Please join us as Harriet Medlin, Jenna Harland, and Sarah Simonovich present Take Note! The Science of Note-Taking.

This presentation is back by popular demand, and we have made a few revisions to it for this year. Note-taking is an essential skill for learning, the importance of which may be underestimated by students with advanced abilities. As concepts and material become more complex and challenging, gifted students need to know not only that notes matter, but they also need a foundational understanding of when to take notes, how to take notes, and then what to do with the notes they have taken. This presentation will include what science and brain research has taught us about note-taking and why it works, in addition to best practices for note-taking both for in-person and online coursework. We will also touch on how this topic of studying and note-taking is related to topics like helping students find balance, growth in executive functioning, and college readiness.

This year marks Harriet Medlin’s 55th year of teaching in Williamson County Schools. She taught English at Franklin High, Northside Junior High (now Brentwood Middle School), and Brentwood High before moving to the Gifted Educator position at Brentwood High. Harriet has been in her current role as a Gifted educator at BHS for 17 years. Jenna Harland is one of the Gifted educators at Independence High. She is also a former English teacher, and her career spans twelve years, seven of those spent working with Gifted learners. Jenna has also worked with the University of Texas online high school as a curriculum writer and teacher. Sarah Simonovich is the WCS District Gifted Specialist and worked previously as the Gifted educator at Ravenwood High. She rounds out the group as the third former English teacher. Sarah started teaching in 2004 and has been with WCS since 2012. She has worked with Gifted students since 2009.

Find presentation here.