A comparison of guided and unguided student generated visual summaries on primary student's [sic] recall and retention

This project analyzes the effectiveness of 3 note-taking strategies used after a science activity. Three groups of Grade 3 students (40 students total) participated in a science activity on insect mouthparts and survival. Following the lesson, each group of students was asked to take a different style of notes. Styles of notes used in this study were: unguided visual summaries (student-generated drawings), guided visual summaries (students used graphic organizers to draw), and traditional, written notes. Data from posttests and interviews were analyzed to assess differences in recall between the groups. Data from the content of student notes was used to check for correlation between the quantity of notes taken and student performance on the posttest and interview. KEYWORDS: note-taking, visual summary, verbal-graphic, primary grades, science education, free-hand drawing, generation effect, guided notes