You’re Probably Taking Too Many Notes
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You are probably taking too many notes in math class. Thing is, if you are copying down literally everything that your teacher says, then you may be transcribing more than you’re actually thinking.
And when you get to the homework, the real problems, you may be tempted to refer back to those pristine, detailed notes all the time instead of actually pulling the information from memory.
I mean, that’s what increases your retention when you retrieve information from memory, not when you transcribe it from some reference.
It, it, it’s not just that the information passes through your brain, it has to get retrieved from your brain to the outside.
That is the number one biggest lever in increasing your retention.
Now, don’t get me wrong.
Writing can help during class.
It’s not always a waste of time, but the key is that you should be writing down sparse key bits of knowledge just to, you know, maintain focus or draw connections to other bits of knowledge.
That’s not transcribing.
Think of it more like listening on paper where you are actually thinking about the information just as much, if not more than if you weren’t taking notes.
See, notes can help you pay attention, but they can’t replace retrieving information from memory.
This teaser is distilled from the following posts, if you want to dive deeper:
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