Action Research Proposal

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Theory Behind a Guided Notes Strategy

Most of the early references to guided notes in the studies read have some connection to the need to make accommodations for special populations students. Gradually we have seen guided notes being used on general population students as well. Guided notes are primarily used in a lecture based setting. Also the use of this strategy has some basis in multiple intelligences theory Konrad, M., Joseph, L. M., & Eveleigh, E. (2009).[a]Traditional lecture and note taking is a primarily auditory stimulus and students who are auditory learners tend to do well in this setting. However students who are more visually or kinesthetically based in learning may be left behind, with the majority of the content they receive being in an exclusively auditory manner. Guided notes also seem to be connected to an increase in student response and engagement with the lecturer. Using guided notes may allow other learning styles to become more engaged in the lesson. Using graphic organizers or visual images on the guided notes gives visual learners a better understanding of content. This also gives other learning preferences an opportunity to receive the required information in another format that may be more conducive to their strengths as a student.

Guided Notes Effect on Students

One of the first studies on the subject of guided notes was that of W.R. Klemm (1976), on using what he referred to as “Skeleton” notes. His findings were that giving notes allows the student to be more free to give both auditory and visual attention to the lecturer. Klemm describes using guided notes in a Pharmacology course out of necessity, with the immense number of new terms and vocabulary for students. He continued to use them with the positive verbal feedback from students. Although his study was on college students I believe that similar results can be shown in middle school and other settings. This was one of the earliest works available on using guided notes, it is useful to the current study in the fact that is gives the researcher a beginning point to see where research on this subject began, and the strategies original intent.. This study also goes into great lengths as to why guided notes work, discussing the ways that students attentions are more freed to focus on other senses to intake information instead of all of their attention being focused on the taking of notes.

The most extensive and useful source found in my research was a meta-analytic review of using guided notes. Many of the other sources found were also referenced in in this review conducted by Konrad, Joseph, and Elisha Eveleigh, (2009) The main points from this study is that guided notes allow students to better retain information and focus more attention to the information given in a lecture instead of having their attention and focus split between writing the notes down and listening to the lecture. Also the guided notes allow students to prioritize how important some information may be in comparison to other details.

Austin, Lee, Thibeault, , Carr, Bailey, (2002) did a study in the Effects of Guided Notes on University Students Responding and Recall of Information. Results indicated higher mean quiz scores and response frequencies during the guided notes condition. Guided notes were administered for approximately half of the class sessions on a random schedule. Data were collected on the frequency of student responses and daily quizzes were administered to assess accuracy of recall of information presented in the lecture. Social validity questionnaires administered to participants revealed satisfaction with results and procedures. This study is an excellent model for how to measure the effect of guided notes on student performance. It shows promising results on students abilities to recall information when being given guided notes. This study is a good start for showing how to set up a control group as well as how to collect the data for using this strategy.

Cornelius and Owen-DeSchryver (2008) did another similar study on college students in a college psychology class. This study examined partial versus full notes in introductory psychology classes while controlling for initial levels of student knowledge and academic ability.Results suggested that students receiving partial notes performed better on examinations later in the semester and on conceptual questions during the cumulative final examination than students receiving full notes. Students receiving full notes also self-reported more negative effects on attendance. This study is significant in the way it compares using student driven notes in comparison to guided or partial notes. This is also relevant in the way it uses test scores as a measurement of the success or lack thereof in using guided notes.

W.L. Heward (1994) conducted on low tech strategies to increase student response and engagement in the classroom. One of these strategies presented is guided notes. The authors evaluated the effects of response cards on the disruptive behavior and academic responding of students in two urban fourth-grade classrooms. Two conditions, single-student responding and write-on response cards, were alternated in an ABAB design. During single-student responding, the teacher called on one student who had raised his or her hand to answer the question. During the response-card condition, each student was provided with a white laminated board on which he or she could write a response to every question posed by the teacher. The findings are discussed in terms of the beneficial effects of direct, high-response strategies for urban, low-achieving learners. Heward’s study is beneficial to the present study in the fact that it presents a contrast to the high tech strategies being examined. It is important to understand how guided notes are implemented without technology, before they are examined with the added technological factor.

Guided Notes in the Social Studies Classroom

Social Studies and history classes in particular usually are very direct instruction intensive therefore usually involving note taking in some form or another. One study in particular that convinced me that there are applicable uses for guided notes in the social studies content area was that of A. E. Kazdin, 1982. This study evaluated the effects guided notes during a remedial summer American History class. The study compared students' own note taking strategies with that of short- and long-form guided notes. Three students were selected for data collection due to their low baseline notetaking accuracy and quiz scores. Kazdin used a modified ABAB reversal design with an imbedded alternating treatments design during