Global Breaking News - Monday, December 23, 2024

Many college students have given up taking class notes by hand. Instead, they type on laptop or tablet computers. But scientists from Princeton University and the University of California say that that method is less effective. If you need to remember something, write it. Writing notes by hand is much better for long-term memory of ideas, or conceptual information. That is the finding of a 2014 study published in the journal Psychological Science. So, turn off your computer if you want to remember something. Computers can take your attention away from your work. They can be distracting. Computers provide the chance to send a quick message to a friend, check a sports’ score, shop or watch a funny cat video. It is really hard to resist a funny cat video.
* by hand = (기계가 아닌) 사람 손으로/ conceptual = 개념의, 구상의/ distracting = 마음을 산란케 하는/ resist = 참다(견디다); 저항(반대)하다  

But scientists say computers may hurt performance in school, called academic performance. Here is what the research showed. Students who type notes on a keyboard often transcribe, or write down what the professor says word-for-word. They may write without really thinking about what they are writing. These electronic notes contained more words. But scientists say it leads to "mindless transcription." Transcription means to record something exactly as you hear it. However, students taking notes long-hand, or by writing them, need to first process the information they hear. Then they record just the main points, or summarize. They use fewer words. This is because people usually write slower than they type. This process of summarizing information leads to a deeper understanding, say the researchers.
* academic performance = 학업(학문적) 성과/ transcribe = (생각, 말을 글로) 기록하다/ word-for-word = 정확히 말한(글자) 그대로/ mindless = 아무 생각이 없는; 머리를 쓸 필요가 없는/ (write in) longhand = 손으로 쓰기

In the study, students listened to a teacher and then took a test.  Some took notes by typing on a computer. The others took notes by writing them down. Both groups performed about the same in remembering facts. But students who typed their notes did much worse on conceptual questions. These questions required them to understand an idea. Those who typed also could not stop transcribing even after they were told to try to avoid it. So even if you want to stop typing what you hear word-for-word, you might not be able to. Also, researchers found that those who wrote their notes remembered conceptual information better a week later. Researchers believe that the students who wrote notes long-hand had a deeper understanding of ideas and concepts.
* deeper understanding = 보다 깊은 이해