Simplicity and Notes

Student taking notes

How can we encourage note taking that is productive and promotes learning? I’ve been listening to talks and reading about different approaches. In the Metagenomics course I’ve tried using common notes in which the entire class has access to a Google Doc with the learning outcomes for each module. This semester collaborative note taking participation contributed to five percent of the course grade. However, the notes continue to be bullet points, links, and pasted images. This semester I think we had more contributions and student-to-student editing. However, we still need more editing and polishing to have class notes that we can share on our public webpage. Others use note taking templates that are individual and very structured. Some argue against sharing slides when requiring notes because students can simply cut and paste. I enjoy the simplicity of a Google Doc, and think we can improve the collaborative note guidelines and support system (including instructor feedback) to encourage a more productive community of inquiry.

How can we encourage student note taking that is collaborative and productive?