Cornell Notes

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Cornell notes, also called the Cornell note-taking system, is a widely-used notetaking system devised in the 1950s by Walter Pauk, an education professor at Cornell University. Pauk advocated its use in his best-selling How to Study in College. Its popularity has risen dramatically in the 2000s, particularly with the advent of education reform. For example, the New York Public Education System is implementing it, while most Southern California schools (such as the Garden Grove unified school district) are slowly switching to using it.

1 Overview of method
2 Attitudes
3 Software
4 External links

[edit] Overview of method

To create such notes, a student divides the paper into two columns; usually the right column, the note-taking column, is twice the size of the left column, the key word column. While the student listens to a teacher's lecture or reads the assigned textbook, the student writes down notes in the note-taking column. After lecture, questions or key words are written in the cue column, based on material in the note-taking column.

The student then covers up the note-taking column and responds to the questions/keywords in the key word column. The student is encouraged to reflect on the material and review the notes regularly.

[edit] Attitudes

Many educators feel that Cornell notes are a helpful aid in a student's education while many others feel that students should decide for themselves what study tools to use.