A study of the effects of training in the skill of taking notes from written material on seventh grade students

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of training in the study skill of notetaking on notetaking performance by seventh grade students, and further, to ascertain what influence this training had on the students1 performance on tests of literal recall. This investigation focused on the demographic variables of age and sex, as well as research hypotheses considering class level, material prepared according to readability level, and the effect of training on the scores of literal recall for the material from which notes had been taken. Pretest-posttest quasi- experimental design was used to compare the performance of experimental and control groups. Six classes, with a total of 84 students, from Spring Branch Junior High School, represented the three achievement groupings of the suburban school district, two accelerated (K), two average (L), and two slower (M). All subjects (three control groups and three experimental groups) took two pretests in taking notes. One passage was administered to all classes and at the median reading level for all classes; the other tests were prepared at the median class reading level. The experimental classes worked at least 12 lessons from Unit V "Notetaking and Outlining" in addition to Skill Starter lessons from the Science Research Associates Organizing and Reporting Skills (1978) program. Students independently worked, checked, and recorded their work. Teacher involvement was minimal. The control classes had no formal training. [...]