El conocimiento estratégico en la toma de apuntes: un estudio en la educación superior

Resumen

La toma de apuntes es uno de los procedimientos más ampliamente utilizados en nuestro entorno universitario. Al tratarse de un procedimiento interdisciplinar podría esperarse que esta utilización fuese flexible o estratégica y tuviese en cuenta las condiciones cambiantes de cada contexto de anotación (objetivos, contenido y estructura de la información, existencia de otras fuentes de información, tipo de evaluación, etc); sin embargo, los resultados de un estudio descriptivo, realizado previamente, mostraron que la mayoría de los estudiantes universitarios anotaban la información de forma mecánica, sin tomar en consideración las condiciones enunciadas. A partir de estos datos nos preguntamos por elpapel que puede juegar el conocimiento base (ya sea declarativo, procedimental o estratégico) en la correcta resolución de objetivos de anotación. Asípues, la presente investigación se diseñó para tratar de identificar las relaciones que se establecen entre el rendimiento y el tipo de conocimiento base predominante, cuando el objetivo de anotación es diferente. Los resultados sugieren que la importancia del conocimiento estratégico se incrementa cuando el conocimiento declarativo no es muy elevado, evidenziando un perfil de «principiantes estratégicos» capaces de tomar decisiones apropiadas que les permiten ajustarse a situaciones de aprendizaje complejas

Abstract

Note-taking is one of the most widely used learning procedures in our university environment. Although it is an interdisciplinary procedure which, obviously, has a direct relation with the kind of discipline to be pursued by the student, it is not often used in a strategic manner. The present research study sought to analyse how, when, and why undergraduate students take notes. Our purpose was to improve current knowledge on the learning strategies students use in the university environment to optimize learning. The overall aim was to study changes in performance within learning contexts when the purpose of note-taking varies and decisions on what strategy to follow need to be taken. The results suggest the importance of strategic or conditional knowledge (strategic learners) when it comes to shaping a performance as strategic rather than the existence of highly-organized declarative knowledge about the subject of their note-taking.

Extended Summary

Note-taking is one of the most widely used learning procedures in our university environment. Although it is an interdisciplinary procedure which, obviously, has a direct relation with the kind of discipline pursued by the student, it is not often used in a very strategic manner. One has the feeling that it becomes a repetition tool rather than an aid to establish relationships between different pieces of information, to set study guidelines or to connect with previous knowledge, thus losing its potential as a learning procedure.

We understand that the different possibilities of a learning procedure -in this case note-taking- are used in a strategic manner when performance is the result of a conscious decision about adapting the procedure to a specific context. From our point of view, using strategies for note-taking has to do, then, with intentionally selecting what information is to be noted down and deciding the best way of doing so according to the different learning objectives (Monereo et al., 1994). On the basis of this conseptualization, we can differentiate between students' declarative and procedural knowledge. However, we also need to take into account their strategic or conditional knowledge when analysing strategic activity (Lorch et al., 1993).

In this respect, we are interested: first, in specifying in what way students' learning objectives are related to their note-taking procedure; and, secondly, ascertaining the conditions to which students need to adjust when making decisions about their notes in a given teaching-learning situation. These conditions, however, may or may not coincide with those their teacher considers relevant.

The present work is confined within the wider framework of a research designed to study how, when, and why undergraduate students take notes. In addition, it sought to advance current knowledge on the strategies used to optimize learning in this university environment.

In a previous study, we focused: first, on analysing and categorizing students' notes -paying heed to their formal structure and contents; secondly, on identifying how students conceptualize note-taking, namely the meaning and sense that students assign to them; and, finally, we tried to establish possible relations between the diverse psychopedagogical elements that the teacher brings into the classroom, and the decisions the students take when it comes to noting down certain information in a specific way. The results suggested differences among the students with respect to both the role they assigned to note-taking and the type of pre-dominant knowledge they possesed. The present research work was therefore designed to analyse this issue.

The general aim of the study was to investigate performance changes within learning contexts in which the purpose of note-taking varies and decisions on what strategy to follow need to be taken. This involves: 1) Relating students' performance, when facing varying tasks that place different demands upon them, with both the amount and the kind of knowledge they posses (i.e., declarative, procedural, and/or strategic). 2) Analysing in what ways their behaviour is adjusted to the purpose of note-taking; and identifying the characteristics of performances deemed strategic when it comes to note-taking.

From the above objectives the study hypotheses were developed. Previous research work has shown that having a wide and well-organized corpus of knowledge about a subject -declarative knowledge- facilitates note-taking (Kiewra et al., 1991; Monereo and Pérez, 1996). However, we believed that students with a more thorough knowledge about which procedure is better under which conditions, would have less difficulty in solving tasks involving high-levels of planning their own performance. This meant that students who were able to analyse when and why they took notes in a specific way and not in another would adjust better when the purpose of note-taking was both complex and unpredictable. In addition, we also expected to confirm the conceptualization of learning strategies as a decision making process. That is, some students who had the procedural knowledge -they knew how to use some note-taking techniques- but who lacked the strategic knowledge -they did not choose these techniques in the adequate conditions. Finally, we hoped to identify to which variables these students paid attention, as they represent key pieces of strategic behaviour.

The procedure followed involved an initial assessment to establish students' knowledge about note-taking and about the subject matter. Students were asked by means of a questionnaire (1) whether they could describe different forms of note-taking; (2) whether they used them very often; and (3) whether they knew in what conditions a specific procedure was useful.

Based on the results of this assessment, the sample was divided into six groups (different levels of note-taking and of knowledge). They were equally distributed into three groups, each with a different objectives, and were asked to take notes from a lecture they watched on video. The objectives involved different levels of difficulty and required them to make note-taking adjustment. These objectives were: 1) Collecting the main ideas. 2) Elaborating a critical view of the contribution the video made to the subject. 3) Preparing a proposal for primary education teacher-training on the subject.

The results suggest the importance of strategic or conditional knowledge in shaping a performance as strategic, in preference of highly-organized declarative knowledge on the subject matter. We could say that there are strategic learners who, in spite of not knowing the subject matter very well, are able to adapt to the task's demands and achieve good results thanks to their resources as learners.

Palabras clave:

• Toma de Apuntes
• conocimiento estratégico
• aprendizaje
• alumnos universitarios

Keywords:

• Note-taking
• strategic knowledge
• learning
• undergraduate students