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Note-Taking With Computers: Exploring Alternative Strategies for Improved Recall

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Dung C. Bui
Dung C. Bui
Dung C. Bui
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Joel Myerson at Washington University in St. Louis
Joel Myerson
Sandra Hale
Sandra Hale
Sandra Hale
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Abstract

Three experiments examined note-taking strategies and their relation to recall. In Experiment 1, participants were instructed either to take organized lecture notes or to try and transcribe the lecture, and they either took their notes by hand or typed them into a computer. Those instructed to transcribe the lecture using a computer showed the best recall on immediate tests, and the subsequent experiments focused on note-taking using computers. Experiment 2 showed that taking organized notes produced the best recall on delayed tests. In Experiment 3, however, when participants were given the opportunity to study their notes, those who had tried to transcribe the lecture showed better recall on delayed tests than those who had taken organized notes. Correlational analyses of data from all 3 experiments revealed that for those who took organized notes, working memory predicted note-quantity, which predicted recall on both immediate and delayed tests. For those who tried to transcribe the lecture, in contrast, only note-quantity was a consistent predictor of recall. These results suggest that individuals who have poor working memory (an ability traditionally thought to be important for note-taking) can still take effective notes if they use a note-taking strategy (transcribing using a computer) that can help level the playing field for students of diverse cognitive abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
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Note-Taking With Computers:
Exploring Alternative Strategies for Improved Recall
Dung C. Bui, Joel Myerson, and Sandra Hale
Washington University in St. Louis
Three experiments examined note-taking strategies and their relation to recall. In Experiment 1,
participants were instructed either to take organized lecture notes or to try and transcribe the lecture, and
they either took their notes by hand or typed them into a computer. Those instructed to transcribe the
lecture using a computer showed the best recall on immediate tests, and the subsequent experiments
focused on note-taking using computers. Experiment 2 showed that taking organized notes produced the
best recall on delayed tests. In Experiment 3, however, when participants were given the opportunity to
study their notes, those who had tried to transcribe the lecture showed better recall on delayed tests than
those who had taken organized notes. Correlational analyses of data from all 3 experiments revealed that
for those who took organized notes, working memory predicted note-quantity, which predicted recall on
both immediate and delayed tests. For those who tried to transcribe the lecture, in contrast, only
note-quantity was a consistent predictor of recall. These results suggest that individuals who have poor
working memory (an ability traditionally thought to be important for note-taking) can still take effective
notes if they use a note-taking strategy (transcribing using a computer) that can help level the playing
field for students of diverse cognitive abilities.
Keywords: note-taking, note quantity and quality, computers, individual differences, working memory
Note-taking has long been linked to positive test performance
(e.g., Armbruster, 2000;Crawford, 1925b), and this relationship is
not lost on students, who acknowledge that lecture note-taking is
a crucial component of the educational experience (Dunkel &
Davy, 1989). In fact, lecturing constitutes nearly 83% of college
instructors’ teaching methods (Wirt et al., 2001), and nearly all
college students take notes in class (Palmatier & Bennett, 1974),
even when they are not explicitly told to do so by the instructor
(Williams & Eggert, 2002). Researchers have identified two pri-
mary ways in which classroom note-taking is beneficial: Encoding
and external storage (Di Vesta & Gray, 1972). The encoding
benefit (also termed the process benefit) refers to the learning that
results from the act of taking notes, whereas the external storage
benefit (also termed the product benefit) refers to the benefit that
comes from studying the notes. Furthermore, Kiewra (1985)
pointed out that utilizing both aspects of note-taking in conjunction
provides a more potent learning tool than either aspect on its own
(e.g., Fisher & Harris, 1973;Kiewra, DuBois, Christensen, Kim, &
Lindberg, 1989).
Recent advancements in technology have led to more computers
being introduced into the classroom and incorporated into stu-
dents’ learning experiences, and the availability of portable com-
puters has resulted in a steady increase in the percentage of college
students who own one (89%; Smith & Caruso, 2010). Research has
compared typing speed to writing speed and found evidence that
proficient typists can type faster than they can handwrite (e.g.,
Brown, 1988), and that this pattern emerges in children as young
as sixth grade (Rogers & Case-Smith, 2002). Thus, it would appear
that for many students, portable computers can increase their
transcription speed when they take lecture notes.
The Relation Between Working Memory and
Note-Taking
Despite its benefits, lecture note-taking is a complex and cog-
nitively demanding skill that requires comprehending what the
instructor is saying, holding that information in memory, organiz-
ing and paraphrasing it, and then writing it down before it is
forgotten, all while attending to the ongoing lecture. When note-
taking skill is framed as a composition of more basic cognitive
abilities, it is clear that one reason why students’ notes vary among
one another is likely because of individual differences in these
lower-order abilities.
One ability hypothesized to be important in note-taking is work-
ing memory (e.g., Olive & Piolat, 2002), the ability to temporarily
hold and manipulate a limited amount of information (Baddeley,
1986). While some studies report a correlation between working
memory and note-taking (e.g., Kiewra & Benton, 1988;Kiewra,
Benton, & Lewis, 1987), other studies do not (e.g., Cohn, Cohn, &
Bradley, 1995;Peverly et al., 2007). It is possible that these mixed
results are due to variability in the note-taking strategies that
students naturally use. Without explicit instructions, students may
choose strategies that vary in the extent to which they rely on
working memory, potentially masking a correlation between work-
ing memory and note-taking.
This article was published Online First October 8, 2012.
Dung C. Bui, Joel Myerson, and Sandra Hale, Department of Psychol-
ogy, Washington University in St. Louis.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dung C.
Bui, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St.
Louis, MO 63130. E-mail: dcbui@wustl.edu
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Journal of Educational Psychology © 2012 American Psychological Association
2013, Vol. 105, No. 2, 299–309 0022-0663/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0030367
299
... As for learning performance, learners with different note-taking mediums would perform in different ways and lead to diversified outcomes. Some learners might be weakened by the verbatim transcription of laptop note-taking for lacking spatial ability (Luo, et al., 2018) and impaired memory (Mueller and Oppenheimer, 2014), while others with poor memory can benefit from this verbal transcription (Bui, Myerson, and Hale, 2013). As for learning strategies, longhand note takers tended to use verbal and spatial strategies to take notes, while laptop note takers were inclined to transcribe verbal notes. ...
... Hence, numerous studies have endeavored to discover the effect of note-taking mediums on learning strategies. The learning strategy of transcribing with laptop note-taking would boost learning performance and benefit students with poor short-term memory (Bui, Myerson, and Hale, 2013). Establishing a computer-supported learning environment can develop students' ability for strategic learning (Malmberg, Järvelä, and Kirschner, 2014). ...
... Different techniques for note-taking resulted in diversified learning processes and strategies, while studies concerning learning strategies were filled with inconsistencies. The learning strategy of transcribing using a laptop, compared with organized handwritten notes on paper, provided effective learning performance, especially for students with poor working memory (Bui, Myerson, and Hale, 2013). For elementary school students, creating a computer-supported learning environment can develop students' strategic learning abilities (Malmberg, Järvelä, and Kirschner, 2014). ...
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... However, the literature suggests that it is quite difficult to produce a reliable modality effect, as seen with the number of mixed results found throughout the literature. This is especially true when they have been examined under more ecologically valid conditions (e.g., Bui et al., 2013;Morehead et al., 2019;Mueller & Oppenheimer, 2014). While researchers agree that there are mechanistic differences between handwriting and typing that could lead to performative differences when used for encoding (e.g., Aragón-Mendizábal et al., 2016;Bouriga & Olive, 2021;Longcamp et al., 2005;Mangen & Balsvik, 2016;Mangen et al., 2015;Smoker et al., 2009), it is not clear which modality leads to superior memory for the information encoded. ...
... Unfortunately, answering this question empirically has been proven difficult because many variables come into play (e.g., review period, instructor differences, handwriting and typing proficiency, working memory capacity, academic support, organization, study habits, class attendance). Still, many researchers have investigated how lecture notetaking modality affects students' academic success (e.g., Blankenship, 2016;Bui et al., 2013;Fried, 2008;Gaudreau et al., 2014;Grace-Martin & Gay, 2001;Kay & Lauricella, 2011;Kodaira, 2017;Kraushaar & Novak, 2010;Manzi, et al., 2017;Morehead et al., 2019;Muller & Oppenheimer, 2014;Skolnick & Puzo, 2008;Sovern, 2013;Urry et al., 2021;Yamamoto, 2007). ...
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... Thus, writing demands more working memory resources than speaking (Bourdin & Fayol, 1994;Kellogg, 2007). It is also important to consider that handwriting, which is used in the SAI © , is now less common due to the increasing use of digital communication, with several studies finding typing to be significantly faster than handwriting (Bouriga & Olive, 2021;Bui et al., 2013). Although it is plausible to assume that some of the limitations mentioned above regarding handwriting (e.g. ...
... In the studies that found differences concerning the level of detail elicited between the spoken and written modalities, the written modality was operationalized through handwriting (Bekerian & Dennett, 1990;Sauerland & Sporer, 2011). However, typing is significantly faster than handwriting (Bouriga & Olive, 2021;Bui et al., 2013). Further, in the educational and academic context, it is increasingly common for students, especially university students, to use computers to take notes during classes, and according to Bouriga and Olive (2021), it is now more frequent than handwriting. ...
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... The first benefit of note-taking, encoding, occurs when learners write notes during a class (Bui et al., 2013). Encoding refers to the recording and internal elaboration of information in an individual's memory (Peverly & Wolf, 2019). ...
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