Lead Feature Article Intervention in School and Clinic 46(3) 131–140 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2011 Reprints and permission: http://www. sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1053451210378163 http://isc.sagepub.com hosted at http://online.sagepub.com
Using Guided Notes to Enhance Instruction for All Students Moira Konrad, Laurice M. Joseph, and Madoka Itoi
Abstract Taking notes from lectures or reading material can be challenging, especially for those who have learning disabilities. An alternative to traditional note-taking is a method called guided notes, which has been found to improve the accuracy of students’ notes, increase the frequency of student responses, and improve students’ quiz and test performance. Additionally, research has revealed that students prefer to use guided notes over taking their own notes or using preprinted notes. The purpose of this article is to provide teachers with several suggestions for creating and using guided notes to enhance other effective teaching methods, support students’ studying, and promote higher order thinking. Keywords instruction methods, instructional strategies for mild/moderate inclusion practices, access to general education curriculum, content area instruction Instructional time constraints and increased accountability require teachers to accomplish more in less time. All students are expected to make academic gains each year (i.e., adequate yearly progress); thus, teachers need to increase their instructional efficiency. One way to increase efficiency is to teach new skills and content directly through lecture (Heward,
2001). During teacher-directed lectures, students are expected to take notes to help them obtain important information. Corresponding Author: Moira Konrad, Ohio State University, A358 PAES Building, 305 W. 17th Ave., Columbus, OH 43210 (e-mail:
[email protected]).
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However, for many students, taking notes from lectures or reading material can be challenging, especially for those who have learning disabilities (Hughes & Suritsky, 1994). These students often perceive traditional note-taking as laborintensive and frustrating due to difficulties in deciphering relevant information during lectures (Barbetta & Skaruppa, 1995; Stringfellow & Miller, 2005). Additionally, listening to a lecture and taking notes at the same time poses a real challenge (Barbetta & Skaruppa, 1995). Therefore, students may choose not to take notes during lectures and play a more passive role during classroom instruction. An alternative to traditional note-taking is a method called guided notes. Guided notes are “teacher-prepared handouts that ‘guide’ a student through a lecture with standard cues and prepared space in which to write the key facts, concepts, and/or relationships” (Heward, 1994, p. 304). Research has demonstrated that guided notes improve outcomes for students with a range of ages, skills, and abilities (Konrad, Joseph, & Eveleigh, 2009). Specifically, guided notes increase active student responding (Austin, Lee, Thibeault, Carr, & Bailey, 2002; Blackwell & McLaughlin, 2005; Heward, 1994), improve the accuracy of students’ notes (Sweeney et al., 1999), and improve students’ quiz and test performance (Patterson, 2005). Additionally, research has revealed that students prefer to use guided notes over taking their own notes (Konrad et al., 2009) or using preprinted notes (Neef, McCord, & Ferreri, 2006). Not only do guided notes help students attend to lectures better, this form of note taking serves as a model for helping students learn how to take better notes on their own.
Developing Guided Notes According to Heward (2001), guided notes are created by first developing an outline of the lecture using presentation software such as PowerPoint or overhead transparencies, focusing on the most important concepts that students need to learn. A handout consisting of blanks where important information (e.g., content that will be included on follow-up assessments) is omitted accompanies the teacher’s lecture notes (see Figure 1 for a sample page from a set of guided notes). The students fill in the blanks with key concepts as they listen to the lecture. An adequate number of blanks is distributed throughout the handout to encourage active engagement, and each blank should contain enough space so students can record all essential information. In general, each blank on the guided notes should require students to record one to three words (Sweeney et al., 1999), but varying the length may help students attend to the lecture. Consider including in the guided notes one-word, two-word, or threeword responses (and occasionally four- or five-word responses for older students) in an unpredictable pattern to help keep students alert and on their toes. For students who have difficulties with fine motor tasks, teachers can modify guided notes by (a) making the blanks
shorter (i.e., requiring the students to write fewer words), (b) giving the students choices to circle, (c) allowing students to select and paste (e.g., with hook-and-loop fasteners or stickers) the correct responses, or (d) using assistive technology (e.g., computer software or adaptive assistive devices) to permit students to select correct responses. In addition to the blanks, which serve as cues to prompt students to write information provided during the lecture, teachers can use symbols to help students anticipate what to expect (Heward, 2001). For example, consider using a star symbol to indicate main ideas so students know which information is most important and will likely appear on upcoming tests. See Table 1 for several examples of symbols teachers can use to cue students. Start with just two or three symbols; use them consistently; and as students get more comfortable and proficient with guided notes, you can gradually add other cues. A lecture does not need to be a dry, monotonous delivery of material, and teachers who use guided notes do not have to forgo their personal teaching styles. Teachers can keep lectures interesting by interspersing stories, examples, and personal experiences (Konrad et al., 2009). One way to do this might be to include cues in the guided notes (perhaps indicated by a specific symbol; see Table 1) that signal students to listen to a supplemental story. It is important that the anecdotes are relevant, purposeful, and strategically integrated into the lecture and that students know what they should take away from these stories. Distinguishing essential from nonessential content during a lecture is challenging for many students (Stringfellow & Miller, 2005). This may especially be the case for students whose native language is not English. Guided notes may be a less cumbersome way of helping English language learners (ELL) take notes while simultaneously attending to the language as well as the relevant content conveyed during the lecture (Tam & Scott, 1996). Teachers may want to work with ELL specialists and/or translators to include, within the guided notes, translations of key words and phrases in the students’ native language(s).
Combining Guided Notes With Other Effective Teaching Strategies Guided notes should be combined with other evidence-based teaching strategies to increase their effectiveness. For example, as an alternative to the traditional method of involving students in class question–answer sessions (i.e., the teacher poses a question and calls on a student who has raised his or her hand), choral responding and response cards allow all students to respond in unison (Heward, 1994; Randolph, 2007). When teachers lecture using guided notes, they can stop at strategic points to review what has been covered by having all students respond to questions or prompts using choral responding or response cards. The teacher simply asks
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Figure 1. Sample page from a set of guided notes with embedded graphic organizers
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Table 1. Examples of Symbol Cues Teachers Can Use Within Guided Notes Symbol ê i O $ ? & ( H @ D q
Cue Pay special attention to this main idea Here is some supplemental information that is interesting but will not be tested Put down your pencil and listen to a story or anecdote Engage in a written reflection Try a challenge problem Read from your book and answer these questions Discuss a concept with a classmate Complete these exercises for homework Here is a new tool for learning Connect what we just learned to something you already knew Stop and self-monitor your behavior; have you been on-task?
a question, provides a brief thinking pause, and gives a signal (e.g., a snap or a verbal cue such as “class” or “show me”) for all students to respond. On the signal, students either respond orally (choral response), by writing on small white boards (write-on response cards); or by selecting cards or items to hold up, such as preprinted response cards (Heward, 1994; Randolph, 2007). Partially completed graphic organizers, such as story or geography maps, word webs, and Venn diagrams, may be embedded into guided notes to aid in labeling essential elements and gaining an understanding about relationships among concepts (Dye, 2000). See Figure 1 for an example of how a graphic organizer can be embedded into guided notes. The teacher can also create worksheets that follow a modellead-test teaching sequence and then have the students complete it along with the teacher. For example, when teaching an algorithm to solve equations, students can complete guided notes to learn the rule and then follow the teacher through the modellead-test sequence with practice problems. The teacher should complete the first few problems (i.e., model) while the students fill in the correct answers on their guided notes (i.e., teacherdirected worksheets). The teacher should then complete the next set of problems with the help of students in the class (i.e., lead) as they are completing the problems on their guided notes. Finally, students should complete the last few problems independently (i.e., test), while the teacher monitors. The teacher can then provide the correct answers on the overhead for students to self-correct or can collect the notes and use the last set of problems as a way to assess that lesson’s objective(s). Similarly, when teaching a spelling rule (e.g., the first doubling rule), students can complete guided notes while the teacher states (and writes) the rule. The rule should be followed by examples (e.g., hop + ing = hopping) and nonexamples (e.g., jump + ing ≠ jumpping) for practice with
discriminating between words that require doubling from those that do not. The teacher should walk students through the first example(s) to show them how and when to apply the rule (i.e., model), while the students follow along on their guided notes. The teacher can gradually fade assistance as students practice with additional examples (i.e., lead) until they are able to apply the rule independently (i.e., test). See Figure 2 for an example of the first page of a teacher-directed worksheet on the first doubling rule. When students are expected to read material independently, teachers can provide them with guided notes to prompt them to attend to main ideas and important details, reflect on content, and check for understanding. For instance, when students are reading a chapter in a history textbook, they can record key concepts as well as stop and think about how events are related at certain signal points inserted throughout their guided notes. When guided notes are used in this manner, students can receive guidance on the salient features of text without direct teacher assistance. It is important to note that for students to benefit from using guided notes, reading assignments should be at their independent reading levels. Furthermore, once students have finished reading and filling in the guided notes independently, they should have access to the completed guided notes so they can self-correct their notes before using them to study (Lazarus, 1993).
Completing and Studying Guided Notes Guided notes can serve as a tool to facilitate students’ preparing for upcoming assessments, and one advantage of using guided notes is that students are more likely to leave class with a complete and accurate set of notes (Konrad et al., 2009) from which to study. However, some students may need close monitoring as they complete the guided notes, particularly when they are first learning how to use them. Monitoring student use of guided notes may be easily accomplished in an inclusive classroom where team-teaching occurs (Konrad et al., 2009). For instance, while one teacher is lecturing to the class, the other can assist by monitoring and providing feedback to all students on the accuracy of their guided notes. Furthermore, some students may need additional contingencies to use guided notes. For example, teachers can award bonus points for complete and accurate notes. If teachers collect guided notes on an unpredictable schedule, students know that they should be ready to turn them in at any time. This also makes monitoring student note-taking and delivering contingent reinforcement less cumbersome to manage on a day-to-day basis. Another way to motivate students to complete guided notes is to give in-class, opennote quizzes immediately following lectures. Teachers should design these quizzes so that students with complete guided notes will be able to do well.
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Figure 2. Sample page from a teacher-directed worksheet
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Figure 3. Sample page from columnar guided notes
Even when students are absent, they should be held accountable for learning the content that was covered during their absence. Teachers can leave a blank copy of the guided notes along with a copy of the completed notes in a “While
You Were Out” folder. Students can then learn to complete the guided notes from the missed lecture(s) upon their return. This way, students who are not at school can still have opportunities for active responding.
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Figure 4. Sample back page from a set of guided notes study cards
Once students have a set of accurate lecture notes, they should be taught and encouraged to use those notes to study for upcoming quizzes and exams. To promote active studying, instructors can format guided notes in columns with questions, prompts, or main ideas on the left side and answers or supporting details on the right side (see Figure 3) (Weishaar & Boyle, 1999). Students can then learn to fold the paper down the middle to quiz themselves. This format may also serve as a model for students learning to take their own notes. Additionally, teachers can help students create study cards (Itoi, 2004; Wood, 2005) by printing their guided notes on both sides of a sheet so that one side allows students to take notes, whereas the other side consists of questions relevant to the information on the guided notes side of the card. Figures 4 and 5
illustrate how a set of guided note study cards should be formatted. Specifically, the completed guided notes become the backs of the study cards (i.e., answers); and the questions, which are printed on the back of the original set of guided notes, become the front sides. With this format, students can simply cut out the notes to create a set of flashcards. Teachers should lead structured review sessions to show students how to study with flashcards and should emphasize repeated practice in which students read the question to themselves, say the answer, and check the answer by referring back to the information recorded on the guided notes. When instructors combine guided notes with in-class review time, learning outcomes are enhanced (Lazarus, 1993). A review session using a set of guided notes study cards easily can take
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Figure 5. Sample front page from a set of guided notes study cards
place in a peer-tutoring context, in which students teach one another under the direction of a teacher (e.g., Veerkamp, Kamps, & Cooper, 2007). Teachers should simply divide students into pairs and provide each student with a peer-tutoring folder (Heward, 2006), which contains the guided notes study cards in a “Go” pocket. Students take turns reading the questions and answering them by saying aloud the words in the blanks from the guided notes. Once students master a card, it can be moved into a different pocket in the folder (e.g., mastered).
Promoting Higher Order Thinking In addition to assisting students with studying for exams, guided notes can also be used to promote higher order
thinking. For example, teachers can encourage students to reflect on the lecture by including within the guided notes stopping points for students to pause and think critically, ask questions, connect with personal experience, relate to prior knowledge, and generate new ideas. Reciprocal teaching may also be implemented during a class lecture similar to the way in which this method is implemented in a reading group (Palinscar & Brown, 1984; van Garderen, 2004). After the teacher has created and modeled a lecture using guided notes, students in the class can take turns creating guided notes and leading the class through a minilecture using their prepared guided notes. Students who lead the class need to be well prepared so that they can respond to questions and clarify responses made by their
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Konrad et al. classmates. The instructor may ask two students to cocreate and colead a lecture using guided notes. Students will need structure and guidance throughout this process, and teachers will need to use their best judgment in determining if this form of reciprocal teaching is appropriate for their classroom given the diverse characteristics and needs of their students.
Conclusion With so much material to cover in so little time, guided notes can be helpful for teachers in holding themselves accountable for reaching daily objectives. Teachers may want to create a packet of guided notes that corresponds to an instructional unit and decide (ahead of time) which pages will be covered on which days. This can help the teacher strategically plan ahead and stay on task during lectures rather than straying off topic. Teachers should design assessments (e.g., quizzes, exams) that are direct measures of mastery of material covered within the guided notes. They should use the data from these assessments to evaluate the effectiveness of their lessons and make appropriate instructional adjustments as needed. The suggestions offered here are not exhaustive of all possible ways guided notes can be implemented. This versatile tool not only facilitates students’ attention to lecture, ease in studying for exams, and improved test performance, it helps teachers organize and pace their delivery of lecture content. Declaration of Conflicting Interest The author(s) declared no conflicts of interest with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this article.
Funding The author(s) received no financial support for the research and/or authorship of this article.
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About the Authors
Laurice M. Joseph, PhD, is an associate professor of school psychology at Ohio State University. Her current interests include academic interventions, students with disabilities, and applied behavior analysis.
Moira Konrad, PhD, is an assistant professor of special education at Ohio State University. Her current interests include self-determination and literacy development for youth with disabilities.
Madoka Itoi, PhD, is a senior clinician at Spectrum Center. Her current interests include analyzing intervention efficiency and effectiveness for students with disabilities in the educational context.
notetaking accuracy and science vocabulary quiz scores. Retrieved from OhioLINK Electronic Thesis and Dissertations Center.
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