The Cornell Way
STRUCTURED NOTE TAKING FOR ALL
STUDENTS
The Curve of Forgetting
 The Curve of Forgetting describes how we retain or get rid of
information that we take in. It's based on a one-hour lecture.
 On Day 1, you go in knowing nothing, or 0%. At the end of the
lecture you know 100% of what you know, however well you
know it (where the curve rises to its highest point).
The Curve of Forgetting
 By Day 2, if you have done nothing with the information you learned in
that lecture, didn't think about it again, read it again, etc. you will have lost
50%-80% of what you learned. Our brains are constantly recording
information on a temporary basis. Because the information isn't
necessary, and it doesn't come up again, our brains dump it all off, along
with what was learned in the lecture that you actually do want to hold on
to!
The Curve of Forgetting
 By Day 7, we remember even less, and by Day 30 we
retain only about 2%-3% of the original hour! This may
account for feeling as if you've never seen this before in
your life when you're studying for exams - you may need
to actually re-learn it from scratch.
The Curve of Forgetting
 Good news - You can change the shape of the curve! A big signal to your
brain to hold onto a specific chunk of information is if that information
comes up again. When the same thing is repeated, your brain says, "Ohthere it is again, I better keep that." When you are exposed to the same
information repeatedly, it takes less and less time to "activate" the
information in your long term memory and it becomes easier for you to
retrieve the information when you need it.
The Curve of Forgetting
New
Curve!
 Here's the case for making time to review material: Within 24 hours of
getting the information - spend 10 minutes reviewing and you will raise
the curve almost to 100% again. A week later (Day 7), it only takes 5
minutes to "reactivate" the same material, and again raise the curve. By
Day 30, your brain will only need 24 minutes to give you the feedback,
"Yup, I know that. Got it.”
The Curve of Forgetting
 Often students feel they can't possibly make time for a
review session every day in their schedules. However, this
review is an excellent investment of time.
 If they don't review, they will need to spend 40-50 minutes
re-learning each hour of material later – do they have that
kind of time?

Cramming rarely plants the information into long term memory
where they can access it to do assignments throughout the term as
well as be ready for exams.
The Curve of Forgetting
 Depending on the course load, the general recommendation
is to spend about 30 minutes every weekday, and 1.5 - 2
hours every weekend in review activity.

Perhaps you only have time to review 4 or 5 days of the week, and the
curve stays at about the mid range. That's OK, it's a lot better than the
2%-3% you would have retained if you hadn’t reviewed at all.
 Many students are amazed at the difference reviewing
regularly makes in how much they understand and how well
they retain material. It's worth experimenting for a couple
weeks, just to see what a difference it makes!
Why Take Cornell Notes?
 Cornell Notes are an excellent tool to take focused notes,
use inquiry to highlight the main ideas, and to
summarize knowledge learned.

The idea is to emphasize not just taking notes, but also the
importance of refining and using the notes as a study aid.
 They were developed at Cornell University in the 1950s
by a frustrated professor who wanted to help his students
learn to retain information better.
 They have become a cornerstone of the AVID program
because of their usefulness in all content areas and for all
students.
 Three advantages of CN:



It is a method for mastering information, not just recording facts.
It is efficient.
Each step prepares the way for the next part of the learning process.
Why Take Cornell Notes?
 Long story short:


When you write down even brief notes about what you
are hearing/ experiencing, you keep 60% of what you
hear/learn.
When you take thorough, organized notes and
review them, you keep 90-100% of what you
hear/learn.
 Cornell Notes is a process to cover all of these
steps.
How To Take Cornell Notes
 There are four parts to the CORNELL WAY:
Note-taking: capturing complete notes in any
situation
2. Note-making: creating meaning and revising the
notes taken
3. Note-interacting: using the notes as a learning tool
to increase achievement
4. Note-reflecting: reflecting on learning and utilizing
feedback to improve future note-taking effort
1.
1. Note-taking
C – Create Format
Complete heading
This includes the day’s
objective or essential question
Any Paper can be Cornell Note Paper!
 All you have to do is add lines!
Blank paper for
Thinking Maps,
drawings, etc.
Dot paper
Graph paper
1. Note-taking
O - Organize Notes
• Right side
• See your packet for
student tips on HOW
to take notes.
•
This is also a skill they
need to be taught.
2. Note-making
R – Review & Revise
Tip – ask students to
use a different colored
pen
2. Note-making
N – Note Key Ideas
Use key ideas to
create questions (see
your packet)
Encourage students
to use higher-level
questions
Consider, “How
might this be asked
on the test?” (think
like the teacher)
Ppts can be turned
into CN!
2. Note-making
E – Exchange Ideas
Collaborate with others

This can be done periodically throughout your delivery of
material, at the end of class, or at the beginning if they took
notes for HW.
Encourage use of a different colored pen
List key vocab from lesson
The idea is for them to begin taking ownership of the
content in their notes, both what is there and what is
not there (until a partner helps them).
3. Note-interacting
L – Link Learning
Create a summary
Goes at the END of
the notes (not one for
each page of notes)
See your packet for a
summary-writing
template to help teach
this skill.
3. Note-interacting
L – Learning Tool
Study from notes
Fold the notes over and quiz over the questions on the
left while hiding the material on the right
See your packet for more ways to help students study
from their notes.
4. Note-reflecting
W – Written Feedback
Teacher provides
written feedback
It takes time to assess
notes, but the rubrics
provided allow you to
assess one step at a time.
You can even provide
students a simple
checklist to assess
themselves.
Otherwise, how will
students know how to
improve?
4. Note-reflecting
A – Address Feedback
Make goals for improvement
4. Note-reflecting
Y – Your Reflection
Reflect on the learning
by looking at all notes
taken over a topic.
“Before” & “After”
Notes on Fancy Paper
Cornell Notes
Sample Cornell Notes
English
Math
Sample Cornell Notes
Science
Social Studies
Sample Cornell Notes
Band/Choir
Sample Cornell Notes
Yes, even PE! Coaches can even use CN to diagram plays.
Sample Cornell Notes
 Cornell Notes work for ANY content.
 Think about it: If it’s content worth writing down,
isn’t it also worth processing, critical thinking, and
reflecting?
Ways to Begin Cornell Note-taking
 Start by training students one piece of the process at a
time (learning to take good notes is a marathon, not a
sprint)


Practice the format
Take existing notes and draw in the lines of the CN format
 Move onto what is written down
 Teach students common abbreviations for your content area or
academic abbreviations (expl, comp/cont, etc)
 Use the templates, checklists, and rubrics to help
 Post relevant aids in your classroom
 Discuss with your grade level/department ways to
scaffold expectations appropriately for your students.
Ways to Begin Cornell Note-taking
 When you create student notes or handouts, format
them as CN

Can scaffold by providing some of the pieces and having
students do the rest
Give students partial notes and help them with the gaps
 Have students generate the questions and write a summary over
the notes provided

 Model the process
 Write questions and summaries as a class first after providing
examples and explaining the process
Ways to Begin Cornell Note-taking
 Turn chapter questions into CN, put dates in the left-
hand column, or elements such as plot, setting,
conflict for students to keep track of during notetaking
 Draw Thinking Maps on the right and generate
critical thinking questions on the left. Summarize the
learning at the bottom.
 Connect what is in the notes to what was on the test
as a reflection over the efficiency of students’ notes
 Encourage review of notes, questions, and
summaries
Ways to Begin Cornell Note-taking
 Assess the notes
 You may use the rubrics or grading slips provided
 Have students attach them to their test or turn them in at the
end of a unit
 You might let them use their notes for a portion of the test
once in a while (that’s up to you!)
 Give extra credit for good student-generated questions that
you use on the test
Thank you!
 We hope this session will inspire you to begin using
Cornell Notes with your classes!
 If you have any questions or would like more
content-specific information, please feel free to ask
any member of the AVID Site Team here on campus.
Kristen Cavin
GCISD AVID Coordinator
X6745
Kristen.cavin@gcisd.net
www.avid.org