Note-taking Research

Relatively recent research on student note-taking during class indicated long-hand may be best, much attributed to potential distractions (i.e., websites) from laptops. However, a more recent replication by Morehead, Dunlosky & Rawson (Feb 2019), found that "performance did not consistently differ between any group, and concluding which method is superior for improving the functions of note-taking seems premature".

The updated study also considered coding and storage of information processed. Previously, Luo et al. (2018) reported a laptop-superiority effect on the encoding function of note-taking and a longhand-superiority effect on the storage function. Participants for this study included 193 undergraduate students at a large (25,000) Midwestern public university.

Major findings of the new research indicated that the effect when using a laptop was significant for factual questions, but not conceptual, whereas the earlier research reported the opposite. The authors found that such outcomes do not support strong recommendations about whether students should take notes longhand or by laptop in class.

Decisions on whether to endorse or allow specific approaches on how students interact with course material will certainly vary based on faculty teaching philosophy, classroom dynamics and culture. Ideally, each faculty member will create safe, inclusive environments, where each student can use the tools, which are best for them to engage and process course material.

Morehead, K., Dunlosky, J. & Rawson, K.A. (2019). How Much Mightier Is the Pen than the Keyboard for Note-Taking? A Replication and Extension of Mueller and Oppenheimer (2014), Educational Psychology Review, 1-28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09468-2