Note-taking by university students on paper or a computer: Strategies during initial note-taking and revision

Taking notes during learning has benefits both during class (through writing things down to encode information) and after class (by using written notes as external storage for revision). Comparisons of note-taking methods (i.e., using paper or a computer) have mainly shown that paper leads to better learning. However, previous studies have mostly been conducted in laboratory contexts.

The current study investigates university students' perceptions of the efficacity of their own preferred note-taking method, along with the strategies they employ.

Data were collected from 108 university students.

Students answered a questionnaire about their note-taking strategies during initial note-taking (in class) and revision (after class).

The results show that students who take notes on paper do not consider their method to be more effective, but they report engaging in more reformulation and less multitasking. Students who take notes on a computer are more likely to reformat their notes, and thus to reformulate at a later stage. For all students, review sheets are mostly done on paper.

These results suggest that although students are not necessarily aware of the benefits of reformulation associated with handwriting on paper during initial note-taking, when revising, they tend to choose handwriting and benefit from reformulation when aiming for deeper processing. Therefore, revision activities remain mainly paper-based.