You sound just like me, Emma, I find myself daydreaming if I don't take notes.
Dr John S Conway
Principal Lecturer / Chair, Research Committee
Royal Agricultural college, Cirencester, Glos GL7 6JS
01285 652531 fax 01285 650219
http://www.royagcol.ac.uk/~john_conway
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From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. on behalf of Emma Wright
Sent: Tue 29/11/2005 16:25
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Lecture notes in advance
It is really interesting to hear other people talk of taking notes as a way of engaging, but does any one know of any research that has looked at this as an aid to learning?
I developed a visual impairment 6 years ago, and until then I had a very visual memory and made notes about everything all of the time. It is now much harder for me to make notes unless I am at a computer, and as a student on a taught course I had a notetaker to take them for me during lectures and seminars. However, I found it was then very difficult to focus myself as I was just listening and not really engaging in any way. I often found I had 'switched off' and had no idea what was just said. I am just starting research into print impairment in Higher Education, and am waiting to see if my research suggests that this is a common problem, or not. Luckily, as a PhD student I now have ony one or two lectures or seminars to attend a week, but it is still a problem when I attend conferences, or even carry out interviews.
Also, now I have a hearing impairment as well, a notetaker is absolutely invaluable, and a few have told me how awkward they feel when lecturers tell a class to 'put their pencils down'. They don't know whether to ignore the request and continue taking notes for me, or whether to comply and try to fill in the blanks later!
--
Emma Jane Wright
School of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Nottingham
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www.accessingmaterials.org.uk
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