By Cynthia Manning, High School Principal
Two weeks ago, all teachers, counselors, therapists, and administrators were trained in a research-based organizational strategy called “two column notes”, also popularly known as “Cornell notes”. Developed at Cornell University in 1949 by Dr. Walter Pauk, two column notes (“2CN”) are used extensively by many schools and colleges. They are an active reading activity that help students process and remember what they have read or learned, assist with the writing of essays, and act as a study aid when preparing for tests or quizzes. A variety of formats can be used, ranging from folding over a sheet of paper a third of the way on the left side of the page, to templates that can be googled and downloaded. Special paper that has the wide left margin pre-printed on the left side of the page also can be purchased from some school supply stores or online. At Learning Prep, most teachers are making their own customized templates that are then copied for students.
The school-wide implementation of 2CN began this past Monday, on January 30th. On Monday and Tuesday, Reading and Language Arts teachers introduced the notes format in class. All other staff planned activities using 2CN on Wednesday through Friday to reinforce the new strategy with students. Initial reports from teachers are incredibly positive; all students have been very quick to adopt 2CN and are experiencing much success with this new visual tool. We hope that it will become as entrenched – and effective – as Thinking Maps have proven to be for our student population.
Why are we using 2CN? First of all, we need to understand what executive function is. Executive functions serve as a "command and control" skill for students; they can be viewed as the "conductor" of all cognitive skills. Essentially, they are neurologically-based skills involving mental control and self-regulation that all have to do with managing oneself and one's resources in order to achieve a goal. In simple terms, executive functions are the skills that enable one to plan, organize, and execute tasks (Cooper-Khan & Dietzel, 2008). Students with language-based learning disabilities often do not have executive function (“EF”) skills in place; organization and management of time, materials, and language is affected, making student achievement a challenge. Because EF has been discovered to be a catalyst for regulating the brain, much of the latest educational research is centered around EF. One emerging development is the importance of motor input on EF. Researchers have found that the strongest drive leading to the brain is the motor drive; this is why it is important for students to write. Current educations trends are stressing the importance of writing for all students, including those with disabilities; writing has been proven to boost student achievement for all kinds of learners.
Additional research at Yale University shows that students need writing fluency as much as reading fluency. This is one reason why high-stakes testing features sustained writing tasks in the form of open response questions. Increased writing fluency is directly correlated to increased memory, recall, comprehension, reasoning, and reading fluency. Cognitive development also is directly correlated to writing fluency. Writing, in fact, has been called the glue that binds cognition in developing minds (Brown, 2010). Dr. Brown’s research shows that if students write for 15 minutes a day (even in 3-5 minute segments at a time), they can increase writing fluency by up to 35%. Likewise, it has been discovered that the grapho-motor feed to the brain (i.e., handwriting) is significantly stronger than keyboarding and yields far great results in clinical trials. Even more surprising was that dysgraphic students gain equal benefits from developing writing fluency as non-dysgraphic students.
Further research has shown that notetaking raises student achievement, specifically resulting in 13% higher test scores. When categories are used, such as in the 2CN format, they then serve as starting point for the development of higher-order thinking skills such as:
- deducing ideas, patterns, and themes
- integrating new information and ideas with existing knowledge
- synthesizing and generalizing new information and ideas
These skills enhance comprehension by requiring students to actively read, listen, and learn. They also develop student confidence and lead to more investment in the learning process (Titsworth & Kiewra, 2004).
In light of this research, we have decided to implement more writing at Learning Prep so our students may reap the benefits. Students with language-based learning disabilities, however, need tools to help them write, organize, and process information. Multisensory interaction with language is needed for these children – they need to look at language, hear language, but especially important (as indicated by the above research studies), to move with and touch language. Some written expressive strategies used at Learning Prep which include a kinesthetic aspect include keeping a journal, writing responses to share in class, implementing EmPOWER’s “circle and underline” strategy, and utilizing the latest addition to our teaching staff’s repertoires, 2CN. We look forward to two column notes becoming a successful part of the pedagogy and culture at Learning Prep. For more information about 2CN, please contact Cynthia Manning, 8th Grade and High School Principal, by e-mail at cmanning@learningprep.org, or by phone at (617) 965-0764, ext. 300.
