How to Take Better Notes During Online Tutoring Sessions
Taking note during an online session helps students retain and revise concepts with ease. But note-taking isn’t about recording every single thing your tutor says
Notes should reflect the main ideas, explanations, examples, and corrections that one will need to go back to for reference and practice.
An organised approach to tutoring notes will help get the most out of a session.
1. Keep Your Notes Organised
Your notes can be on paper or digital – whichever comes more naturally to you. Either way, utilise the key elements that make revision easier.
At the start of a session, write down the date, subject, and topic of an online tutoring session. Then, as the session progresses, jot down any important concepts, any questions that arise, and examples that the tutor may give.
Having an organised system will make notes easier to navigate at revision time.
2. Write Ideas in Your Own Words
You don’t necessarily have to write down every word your tutor says. Try to grasp the main idea and write it in your own words. This will enable you to engage with the content more and make notes easier to understand later.
For instance, instead of transcribing a long explanation verbatim, write the main takeaway and the concept or rule behind it.
3. Highlight Important Concepts
It can be quite easy to miss important ideas and rules during a session – especially if one is simply taking notes without paying close attention to the bigger picture.
One can highlight key concepts such as rules, examples, definitions, and calculations, to make revising easier.
These can be written as separate points using symbols, dashes, or just by leaving a space between them.
4. Record Mistakes and Corrections
Recording mistakes will turn into a personal reference guide of things to practise and revise later.
When a student makes an error during a session, write down the mistake, what caused it, and what the correct way is. For instance, if the student used the wrong formula in a math problem, write down the right formula and explain why it works.
5. Leave Space for Questions
It is perfectly normal not to understand something straight away. Instead of trying to write it off and move on, note down the question and come back to it later.
For example, if a student isn’t sure about a certain rule, they can write ‘Why does this formula work?’ alongside the formula itself.
A list of questions will also help one prepare for the next tutoring session.
6. Note the Tutor’s Examples
Examples are a great way of understanding new concepts. So instead of simply writing down the worked-out example a tutor may give, write down the important rules and steps of the process. This will be especially useful for maths, sciences, languages, and computer-related subjects.
7. Review Your Notes After the Session
At the end of a session, take a minute to review the notes you’ve taken.
Ask yourself - do I understand the main topic? Are there any questions that remain unanswered? Are my notes detailed enough? What should I practise more?
A five-minute review can help one identify key areas of interest and things that require further clarification.
Quick Note-Taking Checklist
Before ending a session, ensure that the notes include:
☑ Main ideas
☑ Examples
☑ Mistakes, corrections, and observations
☑ Questions
☑ Important rules and calculations
☑ Further practice
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I write down during online tutoring?
Important ideas, explanations, examples, mistakes, corrections, questions, rules, and practice tasks.
Should I write everything my tutor says?
No – it is best to write only the main ideas and explanations that highlight the topic of the session.
Is digital note-taking better than handwriting?
It depends on the person – choose whichever method you find easiest and most effective.
When should I review my notes?
It is a good idea to briefly review notes after a session and when preparing for practice, homework, or assessments.
Final Thoughts
Notes taken during online tutoring sessions can become a valuable resource for revision and practice. Use them to write down important concepts, examples, questions, mistakes, and further practice tasks. By leaving questions and reviewing notes after a session, one can ensure that they fully understood the main ideas of a session. These notes will then become a useful tool for anyone who wants to make the most of their tutoring sessions.
