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Do you pick up any old notebook and pen when you need them, or do you have a thing\u00a0for Moleskines<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Montblancs<\/a>?<\/p>\n Whether or not you\u2019re picky, know that tools for the hands are tools for the brain. Handwritten notes are a powerful tool for\u00a0encrypting embodied cognition<\/a>\u00a0and in turn supporting the brain\u2019s capacity for retrieval of information. And secondly, when you take notes by hand, your hands create a robust external memory storage: your notebook.<\/p>\n Taking notes by hand is a win-win, and\u00a0belongs in every student\u2019s cognitive tool kit<\/a>. Learning how to take notes by hand effectively, and how to ingrain note-taking as a key learning and study tool, can begin as early as grades 3 or 4, but it\u2019s never too late to begin.<\/p>\n We live in a digital age where daily functioning involves digital communication. Automaticity in keyboarding is an important skill too, and the tools and applications for digital communication will continue to evolve and have their place. But keyboarding does not provide the tactile feedback to the brain that contact between pencil or pen and paper does \u2014 the key to creating the\u00a0neurocircuitry in the hand-brain complex<\/a>.<\/p>\n While your laptop might seem faster and more efficient, there are good reasons for having a paper-bound notebook and pen \u2014 any kind you prefer \u2014 at the ready.<\/p>\n Researchers have found that note-taking associated with keyboarding involves taking notes verbatim in a way\u00a0that does not involve processing information<\/a>, and so have called this \u201cnon-generative\u201d note-taking. By contrast, taking notes by hand involves cognitive engagement in summarizing, paraphrasing, organizing, concept and vocabulary mapping \u2014 in short, manipulating and transforming information that leads to deeper understanding.<\/p>\n Note-taking becomes note-making: an active involvement in making sense and meaning for later reflection, study or sharing of notes to compare understanding with lab partners or classmates. This becomes a potent study strategy, as one\u2019s own\u00a0processing can be further consolidated through talk<\/a>.<\/p>\n There are templates and formats that teach\u00a0more effective ways<\/a>\u00a0of taking hand-written notes. A popular one is the\u00a0Cornell style<\/a>\u00a0developed by\u00a0education professor Walter Pauk<\/a>. You can also explore other ways that can be adapted for different\u00a0study needs, such as compare\/contrast charts or webs<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe processing advantage<\/strong><\/h4>\n