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I would disagree with you on the benefits of taking notes in higher maths. If I'm taking notes, I can barely follow what is going on in the lecture. If I don't

I would disagree with you on the benefits of taking notes in higher maths. If I'm taking notes, I can barely follow what is going on in the lecture. If I don't take notes I can fully concentrate on the lecture and logic, but then I have nothing to study/reference. Teachers should provide notes so you don't have to do it yourself, especially if they're just writing off a sheet of paper. They're usually just worried that people then won't show up for class. I'm sure history is maybe different where the note taking is probably easy enough and reinforces what you learned, but with math you're not exactly comprehending everything you write down at the same speed as human language. When you're in high school: "The storming of the Bastille happened in..." is different than scribbling down the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus and wondering WTH is on your paper.

kharak 8y ago
I often wonder if those studies about "copying the entire lecture by taking notes" are an example of the Simpson Paradox. Breaking them down to sub-groups of students and their experience would surely reveal another picture. At least some students can't benefit from this, as my experience mirrors yours. Courses that required me to write everything down were those where I couldn't remember anything at the end. I just can't write and listen / comprehend at the same time.
- 4thaccount 8y ago
  Agreed. Either lecture or tell me to read a chapter. I can't multi-task that well with learning something that detailed.
globuous 8y ago
Agreed, sometimes just copying the formula takes very long and you don't want to be making mistakes. Also, sometimes wording for explanation takes me long enough that I miss a few sentences from my lecturer. The best I think is still to come prepared for class by having read the required readings before hand.

kharak 8y ago

I often wonder if those studies about "copying the entire lecture by taking notes" are an example of the Simpson Paradox. Breaking them down to sub-groups of students and their experience would surely reveal another picture. At least some students can't benefit from this, as my experience mirrors yours. Courses that required me to write everything down were those where I couldn't remember anything at the end. I just can't write and listen / comprehend at the same time.

4thaccount 8y ago
Agreed. Either lecture or tell me to read a chapter. I can't multi-task that well with learning something that detailed.

globuous 8y ago

Agreed, sometimes just copying the formula takes very long and you don't want to be making mistakes. Also, sometimes wording for explanation takes me long enough that I miss a few sentences from my lecturer. The best I think is still to come prepared for class by having read the required readings before hand.