Examining the effects of note-taking styles on college students’ learning achievement and cognitive load

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of note-taking styles on college students’ learning achievement and cognitive load in a 6-week lecture-based computer network course. Forty-two students were randomly assigned into one of three groups, which consisted of collaborative note-taking, laptop note-taking, and traditional longhand note-taking. The results showed that students in the collaborative note-taking group did better on learning achievement and cognitive load than students in the other two groups. Particularly, students in the collaborative note-taking group had a significantly higher rate of learning achievement and a significantly lower level of extraneous load than students in the longhand note-taking group. Implications for practice or policy: College students can improve their learning achievement more effectively through collaborative note-taking style than individual note-taking style. College students can reduce extraneous load and improve germane load levels through collaborative note-taking. Instructors and administrators should encourage college students to take more collaborative notes during classroom instruction.

Lost in multitasking: An exploration of Chinese university students’ in-class smartphone multitasking patterns using multiple approaches

“…Consequently, the utilisation of smartphones extends beyond leisure time to infiltrate schools and universities (Luo et al, 2018;Ravizza et al, 2017). In-class smartphone multitasking has long been considered harmful for students because it could incur negative consequences, such as poor academic performance and attentional and attitudinal problems (Carrier et al 2015;Jamet et al, 2020;Shi et al, 2022). However, recent evidence suggests there might be positive implications as well, as some studies have indicated a positive connection between multitasking, emotion regulation and learning (Hikmat & Mulyono, 2018;Peifer & Zipp, 2019;Wood et al, 2018).…”