Benjamin L. Stewart's Newsletter #4
Cornell Method for the English Language Teacher Trainer
Hello and good morning! This week I spent a lot of time with my students discussing the Cornell Method. Are you using the Cornell Method or is this something you work on with your students?
The Cornell Method is a way to analyze and synthesize information taken from a text, audio, or video. Although variations exist, the main approach is to divide a page into rows and columns to include various aspects of the analysis process: an essential question, main ideas, driving or reflective questions, keywords, details, and a summary. Using an inductive approach, note details are stated first, in a right column taking up just over half of the page. A left column is completed afterwards that may include cues, driving questions, main ideas, and/or keywords. A section at the bottom of the page is usually for including a summary, key takeaways, or final conclusions. Another way to look at the summary is to reflect on the following question: "What did I learn having read the text, watched the video, or listened to the audio". It's also good practice to leave room along the topic of the page to include the overall purpose, theme, or topic and to include personal information like name, subject, and date.
Synthesizing information may occur at two levels. First, depending on the details taking from the source material (i.e., article, book chapter, video, podcast episode, etc.), details may be synthesized when completing the left-side column when determining cues, main ideas, reflective questions, etc. Second, synthesizing information taken from various Cornell notes may also provide broad themes, concepts, conclusions, etc.
Use the Cornell Method any time you have a source of information that you need to analyze. This could be for an academic essay, a thesis paper, or any text, audio, or video that you need to understand.
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I'm currently teaching three courses, which are located in Canvas Commons: Communicative Abilities in English II, Listening & Speaking II, and Writing Workshop.
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I would be interested in hearing from you regarding your experiences with Cornell Method or any other note-taking strategy. What successes have you had? Have you faced any challenges? What questions do you have? Feel free to share your stories and questions @bnleez. Would love to hear from you!