For certain lectures, especially if the material that is being covered is complicated or confusing, a professor may supply the individual with a note taking aid, such as a series of guided notes, that helps the individual take notes for that particular lecture. However, guided notes are usually not available for every lecture so it important for an individual to be able to take notes on his or her own. As a result, it is important for an individual to not only use guided notes to lead his or her note taking, but as a method of improving his or her note-taking skills as well. In fact, a student that is having difficulty taking notes in a particular class may want to ask his or her professor if it is possible for the professor to set up some guided notes for the student so he or she can improve his or her note-taking skills. In order for an individual to get the most out of his or her guided notes there are certain considerations that an individual should keep in mind.
First, it is important for an individual to realize that guided notes are an aid that can be used to improve note-taking skills and are not necessarily just an aid intended to lead note taking. This is a useful distinction to make because it is very easy for an individual to rely too much on the guided notes that he or she has available. The individual's goal should be to use the guided notes to find all of the signals that help the individual identify important information in the lecture and not just to find the information itself. Secondly, the individual should pay attention to the number of blank spots included in each section of the guided notes as this will help give the individual an idea of how many different signals and ultimately how many different pieces of information the individual should be looking for during the lecture. Finally, after the individual has completed his or her guided notes, the individual should compare those notes with another student, with the professor, or with a set of completed notes provided by the professor. This will allow the individual to identify any material that he or she missed and try to learn why he or she missed that particular piece or set of information.