Note taking skills using the LiveScribe pen: implications for college students diagnosed with learning disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the use of strategic note-taking with the LiveScribe© pen increased the quantity of idea units, quality of notes written down, and retention of information provided for college students diagnosed with specific learning disabilities during a lecture. A multiple baselines approach was utilized in which two different groups were taught strategic note taking at different weekly intervals to assess the effect of this strategy. There were five participants previously diagnosed with specific learning disabilities. Stimuli included three 10-minute sections of the same video-recorded lecture. After each lecture was presented, the participants' notes were collected in two different conditions: immediately following the lecture presentation and after a seven day time period from the original lecture presentation to analyze the quantity and quality of notes taken. After a seven-day time period following lecture presentation, a quiz was given to assess the participants' information retention. Generally, results indicated that students diagnosed with specific learning disabilities wrote down few information units and scored in the failing range on information retention measures. However, three of the five participants benefitted from the use of a LiveScribe© pen with strategic note taking to add information units.