How to Learn from Your Lecture Notes

Why It Matters?

Professors utilize lectures to communicate with students what they consider important information for the class. Creating a process for reviewing your lecture notes will ensure that you know what the instructor deems essential learning. Learning from lecture notes reinforces and retains lecture material, turning it into long-term knowledge. Active note-taking and engagement improve comprehension and retention, leading to a better understanding of the material.

How Do I Learn from Lecture Notes?

Using the following steps, you can successfully learn from your notes:

Understand Lecture Organization: Since lectures are typically organized as a hierarchy, connecting ideas may take more work. The lecturer typically relies on the audience to make the intended connections. Lectures build upon ideas, and ideas may be presented on different days.
Review and Reflect: Regularly revisit your notes. Summarize key points and reflect on their significance. Identify any gaps or misunderstandings and seek clarification.
Create Connections: Link new information with what you already know. Create concept maps or diagrams to visualize relationships between ideas.
Teach the Material: Explain the content to someone else. Teaching reinforces your understanding and highlights areas that need further review. If you do not have someone you can teach the material to, consider creating a video of yourself explaining the content as though you were teaching it. Then, review the video to see if you have a solid understanding.

When Should I Review Lecture Notes?

Initial Review: Begin your initial review within 24 hours of taking notes. This will reinforce your learning and keep the information in your memory.
Regular Review: Establish a schedule for reviewing notes, similar to spaced retrieval. Frequent, spaced-out reviews improve retention and comprehension. Keep in mind it is better to recall the information than it is to reread the information over time.
Before Exams: Use your notes to create a study guide that can be used as a review before exams. Use the study guide to refresh your memory on previous content and make connections between current and previously covered material.

Action:

Make reviewing your lecture notes a regular part of your study habits. The next time you take notes during a lecture, focus on understanding and paraphrasing the material in your notes and identify key connections from previous learning. Check your understanding with the instructor if you feel uncertain about anything. Explain the concept in your own words or teach the idea to a friend. Afterward, reflect on how these activities have deepened your understanding and connection to the material.