Laptop Versus Longhand Note Taking in a Professional Doctorate Course: Student Performance, Attitudes, and Behaviors

Abstract


 Objective: To determine the relationship between longhand note taking versus laptop note taking on pharmacy students’ examination performance and identify differences in attitudes and behaviors as it relates to the note taking process.
 Methods: A small group of students consented voluntarily to take longhand notes, doing away with their laptops during portions of the course administered by study investigators. Analyses were conducted on block examination performance, with each student’s score on the first examination serving as a performance benchmark to assess change. Laptop and longhand note takers completed a survey regarding various aspects of their note taking attitudes and behaviors, and also included open text comments to capture qualitative experiential data.
 Results: Based upon a relatively small number of participants in the longhand cohort (n=11), the differences between the groups on subsequent examinations was approximately 3.5 percentage points in favor of the longhand note-takers. There were significant differences observed between the two groups on several survey items, with longhand note takers less likely to be distracted in class and more likely to agree that other students ask to review their notes due to the quality of those notes.
 Conclusions: Longhand note taking might facilitate more accurate recall or retrieval in test situations, thus producing improved test scores for certain types of students in certain types of courses; however additional research is needed. Faculty may consider whether modifying students’ classroom note taking practices may contribute to an improved learning experience.
 
 Article Type: Original Research

Does Note-taking Method Matter in Physical Therapy School?

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“…Results indicated that although the longhand note-taking group performed better than the digital note-takers on the 2 remaining examinations, the results were not significant. 2 Individual Differences and Note-taking No studies exist that specifically explore notetaking method and student individual differences among graduate students. However, studies do exist that focus on student differences.…”

“…Results indicated that although the longhand note-taking group performed better than the digital note-takers on the 2 remaining examinations, the results were not significant. 2…”

“…1 In recent years, note-taking has evolved from handwriting to typewriting via electronic or digital devices. Personal technology devices (ie, laptop computers or tablets) are ubiquitous in the classroom, and digital note-taking is the preferred method among most students in higher education, [2][3][4] with many students reporting that typing notes on a laptop or tablet is easier and more convenient. 5 However, with this added convenience, a personal technology device also provides a potential distraction for the student user and those within visual range.…”

‘I felt a new connection between my fingers and brain’: a thematic analysis of student reflections on the use of pen and paper during lectures

“…Rather than using an experimental set-up, as in the above three studies, Desselle and Shane (2018) studied longhand and laptop note-taking on pharmacy students' performance during two exams in a professional doctorate course. They found a 3.5% improvement in examination scores for longhand note-taking students.…”