Slide 1: Personal Skills and IT
HN1104
Session 2
Reading Note Taking Exams
Slide 2: Take notes during this session Use the method/technique with which you are familiar/comfortable
Slide 3: Reading
Speed reading
‘After a speed reading course I was able to go through War and Peace in 20 minutes. Its about Russia.’ Woody Allen
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
3
Slide 4: Reading
(cont.)
Read the text provided ‘Eye Movements’ #
Note start and end times # Remember the important points Approx. 700 words. Divide this by the number of minutes to give speed in words per minute #
Exercise #
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
4
Slide 5: Reading Exercise
1. False. Poor readers fixate more than once on some words. This backtracking is a major cause of slowness 2. True. Provided it is a specially designed practice. 3. False, according to the text (3-6 fixations per line). Really true! 4. False. Need to practise the techniques regularly to maintain high speeds HN1104 Personal Skills and IT 5
Slide 6: Reading Exercise
(cont.)
5. False. Rapid reading may increase comprehension 6. True. More than one wrong, need to improve retention skills Speed of 250 or more words/minute with reasonable retention OK Exercises to increase reading speed Tony Buzan #
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
6
Slide 7: Reading effectively
Be selective - you do not have to read everything BUT you have to read something Develop a strategy - SQ3R
Survey the material - quick preview Think of questions you might find answered in the text Read the text carefully Recall the main points Review the text
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
7
Slide 8: SQ3R- Survey
Book cover - subject area Title page - date of publication List of contents Index Preface, foreword/introduction Body of text, particularly chapter summaries
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
8
Slide 9: SQ3R - Question
Contents, title page etc.
What do I know about this subject already? Is the book sufficiently up to date? Would it be helpful to me? Why does the author give a whole chapter to topic x?
Text
What are the most crucial ideas in this text? And what use are they to me?
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
9
Slide 10: SQ3R - Read
Don’t just ‘suck up’ other peoples ideas
Does this text have what I need? What does this statement really mean? Are these facts or opinions? What alternatives are there? Are they worth considering? How does it relate to my experience?
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
10
Slide 11: SQ3R - Recall
Usually remember 50% of what you have read 10 minutes later unless you actively attempt to recall information. This: Aids concentration Keeps you active because you are participating in the event Minimises future revision No hard and fast rules for how often you should stop and recall - depends on text Spend at least half your time on recall
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
11
Slide 12: SQ3R - Review
One way is a quick repeat of the previous four aspects Make brief notes from memory, then check these against the text Use the ideas flexibly. Find out what works for you.
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
12
Slide 13: Note Taking
Slide 14: Note Taking - Benefits
Only record in some cases i.e no hand outs Useful for revision Highlight key points, aiding concentration/recall/understanding Useful to inter-relate material
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
14
Slide 15: Note taking - Problems
Can’t find them later among all the other notes taken before or since Can’t read the writing Can read it but don’t know what it means
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
15
Slide 16: Note-Taking - What you need
In University aim for students to progress from initially providing descriptions of factual information towards identifying principles, concepts, arguments and being able to criticise and evaluate i.e. asking why information, concepts or arguments are as they are 3 categories of information
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
16
Slide 17: 1. Underlying principles, concepts, theories, lines of argument
What are the ideas behind detailed, factual information? What are the crucial principles? If you had to explain a theory to a Martian, what would be its absolute essentials? What are the steps in a line of argument?
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
17
Slide 18: 2. Detailed factual information (inc reading or sources to follow up)
What is the concept/ argument/ principle/ theory which needs supporting? What evidence is needed to support it? Are there any essential steps (e.g. stages in a mathematical calculation) which must be included?
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
18
Slide 19: 3. Your own questions, criticisms, opinions of the information
Why is the information like that? Who says? On what assumptions is it based? What alternative views might there be? Is it accurate?
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
19
Slide 20: Note Taking - Methods
Prose summary
Condensed version or precis of the original
Skeleton outline
Lists, headings, subheadings, indentation etc.
Diagrams
Also used in presenting ideas, aids to problem solving Examples in your handout #
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
20
Slide 21: Creative Note Taking
Use of key words rather than detailed notes aid recall Key words are defined as those which incorporate the most relevant sense in the shortest way possible The stepping stones in the swamp Human minds recall in key words and images not sentences.
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
21
Slide 22: Creative Note Taking
(cont.)
Jot down all the sentences of ten words or more which you have heard during your lifetime (not songs or poetry) Few, but you have encountered tens of millions
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
22
Slide 23: Creative Note Taking
Exercise #
(cont.)
Check the notes you have written so far and circle the key words/phrases Count the total number of words and the number of key words Divide number of key words by total number and multiply by 100.
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
23
Slide 24: Creative Note Taking
(cont.)
The mind can also process relationships between key words Highlight these using colour, size variation, outlining, underlining
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
24
Slide 25: Faster Note Taking
Abbreviations
Shortening words sys anal (systems analysis) Beware: prog (progress or programming) Removing vowels: Fr xmpl I m sr y wll hv no dffclty rdng ths bbrvtn Beware: frm (from or form?)
Speed up your writing by practice
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
25
Slide 26: Diagramming Techniques
Mind maps Relationship diagrams Rich pictures
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
26
Slide 27: Mind Maps
Tony Buzan written a number of books including:
Use your Head The Mind Map Book
Alternative names: Spray diagrams, relevance trees, fishbone diagrams Start in the centre with main theme, branch out with each sub theme
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
27
Slide 28: Mind Maps - Advantages
Central idea more clearly defined Position indicates relative importance Proximity and connections show links between key concepts Recall and review are more rapid and effective Allows for easy addition of new information Patterns differ, making them easier to remember Using the patterns creatively, helps the brain make new connections
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
28
Slide 29: Mind Maps - Exercise
Try mind mapping the following information on Assessment #
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
29
Slide 30: Mind Maps - Exercise
100%cw 75:25 cw:ex 50:50 Weighting Course work 25:75 cw:ex 100%ex Before last 1/2 hr Leave early In lab assess Hand in
Assessment
1st attempt 1/2/3 hr
After 1 hr
Duration Central Liverpool Aintree Location
Exams
Referral
Date Dec/Ref:Apr Questions
May/Ref:Aug
Multiple choice Limited choice Free choice
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
30
Slide 31: Relationship Diagrams
Useful in the early stages of analysis Don’t need to start with the main idea Consists of words denoting factors in a situation and lines showing some relationship between them Helps identify key groupings of factors Example of a use in early planning #
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
31
Slide 32: Relationship Diagrams (cont.)
Guidelines:
Don’t cross lines Distinguish strong from weak relationships use of thicker lines Beware of complexity
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
32
Slide 33: Rich Pictures
Used at problem exploration stage of soft systems methodology (Peter Checkland) Use the words and lines of relationship diagrams plus cartoon like pictorial symbols No fixed symbols convention though stick men abound
Crossed swords for conflict, ££s for money, sketch graphs to indicate trends
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
33
Slide 34: Rich Pictures
Advantages:
(cont.)
Used for individual or group analysis Pictorial element is fun so encourages participation and enhances motivation Supports an appreciation of a much fuller and more complex set of potentially important factors than written text
Better not to include them in reports!
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
34
Slide 35: Particularly Exams
Assessment
Slide 36: The assessment system
How much do you know about it?
Exercise #
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
36
Slide 37: Exams
Large number of exams # Important difference between University and school: You are responsible for your own learning
You will decide what to learn, when and how You will receive little direction about this The aim is to encourage students to be independent learners
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
37
Slide 38: Exams - What is the Purpose
Exercise - what is the examination for # Remember Examiners design papers to enable you to display your abilities rather than your weaknesses
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
38
Slide 39: Preparing for Exams
You will lay the foundations for exam success by studying reflectively and realistically throughout the period of the course Revision-definition ‘to see again’ Look back over main ideas and issues throughout the course Regular and early revising will make later material easier to learn
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
39
Slide 40: Revision Plans/Timetables
Make a list of topics you plan to revise Decide what order to tackle them in Space out the revision and make a note of which aspects you will do when. Decide whether you should revise more than one topic per day Leave plenty of time for rest and recreation
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
40
Slide 41: Revision Techniques
Best techniques are active. You will remember if:
It is relevant to you It is associated with something else You remember things in sequence You do something with the information
Revision techniques #
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
41
Slide 42: Additional Help
Improving your Exam Performance leaflet Counselling Service # How to Cope with Exams - Workshops Counselling Service - noticeboard
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
42
Slide 43: Types of Examinations
Multiple choice Descriptive or discursive
http://www.cms.livjm.ac.uk/student/pastexams.asp
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
43
Slide 44: Before the Exam
If you require any special arrangements make the exams office, school office or your personal tutor aware of them Check where and at what time the exam takes place Check what you are allowed to take in with you
pens, calculators etc. some exams are ‘open book’
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
44
Slide 45: Before the Exam
(cont.)
Arrive in plenty of time If you want to discuss the exam with friends, do so; otherwise keep to yourself Make sure you know the format of the paper
Ask in lectures Look at previous papers
45
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
Slide 46: During the Exam
Read the instructions CAREFULLY Read the questions CAREFULLY. Decide which you will answer. Then recheck the instructions
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
46
Slide 47: During the Exam
(cont.)
Determine what the question is asking. Underline the key words:
Compare/contrast - look at two or more perspectives Evaluate - offer criticism or make judgements Analyse - ask why, looking at underlying factors Explain - lay out each stage in a process or argument or each aspect of an object in a logical way
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
47
Slide 48: During the Exam
(cont.)
Avoid questions which contain words or phrases you don’t understand Decide how long to allocate to each question, then keep to it. Allow 10 min. at the end for checking Plan your answers. (Cross out these plans before submission)
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
48
Slide 49: During the Exam
(cont.)
First 50% of marks is easy to obtain, then gets progressively harder Write clearly Quantity does not gain marks. Make relevant points once Spend last 10 min. checking your work DON’T LEAVE EARLY
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
49
Slide 50: Any Questions?
HN1104 Personal Skills and IT
50
