Abstract
Note taking and verbalization are considered as instrumental student activities which influence the relationship between the learning task and the learning outcomes. Research has demonstrated no significant relationships between the type of test anticipated and the amount of notes taken. The time interval between the presentation of the instructional stimuli and the criterion test does influence the amount of notes taken with a delayed test expectancy resulting in more note taking activity than immediate test expectancy. The probability of a student recalling an item on a test is greater if that item is present in the notes than if it is not present. Studies which compared note taking to no note taking conditions have shown a facilitative effect for note taking, but the effect is influenced by type of review condition and the time interval between note taking and criterion test. Research on the effects of verbalization in instructional settings has failed to show any clear benefits for methods which involve greater student verbalization. Controlled laboratory studies have shown that overt verbalization positively influences associational learning, serial learning, and discrimination learning. Alternative theoretical explanations for the effects of note taking and verbalization are discussed, and a structure for future research on these topics is provided.
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The Pennsylvania State University
Work on this paper was supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA Order No. 1269) through the United States Office of Naval Research under Contract ONR Nonr N00014-67-A-0385-0005.
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Weener, P. Note taking and student verbalization as instrumental learning activities. Instr Sci 3, 51–73 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117026
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00117026