IIT prof's advice on making notes to maximize study output

Summary

This video addresses common note-taking pitfalls among students and offers strategies to enhance study efficiency. The speaker, a faculty member, emphasizes the importance of personal note-making during lectures and while reading, highlighting how it improves information retention. They caution against relying solely on lecture notes or borrowed notes, advocating for the active engagement of summarizing key insights to foster a deeper understanding of concepts, especially in scientific and technical subjects. The video targets school and undergraduate students, providing practical advice for effective learning.

Takeaways

• 📚 The video discusses common mistakes students make with note-taking and offers advice on how to improve study habits.
• 👨‍🏫 The speaker, a faculty member, demonstrates credibility by showing his own extensive notes taken throughout his academic career.
• 🎯 The video is primarily aimed at school and undergraduate students, especially those preparing for exams like JEE and board exams.
• 🚫 One of the main mistakes highlighted is students not taking notes while reading, which the speaker considers an inefficient way to study.
• 🔍 The speaker emphasizes that note-taking is not just for rote learning but is essential for deeper understanding and concept retention.
• ✏️ Students are advised to make their own notes by hand during lectures and while reading, as it aids in better information retention.
• 🔄 Merely underlining or highlighting text is insufficient for true learning; students need to engage more actively with the material.
• 📘 Relying solely on lecture notes provided by teachers can limit understanding, as these notes are often exam-focused rather than comprehensive.
• 🤔 The speaker warns against developing bad study habits, such as relying on notes from others, which can hinder independent learning in higher education.
• 💡 The importance of recording personal insights and connections made while studying or solving problems is stressed, as these are unique to the individual.
• 📝 For school students, especially for board exams, writing notes in one's own words can enhance understanding and preparation for descriptive questions.
• 🌐 While there are many note-taking techniques available online, the speaker advises students to be practical and choose methods that are relevant to their academic level and needs.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is discussing the common mistakes students make with note-taking and how to overcome these mistakes to maximize study time and output.

Why does the speaker emphasize that they have been taking notes throughout their academic career?

The speaker emphasizes their note-taking to establish credibility and to show that they are not just giving advice without personal experience.

Who is the target audience for this video?

The target audience for this video is primarily school students, especially those studying in classes 6 to 10, those preparing for exams like JEE, and undergraduate students.

Why does the speaker say that not taking proper notes is a significant factor behind students' suffering in exams?

The speaker believes that not taking proper notes leads to a lack of retention and understanding of concepts, causing students to struggle when they need to apply their knowledge independently.

What is the speaker's view on the notion that note-taking is only related to rote learning?

The speaker refutes this notion, stating that note-taking is not just for rote learning but is essential for a deeper understanding of concepts, especially in scientific and technical subjects.

What is the biggest mistake students make according to the speaker?

The biggest mistake, according to the speaker, is that students do not take notes while reading from books, which is an inefficient way of studying.

Why is relying solely on lecture notes provided by teachers not sufficient for real knowledge acquisition?

Relying solely on lecture notes is not sufficient because these notes are primarily geared towards examination preparation and may not cover the full comprehensive concepts present in the actual textbooks.

What is the problem with students borrowing notes from their peers?

Borrowing notes from peers is problematic because it relies on borrowed thoughts, which do not facilitate the same level of understanding and retention as making one's own notes.

What does the speaker suggest as the best method for note-taking during lectures and while reading books?

The speaker suggests making one's own notes, preferably by hand, as it helps to engage more with the material and retain information better.

Why is it important to record 'golden nuggets of information' while studying?

Recording 'golden nuggets of information' is important because these are unique insights and connections made by the student during problem-solving, which enhance understanding and should not be lost.

What advice does the speaker give regarding the use of digital note-taking techniques and other stylish methods promoted on YouTube?

The speaker advises being practical and not to artificially borrow advice that may not be directly relevant to the student's current level, focusing instead on what is necessary for their learning journey.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Importance of Note-Taking for Students

The speaker emphasizes the significance of note-taking for students, particularly for those in school and undergraduate studies. They share their personal experience as a faculty member and student, showing their extensive collection of notes taken during their academic career. The video targets students from class 6 to 10, especially those preparing for exams like JEE and undergraduate students, but may not be as relevant for PhD students. The speaker highlights common issues students face when they don't take proper notes, such as feeling confident during lectures but struggling to apply knowledge later.

05:03

🙅‍♂️ Common Mistakes in Note-Taking

This paragraph outlines the common mistakes students make regarding note-taking. The first mistake is not taking notes at all while reading, which the speaker deems inefficient. The second is relying on underlining and marginal notes, which only offers superficial familiarity with the text rather than true knowledge. The third mistake is relying exclusively on lecture notes provided by teachers, which may be good for exam preparation but insufficient for deep understanding. The speaker also warns against the habit of borrowing notes from peers, as it does not facilitate personal understanding and can lead to poor study habits.

10:04

✍️ Overcoming Note-Taking Mistakes

The speaker suggests ways to overcome the mistakes in note-taking. They stress the importance of making one's own notes during lectures and while reading, as studies show that hand-written notes improve retention and engagement. The speaker advises against relying solely on digital notes or slides provided by teachers, recommending that students use these as supplementary material to their own notes. They also discuss the value of noting down personal insights and connections made while solving problems, which are unique to the individual and crucial for understanding.

15:04

🚀 Practical Advice for Effective Note-Taking

In the final paragraph, the speaker offers practical advice for students on note-taking. They encourage students to be discerning about the advice they follow, especially when it comes from sources like YouTube, which may not always be relevant to their academic level. The speaker emphasizes the importance of developing the ability to interpret and describe concepts in one's own words, a skill that is essential for higher studies and scientific endeavors. They conclude by wishing students the best in their note-taking and learning journey.

Keywords

💡Note-taking

Note-taking is the process of recording information during a lecture or while reading. It is a fundamental study skill that helps in organizing and understanding the material better. In the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of taking notes properly to avoid common mistakes and to maximize learning efficiency. The script mentions that not taking proper notes can lead to a lack of retention and understanding of concepts.

💡Mistakes

The term 'mistakes' in this context refers to the errors or inefficient practices students make while taking notes. The video discusses several mistakes, such as not taking notes at all, relying solely on lecture notes, or borrowing notes from peers. These mistakes are directly linked to the video's theme of effective note-taking strategies.

💡Concepts

Concepts are the fundamental ideas or principles that form the basis of a subject. The video script mentions that students often feel confident about concepts during lectures but struggle when solving problems independently, highlighting the importance of note-taking in solidifying understanding and application of concepts.

💡Lecture Notes

Lecture notes are the written or typed records of what is said during a lecture. The video discusses the limitations of relying exclusively on lecture notes provided by teachers, as they may not cover the full depth of the subject matter and can lead to bad study habits if not complemented with personal note-taking.

💡Underlining and Highlighting

Underlining and highlighting are techniques used to mark important information in text. The speaker in the video points out that while these methods are better than not taking any notes, they are insufficient for deep learning and understanding, as they do not promote active engagement with the material.

💡Familiarity

Familiarity in the context of the video refers to the state of being well-acquainted with something, such as a text or subject. The script warns that mere familiarity, achieved through rereading and underlining, does not equate to true knowledge or understanding of the concepts.

💡Acquisition of Knowledge

Acquisition of knowledge is the process of gaining new information, understanding, or skills. The video emphasizes that proper note-taking is crucial for the genuine acquisition of knowledge, as opposed to superficial exam preparation or rote learning.

💡Scientific and Technical Subjects

The video specifically addresses note-taking for scientific and technical subjects, indicating that the advice given is most relevant for these areas. The speaker mentions that their expertise does not extend to social sciences and humanities, thus setting the context for the type of content the video is focused on.

💡Borrowed Notes

Borrowed notes refer to the practice of using notes taken by someone else. The video script warns against this practice, stating that it does not foster personal understanding and can be detrimental to learning, as it relies on someone else's interpretation of the material.

💡Handwriting

Handwriting is the act of writing by hand, as opposed to typing. The video suggests that taking notes by hand can improve retention and engagement with the material. It also dispels the concern that poor handwriting might hinder the note-taking process, emphasizing the importance of the content over the appearance of the notes.

💡Problem Solving

Problem solving is the process of finding solutions to questions or challenges. In the context of the video, problem solving is an integral part of learning in scientific and technical subjects. The speaker suggests that after reading and taking notes, engaging with problems helps in discovering connections and insights, which should be recorded for better understanding.

Highlights

The importance of note-taking for maximizing study time and output.

The speaker's personal experience with note-taking as a faculty member.

The extensive notes taken during undergraduate studies, including various subjects.

Continuation of note-taking as a faculty to clarify concepts before teaching.

The primary audience for the video: school and undergraduate students.

The common issue of students feeling confident in concepts during lectures but struggling with problem-solving later.

The misconception that note-taking is only for rote learning.

The focus on scientific and technical subjects for note-taking advice.

The first mistake: not taking notes while reading from books.

The second mistake: relying on underlining and marginal notes, which is insufficient for true understanding.

The third mistake: relying exclusively on lecture notes provided by teachers, which may not foster deep understanding.

The risks of developing bad study habits by relying on lecture notes without engaging with the original textbooks.

The fourth mistake: borrowing notes from peers, which hinders personal understanding and thought processes.

The necessity of making one's own notes for better retention and engagement with the material.

The benefits of hand-written note-taking for increased class engagement and information retention.

The importance of recording personal insights and connections made while studying and solving problems.

The value of writing notes in one's own words for better absorption of information, especially for descriptive questions.

Advice for students to be practical and avoid adopting note-taking methods that are not directly relevant to their needs.

Transcripts

hello everyone in this video I'm going

to discuss some of the biggest mistakes

students make with regards to notes

making and how you can overcome these

mistakes so as to make the best use of

your study time and to maximize your

output now since this video is all about

note taking I just want to show that I

am not being a hypocrite here uh because

all my life I have been taking notes

even now as a faculty here at I kakur so

let me just go back and show you some of

the notes that I have made so this is

these are the bunch of notes only a

small fraction mind you of the notes

that I had made during my undergraduate

days so it covers all the uh many of the

subjects and I have another couple of

boxes at home uh containing many such

copies like this so This contains fluid

mechanics mechanics of materials

Dynamics uh even the tutorial sheets

thermodynamics etc etc uh now all of

these were taken during class mind you

by hand now uh going beyond that now

that I'm a faculty I have continued to

make notes uh before going to class and

just to clear things up in my own head

so these are some of the notes again

mind you these are not the complete set

of notes uh this is a bigger Bunch

actually this is all that I had here in

my office it's quite heavy actually I

hope I don't drop it

so you see these are all my notes um

and there's quite a few uh these do not

contain any fluid mechanics notes these

are mostly solid mechanics elasticity

Etc uh anyway so I just wanted to show

you that uh I'm not um shooting off my

mouth here so who is this video meant

for this video is primarily meant for

school students students especially

studying in class 6 to 10 but primarily

those who are studying in 10 plus2

preparing for J need Etc and uh uh

certainly the students who are already

in undergraduate classes uh it may not

be so useful for PhD students because uh

there a different sort of dynamic is at

play with regards to reading and note

making so I'll not get into that so this

is primarily menant for school students

and undergraduate students now uh

keeping this objective in mind uh of uh

the importance of not taking and how the

students suffer if they don't take

proper notes I just want to uh discuss

some of the biggest mistakes that

student make and uh and up front I want

to say that when they do not take this

proper notes and this is actually one of

the big factors behind them suffering is

that uh while attending a lecture or

while reading from a book many times it

happens that the students are absolutely

clear on the concepts they feel that

they're quite confident with the

concepts despite that feeling when it

comes to actually solving the problems

on their own later on or maybe tackling

some kind of an examination or maybe uh

going for some kind of mock to

uh what happens is that the students

feel that all their knowledge all their

Concepts which they had felt quite

confident about while reading or while

attending the lectures uh somehow that

knowledge has completely deserted them

it has completely left them so a big

reason behind this I feel is not taking

proper notes now please mind U you that

some people have a notion that note

taking is only related to um like road

kind of learning this is completely far

from the truth all right uh I also want

to make it clear that whatever I'm going

to discuss primarily is associated with

scientific and Technical subjects uh

this I I don't have the required

expertise to advise you on taking notes

in social sciences and the humanities so

that's that all right what is the

biggest mistake the biggest mistake of

course is that uh the students do not

take notes while reading from the books

okay this is the most inefficient way

way of studying from books I feel uh

some of you may feel that okay I'm

studying from books and then I'm solving

problems uh and uh note taking is just

Road Road learning it's not okay so this

is the most inefficient way of studying

from books and I will expand on this

later uh the next is that some students

they uh they are not as uh inefficient

as not taking any notes at all in the

sense that they do make some underlines

they make some highlights and make in

the margins they will write some notes

uh but although it is a little bit

better than the first mistake but still

it is far from

sufficient okay so the only thing which

these kinds of things accomplishes like

reading and rereading and maybe

rereading with a little bit of an

emphasis on the underlined and the

highlighted Parts uh is just to make you

familiar more and more familiar with the

text now familiarity is not really true

knowledge it doesn't give you an

in-depth understanding of the concepts

any new insights into the various

connections that may exist so just

underlining or just rereading and

revising the same thing over and over

again may make you feel that you are

becoming more and more familiar with the

concept so to speak but you are not

really absorbing them this is something

very very fundamental which you should

understand

the next thing is that some students

they rely exclusively on the lecture

notes which are provided by their

tuition teachers or their coaching

teachers now you may feel that this is a

little bit more efficient as compared to

books maybe so because after all these

lecture notes are prepared by quite

experienced teachers who have a lot of

experience in coaching the students in

preparing the students for the various

examins but by the very definition of

that please try to understand that these

lecture notes are geared primarily

towards examination preparation so if

you are relying exclusively on that then

uh you may be preparing somewhat well

for your exams but in terms of the real

acquisition of the knowledge this is not

sufficient

so and and and see this is like an

intermediary between the actual

book the concepts the full comprehensive

concept which is present in the books

and your

brain so if you only rely on these notes

on these lecture notes which are given

to you then you'll be at a loss plus a

big thing is that if you um keep on

reading only from these notes without

going through the books then the actual

textbooks then it kind of develops bad

study habits in your

brain so maybe at the school level at 10

plus2 level it would be okay but once

you get into the undergraduate days and

even go for higher

studies uh this kind of bad study habits

is going to bite back at you because at

that level there will be no tution

teachers there will be no coaching

teachers to handhold you and give you

rade notes like this which will help you

directly in your examination preparation

so when you don't have those notes what

are you going to do and this is a

problem which I have seen many many

students face in their actual

undergraduate studies there are many

students who have done quite well during

their J preparation during their 10 plus

two but once they come to the

undergraduate there are a number of

other factors of course but this is one

factor which I feel is at the very Crux

of Why students failed to perform as

well as they were doing earlier before

coming to the undergraduate days another

mistake which students make is that so

this is my next Point uh is that

students many a time and this is quite

common in their in the undergraduate uh

level is that they don't take their own

notes they attend the lectures sometimes

they miss the lectures but at the end of

the day what they will do is not even at

the end of the day before the exams they

will go around collecting the notes from

some of the students who were more

attentive or or more serious in um in

attending the lectures regularly and

perhaps a little bit more serious in

taking the notes themselves so these

students the rest of the students they

will take these notes and they will

photocopy them on and now now maybe they

will just take photographs or maybe scan

them and study from this and this seems

like a shortcut very efficient way of um

going about the thing but mind you this

is a massive mistake U all these notes

that I showed

you all of these on an average have at

least gone to 5 to 10 other of my

batchmates all of these some of some

some sometimes what happened was my

notes were shared by so many students

and then it went to another hostel um

another Hall of residents and I had to

go about searching where my notes are uh

that has also happened so I know this

has been going on forever people

photocopy notes from their uh from their

friends but this doesn't really help you

because see these notes are again some

kind of an intermediary between what the

teacher taught in class and what you are

supposed to learning these notes are

actually prepared by somebody who has

his own way of thinking own way of

understanding now if you artificially

borrow these notes you are only trying

to kind of rely on borrowed thoughts

those thoughts are not your own so the

kind of understand understanding that

you would have had if you had made the

notes yourself this is not at all

comparable to what you would gain by

just reading from these kinds of

borrowed notes I hope I made myself

clear okay this is a very very subtle

point but very important point so these

are some of the biggest mistakes what

can you do to overcome these mistakes

now the first thing if it is not

apparently clear by now is that you have

to necessarily make your own notes when

you are sitting in a lecture when you

are reading through a book make your own

notes this is very very important in the

undergraduate days uh in the in the plus

two level that you have to make your own

notes preferably by hand because there

are studies which show that when you

take notes by hand it helps you to

engage more in classes are proper

scientific studies are done with control

groups and everything that when you take

notes physically in a notebook it helps

you to retain the information better

because you are engaging more in U uh

with the with the teacher and please

don't think that if your handwriting is

a little bit bad or handwriting is slow

you would be missing out because when

you think like that what you're actually

doing is you would be summarizing the

things which are really important from

the from the notes and nowadays many

teachers give their slides give their uh

uh notes also please do not just rely on

them take them definitely take them use

them but your main anchor should be your

own notes this is extremely important

some of you may be thinking that okay in

the technical and scientific subjects uh

who makes notes from books and this is

true that be I mean a quite impractical

thing to say especially to undergraduate

students who sits down and takes notes

from books you read the books you study

you do the problems from the problem

sheets given to you or maybe from the

end of the chapters in the book and

that's that uh if you can solve the

problems you know that you can you're

good with the concepts and then you go

for the exam now what I'm saying is

little bit different and this is

something which I have not found

highlighted being highlighted in any

textbook or any blog which talks about

or in any other video which talks about

uh note making this is my personal thing

so please listen carefully what I'm

saying is that you read from the books

don't take notes then go for the

problems once you have done a few

problems you will automatically discover

certain kinds of links and connections

between what you had already studied

before maybe in the previous classes or

maybe in the other chapters maybe in

other subjects also you will discover

certain links and connections on your

own as you are studying and as you are

solving the problems on your own these

these are the golden nuggets of

information which you have discovered

for yourself these are Uniquely Yours

You must make it a point to note down

these golden nuggets of information

because you if you do not record this

this will get dissipated from your brain

this this little flashes of conceptual

understanding which you discover for

yourself if you do not put this on

record I mean it's a massive loss okay

why would you want to lose this these

flashes of insight okay this br flashes

of insight that you have while solving

the problems so please do not do that so

my suggestion is that first of all study

from the book solve the problems maybe

study from the lecture notes also which

the teacher provides you solve the

problems and when these kinds of

connections these insights you discover

for

yourself record them there are certain

points on which uh like more subjective

kind of notes directly from books would

be necessary and this is more relevant

to the school students because

especially for board exams it was

certainly true in our time that in

addition to the problems there would be

certain subjective kind of questions for

example describe milans oil drop

experiment now if you just study from

the book directly or if you study from

some given lecture not some read made

lecture notes you can probably answer

them but if you write your own notes or

describe the things in your own words

what will happen is that you will really

absorb this thing now you may think now

what's the what's the real benefit of

describing these experiments well the

the benefit may not be evident to you

right away but this is the kind of

descriptive thinking which mind you is

also very scientific in nature which

will be extremely important for you as

you go to higher and higher classes mind

you that all scientific Endeavor even in

extremely technical things is not just

problem solving there are certain

logical steps which you have to take

into account which by which you proceed

scientifically okay I mean I am in a

department where from Day Zero you have

to go for problem solving in mechanics

then in mechanics of materials mechanics

of solids fluid mechanics in everything

there is problem solving despite that

I'm saying this that not everything just

boils down to simple problem solving or

simple in the sense that straight cut

problem solving there are many many

things for which you have to take

logical steps uh in a very coherent very

scientific fashion which are not like

problems which are like decisions and uh

like choices between two

bifurcations uh so when you do a large

project you have to you have to think in

that in those terms so unless you

develop this kind of a mental muscle to

interpret something which is there in

the book in your own words you'll be at

a real loss later on this is my personal

feeling and something which I have

gained by experience all right right so

these are the main things which I wanted

to discuss with you I would like to

point out some things because we are on

YouTube here that if you search about

note making and note taking here on

YouTube you will find a lot of videos

which talks very beautifully uh about

some brilliant techniques of note taking

maybe digital note taking and so on and

so forth many of these are very good but

they are not directly relevant at the

school level

uh my suggestion is that be very

practical about it please do not try

to uh artificially borrow some kind of

an advice which may not be directly

relevant for you okay so as you go

higher and higher maybe those kinds of

advice will be relevant but at this

point whatever you need personally for

you you are the best judge of that try

to do what is necessary rather doing

some kind of cosmetically stylish thing

like I don't know bullets journaling or

many other such kinds of uh taking notes

in pocketbooks field notes and this and

that this I mean YouTube is filled with

these kinds of things um these are all

good but they have a different target

audience they have a different um Target

Paradigm of Interest so what I discussed

here is completely different so I hope

you take the is um you understand this

in the proper spirit and do what is

actually required of you so all the very

best in your note taking and Learning

Journey