecture or text are written in the note-taking column; notes usually consist of the main ideas of the text or lecture, and longer ideas are paraphrased. Long sentences are avoided; symbols or abbreviations are used instead. To assist with future reviews, relevant questions or keywords (which should be recorded as soon as possible, so that the lecture and questions will be fresh in the student's mind) are written in the left-hand keyword column. These notes can be taken from any source of information, such as fiction books, DVDs, lectures, or textbooks, etc.^{[citation needed]}

When reviewing the material, the student can cover the note-taking (right) column while answering the questions/keywords in the key word or cue (left) column. The student is encouraged to reflect on the material and review the notes regularly.^[2]

Studies on effectiveness

A study published in 2010 by Wichita State University compared two note-taking methods in a secondary English classroom, and found that the Cornell note-taking style may be of added benefit in cases where students are required to synthesize and apply learned knowledge, while the guided notes method appeared to be better for basic recall.^[3]

Another study, published in the summer of 2013, found that "Students who were taught CN (Cornell notes) did take better notes than those who were not, but they did not have higher achievement results." The study also stated that "Through analysis of assessment scores, [we] found no significant difference between the intervention and base classes on achievement."^[4]

A 2023 study of high schoolers found that "there is no difference in student-choice note-taking and Cornell note-taking on student performance in a high school Family and Consumer Sciences class".^[5]

A doctoral thesis by Baharev Zulejka in 2016 found that 8th grade Cornell note takers wrote slightly more words but with fewer key points. It also found no statistically significant improvement in comprehension test scores.^[6]

References

^ Pauk, Walter; Owens, Ross J. Q. (2010). How to Study in College (10 ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-1-4390-8446-5. Chapter 10: "The Cornell System: Take Effective Notes", pp. 235-277
^ Wong, Linda (2014-01-01). Essential Study Skills (8 ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 288. ISBN 978-1285430096.
^ Jacobs, Keil (25 April 2008). "A Comparison of Two Note Taking Methods in a Secondary English Classroom" (PDF). Proceedings: 4th Annual Symposium: Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects Conference Proceedings Held at the Eugene Hughes Metropolitan Complex. Wichita State University. Symposium Chair: David M. Eichhorn
^ Broe, Duane (Summer 2013). "Effects of Teaching Cornell Notes on Student Achievement". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1061.8854.
^ Quintus, Lori; Borr, Mari; Duffield, Stacy; Napoleon, Larry; Welch, Anita (2023-09-19). "The Impact of the Cornell Note-Taking Method on Students' Performance in a High School Family and Consumer Sciences Class". Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education. 30 (1).
^ Zulejka, Baharev (2016). The effects of Cornell note-taking and review strategies on recall and comprehension of lecture content for middle school students with and without disabilities (Thesis). Rutgers University - Graduate School of Education. doi:10.7282/T3HD7XZ8.

External links

"The Cornell Note-taking System". Cornell University, Learning Strategies Center. PDF
Cornell Notes - How to Take Better Notes and Study More Effectively

Digital tools

Cornell Notes apps

Columns App

Cornell Notes templates

Cornell Note-taking Lined Paper PDF Generator Incompetech.com
Make Your Cornell Notes Template with Word Anne Hennegar, TimeAtlas.com, 2017. Includes video, Word template and PDF
Cornell Notes Notion Template
Evernote Cornell Notes Template
Goodnotes Cornell Notes Template
Noteshelf Cornell Notes Template

[Pauk2010-1] Pauk, Walter; Owens, Ross J. Q. (2010). How to Study in College (10 ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-1-4390-8446-5. Chapter 10: "The Cornell System: Take Effective Notes", pp. 235-277

[2] Wong, Linda (2014-01-01). Essential Study Skills (8 ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 288. ISBN 978-1285430096.

[3] Jacobs, Keil (25 April 2008). "A Comparison of Two Note Taking Methods in a Secondary English Classroom" (PDF). Proceedings: 4th Annual Symposium: Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects Conference Proceedings Held at the Eugene Hughes Metropolitan Complex. Wichita State University. Symposium Chair: David M. Eichhorn

[4] Broe, Duane (Summer 2013). "Effects of Teaching Cornell Notes on Student Achievement". CiteSeerX 10.1.1.1061.8854.

[5] Quintus, Lori; Borr, Mari; Duffield, Stacy; Napoleon, Larry; Welch, Anita (2023-09-19). "The Impact of the Cornell Note-Taking Method on Students' Performance in a High School Family and Consumer Sciences Class". Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education. 30 (1).

[6] Zulejka, Baharev (2016). The effects of Cornell note-taking and review strategies on recall and comprehension of lecture content for middle school students with and without disabilities (Thesis). Rutgers University - Graduate School of Education. doi:10.7282/T3HD7XZ8.

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