Three Proven Strategies to Supercharge Digital Note-Taking in Physician Assistant/Associate Education

Research on note-taking strategies in the higher education setting has been in existence since the 1920s. While both pros and cons exist for handwritten and digital note-taking techniques, recent research has focused on novel ways to optimize digital note-taking. With more students using laptops or tablets with a stylus, educators need to be equipped to coach students on evidenced-based ways to improve their digital note-taking.

PubMed, ERIC, and CINAHL databases were searched on January 6, 2025, using combinations of the following key words: digital, technology, analogue, note-taking, cognition, memory, laptop, stylus, and tablet. Studies were included if they were performed with adult learners in the higher education setting with a primary focus on note-taking.

Three hundred thirty records were screened with 25 included in final review. Thematic analysis identified three emerging themes: (1) collaborative/group note-taking, (2) outlines, and (3) mind mapping, concept maps, or matrixes.

Physician assistant/associate faculty can educate students on ways to conduct collaborative or group note-taking, create outlines, and generate mind maps, concept maps, or matrixes. These evidence-based digital note-taking strategies can be conducted independently or as a group. By supplementing these strategies with basic retrieval practices outside of the classroom, students will increase their likelihood of academic success.