Berea College Disability & Accessibility Services (DAS)Note-Taker TrainingBackground InformationThe Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandate equal

access to education, employment, and public services for qualified individuals with disabilities.

Students who are registered with Disability & Accessibility Services at Berea College may receive note-

taking services if the functional impact of the student’s disability adversely affects their ability to take

their own notes. Note-taking services provide equal access to instruction during and after class for these

students.

If approved as a reasonable accommodation, note-taking services are provided to level the playing field

for individuals with disabilities, to overcome a barrier caused by a disability that makes taking notes

difficult or impossible.

Examples of disabilities where note-taking could be an appropriate accommodation

• Deaf or hard-of-hearing

• Blindness or low vision

• Dexterity/motor skill difficulties

• Learning disabilities

• Traumatic Brain Injuries

• Other disabilities as determined

What are the benefits for the student receiving note-taking services?Note-taking provides a valuable service, as it:

• Gives student access to classroom information that may have otherwise been missed

• Offers student the opportunity to participate in classroom discussions

• Allows student to focus on the instructor

• Provides student with accurate information

• Supplements the student’s notes

• Increases student’s confidence - Student knows that he/she is receiving accurate information

Code of EthicsConfidentialityNote-Takers must keep all information strictly confidential. You may not share the name of the student

receiving your notes, or, if known, the student’s disability. You are expected to sign a confidentiality

statement.

ObjectiveYour notes are intended to provide a summary of the information presented in class and to convey the

professor’s meaning and intent. They should not reflect your ideas and opinions. Please refrain from

adding your own commentary or interjecting personal opinions to the notes.

Note-Takers do not function as substitutes for class attendance or as tutors in the subject matter.

Professionalism• Attend all classes. Log your hours honestly and accurately.

• Be punctual and remain until the class period ends.

• Take clear and concise notes the entire class period. If you have difficulty taking complete notes

because the professor is talking too fast, please bring it to the professor’s attention.

• Provide the notes to the student/s in a timely manner (preferably day of class, but within 24

hours of class).

• Student/s who did not attend class should not receive the notes for the day/s of their absence.

Please email the notes to lisa.ladanyi@berea.edu instead, with the date and class of the

student’s absence in the subject line.

• Recruit a back-up note-taker and contact them if unable to attend class.

• Check with the instructor if she/he would like to see or review the notes.

Note-Taking Strategies• Please use your laptop for note-taking.

• Begin your notes by recording the course and date.

• Sit in the front of the class. This will help you to concentrate on the professor and ignore

distractions during class.

• Have a notebook available to copy visual information that is difficult to duplicate on a laptop.

DAS can scan this information for you.

• Get the instructor’s main points. Don’t record every word you hear, but notes should include

enough details to be complete.

• If the instructor writes or spells out words, write them down along with details about the word.

If the instructor places information on the board or overhead, it should be in your notes.

• Listen for cues about important information (“remember that…”, “the important idea is…”, “the

basic concept here is…”, “this will be on the test”) and make note of it.

• Organize as you write. Make sure important information is not buried in the text. You can use

symbols (such as *), bolding, underlining (CTRL+B: Bold; CTRL+U: Underline; CTRL+I: Italic), etc.

to mark important information. Be consistent with symbols.

• It’s okay to use abbreviations to keep up with the pace of a lecture. Be sure to identify them

(provide a key for the student/s; e.g. R=Restoration, AJ=Andrew Jackson, BL=Bible, OT=Old

Testament). See slide 10 for other examples.

• If there is an omission in the notes, you should complete the notes by talking to either the

instructor or a class member before submitting the notes. Don’t hesitate to ask the instructor

questions if you are unsure about some of the material.

• Make it clear when the instructor refers to a textbook, video, or other source.

• Please take extra care when recording announcements, assignments, information regarding

tests, and so on.

• Indicate speakers - note if a comment in the notes came from someone besides the instructor

(see slide 10)

• Indicate activities - include a description of classroom activities or the sequence of a

demonstration, when appropriate.

• When watching videos, films, or other media with visual content in class, describe the visual

settings for students who are blind or visually impaired. The instructor will inform you if you

should do that through notes or verbally to the student.

• When taking notes for a deaf or hard-of-hearing student, include notes on the audio content of

videos, films, or other media shown during class.

AbbreviationsHere are some abbreviations you can use, but you can make your own key for words that will be used in

class a lot

TC = Teacher Comment

TQ = Teacher Question

TA = Teacher Answer

SC = Student Comment

SQ = Student Question

SA = Student Answer

Ex = Example

TB = Textbook

Pg = Page

Hw = Homework

Ref = Reference

w/o = without

ASAP = as soon as possible

con’d = continued

add’l = additional

b/c = because

esp = especially

# = number

~ = approximately

@ = at

ConclusionThe key to good note-taking is finding what works best for you. However, different classes or instructors

may lend themselves to different approaches in note-taking. The Academic Skills Center at Cal Poly has a

good overview of the 5 most commonly used methods (with permission).

Please don’t hesitate to contact Lisa Ladanyi (x.3327), 111 Lincoln Hall, if you have any questions or

concerns.

Thank you for making yourself available as a note-taker for student/s with a disability.