KYAMBOGO UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF ARTS AND HUMANITIES
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FOUNDATIONS AND EDUCATION
PSYCHOLOGY
BACHELORS OF ARTS WITH EDUCATION
YEAR ONE SEMESTER TWO
COURSE UNIT: COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND HUMANITIES
COURSE CODE : EPS 1201
LECTURER: MR. KATI HANNINGTON
TASK: GROUP PRESENTATION
NAME REGISTRATION SIGNATURE
NUMBER
1. MUGENI EDWARD 23/U/AED/08270/PD
2. MUHUMUZA RONALD 23/U/AED/08413/PD
3. KUTOSI DERRICK 23/U/AED/07372/PD
4. AHABWE PRINCE 23/U/AED/03026/PD
5. NAIGAGA ANNET 23/U/AED/09396/PD
6. BARASA IVAN WAMIRA 23/U/AED/05078/PD
7. TAAKA RECHEAL 23/U/AED/12836/PD
8. AKWASO GRACE 23/U/AED/03657/PD
9. ANYANGO PAMELA OMORE 23/U/AED/04096/PD
10. ONZIRU JULLIET 23/U/AEE/12083/PE
11. ATIGO KETTY 23/U/AED/04527/PD
12. OPENDI ALFRED 23/U/AED/12096/PD
13. NAIRUBA MARTHA 23/U/AEE/15492/PE
Question
Note taking skills
Note taking skills are the practices of recording information captured from another source
quickly and effectively to summarize essential information in a format that makes it easier to
remember and revise.
Robbin A Foxx,R.M(1977) defines not taking skills as;
"The ability to effectively and efficiently capture and record important information during
lecture, meetings or other spoken or written presentations"
Note taking skills are crucial for retaining information, understanding concepts and preparing
for exams. The effectiveness of note taking skills varies from person to person, so it's essential
to find what works best for an individual through experimentation and practice.
There are different techniques and strategies used to effectively capture and organize
information during lectures, meeting, while studying and these includes the following;
Preparation: this is the process of getting ready for something or making something ready for
a particular purpose. Before lectures and meeting, it's essential to prepare by revising any pre-
readings or familiarizing yourself with the topic. This can help in understanding the main points
during the session. Additionally, ensure that you have all necessary note taking materials ready
such as note books, pens, highlighters or note taking materials like laptops, computers and
smartphones.
Organization: this refers to systematic arrangement of information in a structured and logical
manner to facilitate understanding and retrieval. Organising Note is crucial for easy
understanding. You can use methods such as headings, bullet points and numbering to structure
your notes. Keeping related information together and maintaining a logical flow can help in
comprehending the content more effectively when re-visiting your notes.
Active listening: this is a communication technique that involves fully for using on what the
speaker is saying, understanding the message, key ideas and supporting details.
To take effective notes, jot down important key words, phrases and questions that arise during
a discussion. Engage with the materials by summarizing key points in your own words rather
than transcribing verbatim.
Use of abbreviations and symbols: these are short hand presentations of words or concepts
used to quickly and efficiently capture information with writing everything out in full details.
This can help to save time and space while taking notes for example "&" for "and " , by use of
arrows for cause and effects , relationships. create a legend for abbreviations and symbols at
the beginning of notes to ensure that you can easily understand them later.
Capture main ideas: these refers to the most important points or concepts expressed in the
text or discussion.
When taking notes, it's crucial to capture and summarize the main ideas effectively in your
own words for easy understanding of a core message eg the nine planets in the solar system
which can be literally as" Mary very early morning just started urinating near plants"
Paraphrase the information: this involves rephrasing information from the original text in
to your own words. This technique is used for condensing and clarifying the meaning of the
text and helps in improving understand and memory retention eg when reading a text book on
the water cycle, you would write down process by which water evaporate from the ocean and
returns as rain.
Highlights and emphasis: when taking notes highlights the essential points and emphasize
techniques such as using bolds, underlining or colour coding to mark important information
and make it stand out for easy revision.
Use of mind maps: mind mapping is a visual note taking method where diagrams are drawn
to represent concepts, ideas and relationships between different things.
This helps in organising information in a meaningful and interconnected way for better
recalling for instance when studying different types of animals you would create a mind map
with branches for mammals, birds and reptiles and sub branches for specific examples under
each category.
Use of Cornell method: this involves dividing the paper into three sections for main notes,
questions and summaries. The narrow column on the left for key points and questions and a
wider area on the right for detailed notes, there is also a summary section on the bottom for
instance, researching a historical event, you would have the main notes section filled with
details, the section for the key points to revisit and the summary section for overarching
understandings.
Review and revise: this involves going back over your notes to refresh your memory and
reinforce learning. Revision means making changes, addition or edits to your notes.
Refining them with new insight or correcting mistakes for better understanding and future
reference e.g. after a week go back to your notes, add new insights you have gained and clarify
any new point you have gained.
Advantages of note taking skills include the following;
It improves retention. Talking notes helps in actively engaging with material being presented
which enhances understanding and retention of information.
Organization. Notes serve as a structured summary of important points making it easier to
review and study later on.
Facilitates learning, summarizing information in to notes aids in processing complex
concepts and breaking them in to manageable parts for better comprehension .
Notes serve as reference tools by acting as handy reference to quickly refresh your memory
on important points.
Personalize learning, by taking notes in your own words you can tailor the information to suit
your own understanding and learning style.
Disadvantages includes the following ;
Distraction, by focusing on writing notes distract one from fully engaging with the material
being presented
Too much details, it's easy to get caught up in writing down too much information leading to
bulk and difficult in identifying key points.
Inaccuracy; errors or miss interpretation usually occur when quickly jotting down the
information, potentially leading to confusion later.
Time consuming, taking thorough notes can be time consuming especially while struggling
with organising and summarizing information effeciently..
Difficulty in navigating while reviewing due to improper organisation and categorization.
References.
[Link] A,Foxx,R.M,Marthello,J and archableC(1977) teaching note taking skills to under
achieving college [Link] journal education Al research,71(2) 81-85.
2. Hughes,C.A and suritsky S.k(1994)- note taking skills university students.
3. Boyle J.R(2010) note taking skills of middle school students with and without learning
disabilities journal of learning disabilities 43(6) 530-540.
[Link],wan-chen and Yu-min ku" The effects of note -taking skills instruction on elementary
student student" The journal of Educational research 108.4(2015):278-291.
5." The Cornell method by Walter pauk of Cornell university in 1974.
