Studying without notetaking

October 17, 2015 9:22 AM

What are effective ways of memorizing written material (i.e. studying for an exam) without taking notes by hand? Have you successfully switched from taking handwritten notes and making diagrams to some other method?

I have an old RSI in my dominant wrist and forearm that was quiet for a bit, but has flared up again, and is making it difficult to grasp or grip things like pens and highlighters without pain. I can type (in an idiosyncratic way) with less pain, but not for extended periods. I definitely can no longer make the kinds of margin notes that I've heavily relied on in the past to process dense material and put it to memory.

I really feel I get more out of reading and physically marking up a printed article than I do from reading it electronically. I'm worried I won't be able to engage with the stuff as deeply, or trust my memory of it, without my notes and doodles and diagrams and colours (I need those visual cues!). (Same for writing I'll have to do later :/) I guess this makes me a visual and kinaesthetic learner? Or maybe I need to layer multiple kinds of associations? Or maybe I don't and just think I do? I don't know :/

So what are effective substitutes for people who study this way?

posted by cotton dress sock to Education (14 answers total)

Response by poster: *reading it in electronic form, bit tired, sorry. I haven't worked out a way to read electronically.
posted by cotton dress sock at 9:27 AM on October 17, 2015

Depends on what you're studying, I imagine, but I've been using Anki electronic flashcards with some success for language study. Helps to have a smartphone or Ipod touch for studying them, but you could do it okay on the computer as well.
posted by knownfossils at 9:46 AM on October 17, 2015 [3 favorites]

I study this way. One thing that works sometimes is to type up my notes and then keep summarizing it until I get to the point where it can be revised in one morning (sometimes easier said than done). Then I cover up bits of it and try to interrogate myself. I try to think of possible questions that could be asked on the material.
posted by peacheater at 10:32 AM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

The key is to make it as active as possible. Though I consider myself a good studier I find it impossible to absorb material passively.
posted by peacheater at 10:33 AM on October 17, 2015

So, are you completely set on writing? If not, how about audio? Back in law school, I had a classmate who was coming back to school after already having a career, and who had two teenage kids. In order to attend, she had to commute two hours each each direction, every single day, then go home and take care of the family.

She never bothered with note taking, it was pointless for someone with her kind of schedule. Instead she recorded every single class, and she played those tapes in the car, exclusively, during her commute.

This is sort of an extreme example, but she graduated with great grades and a job lined up.
posted by instead of three wishes at 10:34 AM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

So, I have recently discovered that making maps of how material is related to each other is a super-effective way to remember it. I've been doing this by hand, but you can do this online here too. I used the site once to make a flowchart for something work-related and it was fairly straightforward to use.
posted by sevenofspades at 10:51 AM on October 17, 2015

I second recording the lecture and listening to it.

One of the most effective ways to learn anything is to teach it to someone else. So if someone's willing to be your captive audience, you could listen to the lectures a few times, then give the lecture yourself, record that and see what you missed. A study partner would be good for this. It would help to know what you're studying, but here are some other ideas:

You could cut and paste mnemonic words and images from old magazines in a notebook or index cards, assuming you can cut. Or you could cut and paste images from internet searches into a Word doc, creating a scrapbook of notes.

You could use MS Word templates and shapes to create diagrams and flow charts, then cut and paste words and images in these.

Hire a high school or college student to write things down for you and test you a couple of times a week.

I think the process of having to create a new way to study will in itself help you memorize things!
posted by lillian.elmtree at 10:59 AM on October 17, 2015

Memory palace.
posted by zadcat at 11:08 AM on October 17, 2015

Depending on what you're studying, someone may already have made study sets on Quizlet or a similar service that you can use online or on a device. It's definitely more effective to make your own flash cards etc., but using premade cards can be a close second.
posted by charmcityblues at 11:14 AM on October 17, 2015

I've recently moved over to dictation software (Dragon 13) at work, and I find that one of the strengths is that it enables me to produce more extensive and detailed file notes than I could previously. It's just a lot quicker than either handwriting or typing.

When I was studying I had a lot of success with electronic flashcards.

In your position, I would personally combine these approaches. I'd dictate notes as I read, then go back and copy the most salient points into flashcards. I'd then use the flashcards until I felt happy with the material.

Another thing I've used in the past is mind mapping software (Inspiration 9). You could take your dictated notes and use them to build a mind map of the subject, developing it as you work through the material.
posted by howfar at 11:34 AM on October 17, 2015 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks, all. Sciencey journal articles, not from a textbook or lecture; need to retain factual details vs. big picture stuff. (As well as big picture stuff, but that's not usually so much a problem.)

I had Dragon Dictate 4 for Mac for a bit, but returned it (found the program trying and the process slow, and talking so much was rough on my vocal chords; typed with the left hand and pecked with the right instead, until it got better). Slightly different (and more) hand movements are causing the pain now, making it harder to write longhand than before (for any amount of time, in any position). In the distant past, I tried typing my notes as I read, which took longer and was (for me) less effective than reading and marking things up, but I can do that again if I have to. The flashcards might be the way to go, finally. Thanks all :)
posted by cotton dress sock at 6:17 PM on October 17, 2015

I assume since this is an ongoing problem you've tried it, but switching to a fountain pen might buy you enough reduction in force needed to write to allow the RSI to stay quiet?
posted by hollyholly at 8:44 PM on October 17, 2015

Repeat the details you want to remember out loud to yourself.

Pretend to explain it to someone who doesn't understand it. By teaching someone else you teach yourself.
posted by bobobox at 6:48 AM on October 18, 2015 [1 favorite]

If you have the journals in pdf, I would use the snapshot tool in adobe view to copy cropped images of the text and then past them into Microsoft One Note. In that way, it is like a scrap book of notes. It works well for formulas and diagrams. If you have long blocks of text, that might be a less concise way of making notes, but still something nonetheless.
posted by incolorinred at 9:24 PM on October 18, 2015 [1 favorite]