Note Taking Support

Memory aids that work for you.

Many students face challenges when taking notes. We help you determine how and why:

Maybe your instructors speak more quickly than you process language.
Perhaps your handwriting speed lags behind your listening speed.
Maybe your learning style predisposes you to other methods of recording information.
Probably no one took the time to teach you note taking skills.

However you struggle, we’ll help you identify it. Then we draw on a wide range of note-taking strategies to address your unique set of challenges. You will learn how to use your strengths to overcome your weaknesses, how to recognize social cues to determine the importance of lecture content, and how to obtain assistance from your institution.

How do we improve note taking skills?

The root cause of your struggles with note taking is unique to you, as is the solution. That’s why we handpick techniques and strategies to build you a personalized toolkit for improving your note-taking skills.

Personalizing the process

We identify your strengths and show you how to leverage them for note taking. For example, perhaps you are a visual learner. Even though you can write quickly, your notes are difficult to review afterward. They are a messy, disorganized, or intimidating wall of text. We can show you how to take notes that are easier for you to decipher later. You’ll learn how colour, spacing, and size can improve legibility for visual learners. Such techniques visually organize information to highlight what is important and to distinguish related concepts.

Whichever strategies we find for you, we practice them together so that you will feel comfortable taking notes in the lecture hall.

Focusing on what matters

We also teach you how to identify the ways your instructors signal the importance of course content. This helps you focus on what matters most, which lessens the burden of recording every single detail by hand.

“The root cause of your struggles with note taking is unique to you, as is the solution.”

Asking for help

How often do we meet for Note Taking Support?

Note-taking skills require practice. To focus that practice, we recommend devoting one hour per week to Note Taking Support. Consider booking longer recurring sessions if you want to include any of our other services.

It takes ongoing, collaborative work to discover your learning profile, find solutions for your learning challenges, and advocate for your learning needs. You can expect the best results when you keep an open mind and participate in our process. Let Organized Minds help you along the way.

We can also help you access resources from your institution:

Determining how and when it is appropriate to make audio recordings of lectures.
Asking for permission to make those audio recordings.
Requesting the services of a note-taker.