Notes

This is pretty self-explanatory. You can make pamphlets for walk-ins and handouts for classes, but it's good for students to take their own notes as well. They know better than you what they'll have trouble remembering.

That said, note-taking doesn't come naturally to everyone. Most people will appreciate some gentle guidance; needless to say, you should never insist that anyone take notes 'properly' (or at all) if they don't want to.

Some people are hesitant to slow down the lesson in order to take notes; many others don't think of it at all. Offer scrap paper and a pen at the beginning of the lesson, or, with walk-ins, whenever it becomes clear that you're presenting too much information for the person to memorize.

Then, whenever you get to something that's easy to forget (ie shortcut keys, internet addresses, new terms, instructions for any three-or-more-click processes), suggest that they write it down. In my experience, people begin taking notes on their own after a very few reminders.

More difficult is the student who insists on writing down your every word, gesture, and stomach rumble. This is almost as bad as not taking notes at all, but it's difficult to discourage tactfully. The best I've managed with these cases is offering to review their notes with them at the end, then encouraging them to mark the more important sections.






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