Copying notes from a board or presentation may seem like a simple classroom task, but it actually requires many cognitive skills to work together. Students must look up, read, remember what they saw, look down, write it accurately, find their place again, and continue listening to the teacher, all within a matter of seconds. For learners with dyslexia, executive functioning challenges, visual processing weaknesses, or working memory difficulties, this process can become overwhelming, making note-taking far less effective than teachers often realize.

What appears to be a simple classroom activity is actually one of the most cognitively demanding tasks many students perform each day. Multiple cognitive systems must work together seamlessly to process information, hold it in working memory, organize it, and write it down accurately. When these demands exceed the brain's capacity, students experience what I refer to as cognitive overload. Instead of concentrating on the lesson, they become focused on simply trying to keep up.

Why Is Copying Notes So Difficult?

Copying notes from a board, whiteboard, or presentation requires much more than good handwriting. It is one of the most cognitively demanding tasks students perform in the classroom because many skills must work together quickly and efficiently. If even one of these underlying skills is less efficient, the entire process can become slower, more frustrating, and less effective.

Successful note copying depends on many cognitive abilities, including:

• Visual Tracking – Moving the eyes smoothly between the board and the paper while quickly finding the correct place each time.
• Visual Memory – Remembering small amounts of information long enough to copy it accurately without repeatedly looking back.
• Working Memory – Holding information in mind while organizing, spelling, and writing it down.
• Attention – Maintaining focus while filtering out classroom distractions and listening to the teacher at the same time.
• Language Processing – Understanding vocabulary, sentence structure, and the meaning of the information being presented.
• Processing Speed – Quickly recognizing, remembering, and recording information before new material is introduced.
• Executive Functioning – Planning, organizing, prioritizing important information, monitoring accuracy, and shifting attention between listening, reading, and writing.
• Handwriting Skills – Forming letters efficiently and legibly without using so much mental effort that it interferes with learning.

When several of these skills are challenged simultaneously, students often experience cognitive overload. Instead of concentrating on understanding the lesson, much of their mental energy is spent simply trying to keep up. As a result, they may miss important information, make copying errors, lose their place, fall behind the class, or retain less of what was taught.

Who Can Benefit from These Strategies?

Although every student learns differently, these note-taking strategies are especially helpful for learners who struggle to keep up with the cognitive demands of copying information while listening and learning. They may benefit students who:

• Have dyslexia and find it difficult to read, process, and copy information efficiently.
• Have ADHD or other executive functioning challenges that affect attention, organization, and task completion.
• Have weak working memory, making it difficult to remember information long enough to write it down accurately.
• Frequently lose their place when shifting their eyes between the board and their paper.
• Copy slowly, causing them to fall behind during classroom instruction.
• Struggle with handwriting, making writing so effortful that it interferes with learning.
• Process information more slowly, requiring additional time to understand, organize, and record new material.

With the right accommodations, strategies, and practice, many of these students can become more confident, independent, and effective note-takers.

How Has Technology Impacted Note-taking?

Why Is Copying Notes Especially Difficult for Students with Dyslexia?

What Does the Recent Research Say?

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Dr. Kirkby, with The Language and Literacy Group at Bournemouth University, researched how dyslexia affects learners when they are reading from classroom whiteboards. She discovered that copying from a board presents serious difficulties to learners with dyslexia." The process involves a series of sequential visual and cognitive processes, including visual encoding, construction and maintenance of a mental representation in working memory, and production in written form. These are all activities that can be challenging for students with dyslexia. In their experiment, the researchers used a head-mounted eye-tracker to record eye movements, gaze transfer, and written production of adults and children who copied from a whiteboard. The results of the study showed that adults typically encode and transcribe words as whole words, but researchers found that even children without reading difficulties used only partial-word representations that often made note-taking ineffective.

How Can Teachers Make Note-Taking More Effective?

Effective note-taking begins by reducing the overload on working memory. By giving students time to process information, providing appropriate supports, and teaching effective note-taking strategies, educators can help students focus on learning rather than simply trying to keep up.

Before Class

Help students prepare for success before instruction begins.

• Provide guided notes or presentation handouts with space for students to add their own ideas, examples, and questions.
• Post PowerPoint presentations or class notes online so students can preview or review the material.
• Share key vocabulary in advance to reduce the cognitive demands of learning new terms while taking notes.

During Class

Reduce the demands of multitasking while students are learning.

• Slow the pace when appropriate and pause periodically to allow students time to think, process, and write.
• Provide a peer note-taker or access to another student's notes when appropriate.
• Allow assistive technology, such as a Smart Pen, speech-to-text software, or a computer, to support note-taking and organization.
• Teach effective note-taking strategies, such as identifying key ideas, using abbreviations and symbols, organizing information visually, and summarizing rather than copying every word.

After Class

Help students reinforce and complete their learning.

• Review notes to clarify misunderstandings and reinforce key concepts.
• Compare notes with a teacher or peer to identify missing information.
• Fill in the gaps by adding important ideas, vocabulary, examples, or diagrams while the lesson is still fresh.