Note-taking is a ubiquitous learning strategy that learners employ when attempting to comprehend and remember information shared during lectures. However, the process of note-taking can be cognitively burdensome for learners. Research has shown a number of benefits to collaborative note-taking, including a reduction in the cognitive burden required to take notes, the creation of more comprehensive notes than those typically produced by an individual, and exposure to the varying perspectives from peers. However, research is needed into the effects of various types of collaborative note-taking behaviors on the quality of the notes and on subsequent learning outcomes.
Therefore, the present research investigates the effects of collaborative note-taking behaviors of 357 students. To better conceptualize note-taking behaviors and their effects, the present dissertation introduces a theoretical framework called the collaborative encoding-storage paradigm, which extends the existing encoding-storage paradigm commonly used to explain individual note-taking behaviors. In the proposed framework, collaborative note-taking behaviors are viewed as forms of collaborative encoding and the completeness of the notes is viewed as a measure of storage quality. The following collaborative note-taking data were mined from the notes and analyzed: volume of words written, edits of others, writing sessions, and turn-taking. The storage produced by each group was assessed using a rubric to measure the completeness of the notes. Analysis at the level of the individual learner indicated that volume of words, edits of others, and turn-taking behaviors were all positively correlated with learning performance. Analysis at the level of the group indicated that turn-taking was positively correlated with learning performance, while edits of others was negatively correlated with learning performance. Further analysis at the group level revealed that volume of words and frequency of writing sessions were positively correlated with the completeness of group notes and that completeness of notes was positively correlated with learning performance.
Overall, the results demonstrate meaningful relationships between the frequency of collaborative encoding behaviors and learning outcomes. These results suggest that collaborative encoding and storage have different effects on learning performance and that the effectiveness of collaboration differs according to the variables investigated and the level of analysis. The dissertation concludes with two recommendations for practitioners: 1) to increase recall of information, encouraging students to write more notes is beneficial, but encouraging them to write more frequently is not, and 2) for groups to take higher quality notes, they should be encouraged sustain their contributions to the document but need not interact much with the contributions of their group mates.