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Case Study: Adam Riches

CPD: Generative Learning (by Zoe & Mark Enser), topic 2.1.4

Case Study of Learning by Summarising

Adam Riches is an assistant principal and the author of 'Teach Smarter.' He taught his pupils to use a strategy for summarising.

Personal background

Personal background

  • Riches first adopted Cornell note-taking during university.
  • This method was meant to help him condense his notes into a succinct and formulated revision tool.
Observations

Observations

  • Riches found that there was a common assumption that students knew how to take notes.
  • In reality, many had no idea how to make non-general notes.
  • He observed that many students, when asked to revise without instruction, tend to write down everything, making the information harder to access and rendering their note-taking process passive.
Solution

Solution

  • Riches taught his year 10s Cornell note-taking in order to combat the general note-taking habits.

Case Study of Learning by Summarisation: Outcomes

After teaching his students the Cornell note-taking method, Adam Riches observed many positive effects.

Riches' approach

Riches' approach

  • Riches adopted the idea of breaking a note-taking page up so that it includes:
  • A clear title
  • A column for key points/key ideas
  • A column for notes
  • A summary box at the end of the sheet
Riches' guidance

Riches' guidance

  • Riches discouraged students from taking pages and pages of such notes.
  • He also discouraged the use of full sentences.
  • He stressed the importance of the summary box.
  • He provided his own work as a model at first, scaffolding his students' uptake of the Cornell note-taking technique.
Outcomes

Outcomes

  • Cornell note-taking proved especially good at engaging students with video-based resources, audio resources and texts.
  • It added clarity and logic to new learning materials.
  • It allowed for more efficient independent study as students became more confident about tackling taught content.
Surprise bonus

Surprise bonus

  • The summary box was also helpful for teachers.
  • It helped reduced the marking workload as it provided a quick, clear window into students' understandings of the taught material.
  • Any misunderstandings could easily be highlighted or identified via the summary.

Test yourself on Case Study: Adam Riches

  • What type of note-taking does Riches introduce to his students?

  • What are the key characteristics of Cornell note-taking?

  • What was the general outcome of Riches' case study?

  • Which group would surprisingly benefit from students adopting the Cornwall note-taking method?

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