Structured Notes

Many participants use their workbook’s margins and blank spaces to take free-form notes during a course. But a more effective retention method is to ask them to answer questions or jot down key details in structured notes sections in their participant workbooks. Structured notes prompt participants to recall and process information at key points during a lesson. They help keep participants engaged and create a sense of ownership in the learning process. Structured notes also provide a great take away from the training that participants can refer to later. However, participants will grow bored if note taking becomes predictable. It is best to provide a variety of formats and match them to the participants’ information processing needs. If structured notes are not part of the course’s participant workbook, create them as handouts for participants to slip into their books at the appropriate spot. Table 7 displays some structured notes formats available in course participant workbooks.

Table 7: Example Structured Notes Formats
Structured Notes Format Example

Questions with lines—Participants will find a box or a dedicated area that displays a question and provides space for precise answers or steps. Sometimes the lines are numbered to help participants recall all the details or a sequence. These are effective for answering critical or complex questions or recalling multi-step processes or workflows.

 Cybersecurity should focus on the protection of these operational objectives: 1. (blank), 2. (blank), 3. (blank), 4. (blank)

Source: Murphy (2019).

Copies of screenshots with blanks—Anytime you display a complicated image with labels or a slide with a lot of textual information, these fill-in-the-blank replicas can provide spaces for participants to record the key details as you point them out.

 Slide screenshot. Title: Program Review Report Elements. (bullets) Title Page & Cover, (blank), background, (blank), (blank), team members, (blank), successful practices, conclusion, (blank), appendices. DOT logo, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Office of Technology 3 (NHI logo), National Highway Institute.

Source: NHI (2017).

Blank or partially—completed diagrams or graphic organizers—These are useful because they help participants identify discrete features or visualize how information, systems, or processes are organized. More examples of common graphic organizers, refer to Graphic Organizers.

 Diagram with blanks for learners to complete. Title: Asphalt Compacting Systems. Main idea: compacting systems, divided into Static, and Dynamic. Two blanks are provided to provide details about Dynamic compacting system.

Source: Sant Anselmo (2018).

Group notes—These are large, open spaces to record the results of group brainstorming sessions or other small group activities. Often these spaces are preceded by the directions for the activity and/or the essential questions to be answered.

 With your partner, write a purpose and need statement for the historic I-bar chain suspension bridge in Youngstown, Ohio. 1. Purpose (1-2 sentences) (blank) 2. Need (1-2 paragraph/need element) (blank)

Source: Mehlo (2019).

Instructions

  • If you choose to write answers on a whiteboard or easel pad, you will need to write down exactly what is shown on the structured note-taking section in advance. Use different colored markers to record participants’ ideas as you fill it out together.
  • If you choose to create a slide for displaying answers, use animation and a remote to display first the prompt and then the answer(s). Make sure you walk around and monitor participants’ progress, because it takes them more time to write than for you to click.

Instructor-Led Training

To provide more structure to a small group discussion, create a handout with the discussion question, any other information about the assignment, and space for the groups to record their ideas.

Web Conference Training

Create an interactive document (like a course outline or replica of slides) that displays only part of the information. Participants can type in key details as they are covered during the end-of-lesson or end-of-course review.