Stick-figuring - note-taking for the non-verbal, the creative, or the purely adventurous

Though stick-figuring appeals to a variety of students, it isn't a fit for everyone. Try it once but don't press this form of note-taking unless the student finds it a pleasure.

For those students who tend to be less verbal or less expressive than their peers, stick-figuring may provide a strategy that helps them retain and organize their learning without causing the stress that standard note-taking forms can cause. Rather than take notes in the traditional semantic form (words), stick-figuring encourage students to take their notes in symbolic form. Most of us are familiar with "stick people" - a man of straight lines and a female with a triangle for a dress/skirt. These figures exemplify the simplicity of stick figuring.

In stick-figuring, the goal is to capture chunks of content using very simple stick-like line drawings. As with any note-taking procedure, stick figuring is best taught in short sessions beginning with the very simple and moving to the more complex.

Concepts "saved" in this form can be further reinforced at the end of each note-taking session when the student is given opportunity to:

• read their notes to themselves adding details as needed
• read their notes out loud to a good listener

An early procedure might look something like this:

• Play with the idea of drawing stick-figures to represent a concept. (try: a man running, 3 men in a boat, a family walking to town, 2 boys on a horse, a girl feeding a cat, 5 sheep, .... (simple, simple, simple ..... What is the least information you can record and still remember what it means? Use number symbols if it works for you.)
• Read a paragraph, 2 or 3 paragraphs, or an entire section from your resource. (amount is determined by student maturity and ability level) Discuss what the main idea is. (If you had to tell me this in one sentence, what would you say?) Discuss how this idea might be represented with symbols. (There is no right or wrong way! If the symbol helps the student remember, it is the right symbol for that student.)
• Give the student time to record.
• Ask the student to "read back" their notes.
• Repeat the process each day for 4 days.
• On the fifth day, ask the student to get out their notes. Younger students can use their notes to dictate a weekly e-mail. Older students can use their notes to type their own weekly e-mail.

In time, students will develop the ability to take notes while larger bodies of new material are presented. Like any note-taking process, students become fluid with time and practice. "Beginner" or young students will need frequent pauses during presentation of material while more practiced students will need fewer pauses. These pauses may occur every few paragraphs, at the end of each reading section, or at the end of chapters. At first, you will give students opportunity to "read" their notes as soon as they have made them. As they develop confidence, you can wait until the end of the day's session before giving students opportunity to "read their notes" out loud.

These "notes" need not be particularly detailed. The goal isn't to get down every bit of information but to create a symbol that is a visual reminder for a body of content, a thought, or a concept. Even if a symbol doesn't work for you, the observer, if that symbol works for a particular student it is the right symbol for that student.

How do we know if a symbol "works" for a student? At the end of the learning session, each student is given opportunity to read over their notes, adding in any detail that they may want to. When they are ready, they "read back" what they have recorded. If they are able to recall sufficient detail when "reading" their notes, they have accomplished the task. Working through content in this way may slow you down some or even a lot but if the system is a fit, you will generally see a marked increase not only in total retention but in how long the student remembers.