Stephanie Salensky

2/2/2016

#18

CORNELL/GUIDED NOTES

THE WAY IT WORKS

[Story Subtitle or summary]

Cornell and other guided note strategies
are being used in all levels of academics. From
kindergarten to undergraduate work, guided notes
are helping students achieve an understanding of
course material without the distraction of excess
information. These types of notes are designed to
alert the student when key information needs to
be written down, making it easier for the student
to be an active listener instead of worrying about
recording every word the teacher says on paper.
With this method of note taking students are able
to participate in class discussion and have time to
ask questions during lecture, thus improving their
understanding of the course material. One study
found that trying to take accurate notes and
keeping up with the pace of instruction can be
frustrating or overwhelming for students with
disabilities, particularly for students who are
included in general education classroom settings.
(***). Cornell and other guided notes eliminate
this frustration and allow those with learning
disabilities to engage in learning just as their
peers do.

* A COMMON CHARACTERISTIC
AMONG STUDENTS WITH
INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY AND
AUTISM IS DELAYS IN AUDITORY
PROCESSING, MAKING RELIANCE ON
SPEECH AS THE ONLY MODALITY OF
INSTRUCTION DIFFICULT FOR THIS
STUDENT POPULATION (*).

Guided notes allow for different mediums

in which to teach the information, rather than hear
and record. They provide a means to increase
student learning and understanding of content
through the use of multiple modalities (i.e.,
auditory, visual, and tactile) (*) Students can draw
pictures, fill in the blanks, write summaries of
activities they engaged in or form questions they
think the content is geared for answering.

WHO DOES IT HELP?

Research has shown that Cornell and other guided notes have a significant impact on all students in a
classroom. Students with a learning disability (moderate to severe) and those with autism who used guided
notes had nearly equivalent scores to their nondisabled classmates. These styles of note taking improve the
performance of isolated student with disabilities, immersion groups, and classrooms consisting of average
intelligence entirely.

HOW TO USE GUIDED NOTES

Procedures

With Cornell notes, the teacher provides the class with the Cornell worksheet exampled below.
Students will write key facts such as; definitions, important dates and people, formulas, etc. in the right hand
column (which is the largest space). As the lecture takes place, the teacher will point out a particular sentence
or a critical fact that the students should write in the prepared space. (***) In the left hand column students
will create questions they think the information in the right column answers as well as, define the main idea
of the lecture. The bottom section is where the student will write a summery, in their own words, of what the
lecture was about. Teachers should review notes to make sure students are recording information accurately
at the end of class.
With the other guided notes, teachers simple type up the lecture in an easy to read and age appropriate
format with key words replaced by a blank space. Students are required to listen to the teacher and write the
correct word in the blank space. The teacher should provide adequate cues as to what is supposed to go in
those spaces during lecture. The teacher should then indicate to the entire class what the correct word is that
belongs in that blank space. The students will then check that what they wrote is correct, and change it if it is
not.

EXAMPLES OF CORNELL AND GUIDED NOTES