Group Note-Taking in a Large Lecture Class

Large introductory-level classes provide a cost-efficient approach for universities to serve many students at once, but also present several challenges to learning (e.g., poor visual angles). In addition, more students with declared, undeclared, or undiagnosed learning disabilities are entering the college and university systems. In the spirit of universal design, we created a group note-taking system in our large introductory computer science course to increase interaction amongst students, promote good note-taking strategies, and provide study resources to all students while also fulfilling the role of accommodating for students with learning disabilities. We show that the section of the course taught with our intervention performed significantly better on their final examination compared to a course taught without the intervention. We report that students enjoyed increased interactions with their peers, and that one third of the class self-reported an increase in their note-taking skills. Furthermore, our intervention only required minimal cost to the institution, and no financial cost to students, and is easily implemented in any size class.