Note-Taking Practices of Students in College Mathematics

Note-taking is one of the most pervasive activities of students in college courses, so it has been the subject of educational research for quite some time. Yet despite the large body research, little is known about the characteristics of note-taking in mathematics. For this reason, this exploratory study examined the note-taking habits of seven students in an introductory calculus course to determine which content they placed in their notes, the factors that affected their note-taking, and the way they used their notes for graded assignments. The results were compared to a general note-taking framework to determine its usefulness in characterizing note-taking in mathematics. Implications for research and teaching are given.