(433a) The Documentation Cycle: A Tool within a Learning Cycle

On the educator-front, it is suggested by the abundance of literature related to general note-taking procedures that educators are perhaps overly concerned with providing students a singular technique for learning and ignoring the substantial impact a cycle of documentation might have on learning efficacy. While note-taking is just one tool in the arsenal of options students may wish to use in their learning paths, a macro-level approach to learning may prove to be more successful. In this presentation, we will propose a documentation cycle that details and outlines a procedure that students may repeatedly employ in their classroom endeavors in order to more completely grasp the material at hand. The cycle begins with the students' initial interaction with the material in the form of ?dirty notes,? followed by a cycle of activities ranging from the students' analysis of the material, asking questions, seeking answers, obtaining feedback, and beginning the data collection process once again. The results from such a series of events are the ?clean notes,? accompanied by the greater aftereffect, the potential mastery of the material by the students. The tangible documents (for example, in the form of a personal class binder, [1]) obtained as a direct result of the cycle provides the students with a set of materials which are then accessible throughout their careers.

[1] Rawlings, R., S. Allen, P. Arce. ?The Personalized Class Binder (PCB): A Powerful Tool for Enhancing Active and Collaborative Learning Environments.? ASEE Southeastern Conference, 2005.