How to Take Notes as a Student in Notion

1. Introduction

• Sponsorship by Notion and promotion of 1,000 free personal accounts
• Overview of the three main topics: understanding, memorizing, and organizing

1. Understanding

• Description of Notion's toggle feature and how it can be used to organize information and see the big picture
• Use of colors and icons to visually group and categorize information

1. Memorizing

• Discussion of the Cornell Note Taking Method and spaced repetition
• Importance of testing oneself and using spaced repetition to counteract the forgetting curve
• Incorporation of spaced repetition into Notion through the use of tags and the calendar feature

1. Conclusion

• Promotion of Notion's free personal accounts and special code for 1,000 free accounts
• Importance of balancing studying with physical and mental health.

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Welcome to the channel, friends. In this video, we'll be exploring how to use Notion to take notes in medical school. We'll be covering three main topics: understanding, memorizing, and organizing. A heads up, this video is sponsored by Notion, who are offering 1,000 codes for a free personal plan for the app. Make sure to watch the whole video to get the special code and get Notion for free.

Now, let's get started. There are two key components to learning anything at university: understanding and memorizing. Note taking itself is not always the most effective technique for retaining information, but there are ways to improve our note taking methods to help us understand and memorize the material. I'll be showing you how I use Notion to understand and memorize Human Physiology, a lecture series I'm helping teach at the University of Cambridge.

First, let's talk about understanding. One great thing about Notion is its toggle feature, which allows you to hide information and make it as detailed as you want. For example, I have learning objectives for a lecture hidden in a toggle, with seven learning objectives nested within that toggle. Another toggle within the fetal circulation section has information on the oxygen dissociation curve for hemoglobin, comparing maternal versus fetal. Notion can handle almost any type of content, like text, images, and PDFs, and present it in a visually appealing way. This kind of organization helps with understanding by keeping the big picture in mind and not getting lost in the details. It's easy to focus on the details when subjects are difficult, but it's important to remember the overall structure and concepts. That's why I use the toggle feature to hide the details and see the bigger picture. I also use colors and icons to visually group and categorize information. This helps me understand the relationships between different pieces of information and see how they fit into the overall structure.

Now, let's move on to memorization. In this video, we'll be discussing the Cornell Note Taking Method and spaced repetition. The Cornell Method involves asking ourselves questions and then answering them before looking at the answers, turning notes from a passive activity into something that helps our brains develop through active recall. Testing ourselves on the information is the best way to retain it, and if we're not getting the results we want in school, it's likely because we're not testing ourselves enough. Spaced repetition helps counteract the forgetting curve, which is the natural tendency for memories to decay over time. By reviewing a topic at spaced intervals, we can interrupt the forgetting curve and get the information into our long-term memory. There are many resources available on active recall and spaced repetition, including the book "Make it Stick" and a video on the benefits of active recall.

Spaced repetition can be incorporated into Notion through the use of tags and the calendar feature. By tagging items with a "review" tag and setting them to repeat in the calendar, we can schedule our review sessions and get the most out of our study time.

In this video, we've discussed how to use the Cornell Note Taking Method and spaced repetition in Notion to study effectively. Notion is offering 1,000 free personal accounts for those who use the coupon code provided in the video description or pinned comment. If you have a .edu or .ac email address, you can also upgrade your account to a free personal account. It's important to prioritize physical and mental health, passing exams, and getting good grades, but it's just as important to take breaks and relax. Thanks for watching and don't forget to get your free Notion account using the code provided in the video.

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