“Facts are important, but facts don’t create learning. Stories do.
A story fits into (and changes) our understanding of the world. Good teachers are storytellers, and storytellers are teachers.
Notes, then, aren’t recitations of facts. They’re story prompts. A good note reminds you of a story that you already understand.” –Seth Godin1
Imagine you’re in a history lecture, and the teacher is describing the French Revolution to you in detail. Should you attempt to write everything they’re saying?
Of course not. Few people could take notes at the pace of the lecture, and even if they could, it wouldn’t be wise. Your job as a notetaker is to record some key facts and figures, to sketch an outline of the events, to build a framework on paper that serves as a reminder of the story you’re absorbing as you listen.
Later, if you were to look back at your notes, they would not contain the knowledge you need. Instead, they would contain cues to the story that’s supposed to be in your head. Use those cues to practice remembering and retelling the story. If you find that there are holes in your story, use a reference (like a textbook, the lecture slides, or a YouTube video) to fill in the gaps.
Later still, hide your notes and retell the story as you rewrite your notes – your cues – on a blank sheet of paper. When you can perform this brain dump while simultaneously weaving a coherent tale of the events, you’re ready for your test.
The same approach applies to a biology lecture about photosynthesis, a math lecture about the logic of the unit circle, or a Spanish lecture about how to use the subjunctive tense. Your notes should contain some key facts, formulas, diagrams, or rules. But you never need to write down all of the words conveyed in a lecture or a textbook passage. The end goal is to be able to recall them without your notes. And to do that, it helps to have a story to tell.
1Godin, Seth. “Take good notes.” Seth’s Blog. November 15, 2024.
Chris Loper has been working as a tutor and academic coach since 2014, racking up over 13,000 hours of experience supporting students.
Along with Greg Smith, Chris is the co-creator of Parenting for Academic Success, a series of classes that create empowered parents, confident students, and harmonious families.
Chris writes the popular self-improvement blog Becoming Better, where he also offers habit coaching, helping busy adults with habit formation and productivity.
Chris’s most recent endeavor combines his academic and habit-formation expertise to help students thrive in college. Visit SmartCollegeHabits.com to learn more.
In 2021, he published a humorous memoir titled Wood Floats and Other Brilliant Observations, a book that blends crazy stories with practical life lessons.
He lives in Issaquah, WA, where he is the owner of South Cove Tutoring.