A Meta-Analytic Review of Guided Notes

Research indicates that student achievement improves when teachers provide opportunities for active engagement. Guided notes have been suggested as a way to increase active student responding during teacher-directed lectures. The purpose of this review was to summarize research on the effectiveness of guided notes. Specifically, we sought to synthesize the research examining (a) the effectiveness of guided notes on various outcome variables and across different ages, (b) procedural variations in guided notes implementation, and (c) the social validity of guided notes. Results indicated that guided notes are an effective and socially valid method for increasing note-taking accuracy and improving academic performance, particularly for school-age students. Recommendations are made for everyday classroom practice and for future research.