I began using interactive notebooks in my biology classes in the early 2000’s (yes, I’ve been teaching for quite some time now). Early on in my career I was looking for ways to blend technology into my classroom while building better systems for taking notes and organizing information.
Interactive notebooks were something that I wish my teachers had used when I was in school. I never knew how to organize my notes and would generally group all of my papers by subject in a 3-ring binder, but never really had a method for organizing everything. Today interactive notebooks have several benefits for both students and teachers. During the first weeks of school I introduce interactive notebooks as the way we will organize all of the content we cover in my class.
Interactive Notebooks Help Students Stay Organized
Have you looked at the binders and backpacks for some of your students? Many times when they receive papers in class they tuck them in a binder or toss them in a bag only to forget where they were placed. This can make for a frustrating issue when students are asked to refer back to them. Interactive notebooks can be the solution for students that struggle with organization.
With an interactive notebook there is a table of contents and each page has a designated assignment or activity that should be placed on it. In addition, the left side pages of the interactive notebook are assigned to assignments that the students complete. These could include quickwrites, advanced organizers such as concept maps, and review activities.
The right side pages are where notes are completed. To accompany my biology powerpoint lecture notes, I will hand out fill-in-the-blank pages at the start of each unit. These were then glued in our interactive notebooks so students had their notes with them at all times. No more leaving papers in another binder or at home!
Interactive Notebooks Increase Student Productivity
Even losing 3-5 minutes per class in wasted time can really add up over the course of the semester. Interactive notebooks have helped me use our class time more effectively in a few different ways. When students walk into class they are able to get started on any interactive notebook assembly that is needed. While some teachers prefer to use composition books, I have found the 3 subject spirals that contain 8.5” x 11” sheets to work best for my students. This way papers don’t need to be cut to size and can be directly glued into their notebooks. Once students have glued any pages in their notebooks they begin the day’s warm up activity (which is generally a left-side page in their interactive notebook).
Near the end of the class period I will have my students working on an assignment to reinforce the topics we covered in lecture. This also is generally in their notebooks and is something they can work on until the end of the period. While I don’t believe in a rigid bell-to-bell instruction philosophy, I do want to help my students learn that they can accomplish a lot more if they have better time management skills. Interactive notebooks have helped me accomplish this.
Interactive Notebooks Cut Down On The Time Spent Grading
Do you find yourself constantly bringing home papers to grade? If that’s how you like to enjoy your evenings, go for it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Interactive notebooks can help you spend less time grading so you have more time for both lesson planning and for life outside of the classroom (totally crazy, I know).
On the days when assignments are to be submitted I will walk around at the start of class and stamp the assignments in my students’ interactive notebooks. I have a few stamps that I will use regularly. I have a stamp for full credit. I have a stamp for incomplete work or partial credit. And I have a stamp for late work. In just a few minutes I can see if the assignment was completed and give it the appropriate stamp. At this time I am just checking to confirm the work was completed. Students can even be working on another assignment while I am doing my grading walk throughout the class. The only time I collect their interactive notebooks is on the days we are having a unit test. At this time I can go through the assignments we have completed and by looking at the stamps I can give the notebook a score. While I grade our labs or larger formative assessments separate from the notebooks, this method has drastically cut down on the time spent grading on the evenings and weekends.
Interactive Notebooks Can Easily Be Differentiated
Chances are that you will need to differentiate your lessons to help every student achieve success in your class. And using an interactive notebook can be used to support this goal. Regardless of what type of notes (Cornell, fill in the blank, doodle, etc) you prefer to use, you can adjust and create a few different levels of faculty to meet the needs of your students. The same can be done with the activities that students will add to the left side pages of their notebooks. If you are using a concept map to make connections between key words for a topic, all students will add it to the same page in their notebook, even if the worksheets are not identical based on the levels of the individual students.
To organize the differentiation for an assignment I like to hand out the assignment to the group of students I know will be getting the differentiated lesson. You can also have multiple trays where students pick up assignments. As long as you have a system in place for differentiation, your notebooks will have a place for students to organize their work.
Interactive Notebooks Help Students Take Ownership Of Their Work
I am a big believer in students taking ownership of the work they submit. I want students to say “I made _____ grade” vs “I got _____ grade.” It’s a subtle difference but the words matter. Interactive notebooks become the product of all the work your students will complete in your class. And by the end of the semester (or year), it becomes a growing portfolio of their progress. This can also be a great item to have for parent-student-teacher conferences as well. 90% of my conversations over the years tend to be about grades and student achievement. And when we meet I ask the student to bring their notebook. More often than not, the level of work submitted in their notebook mirrors their grade in my class. I tell my classes this at the start of the school year, but sometimes students need a reminder prior to their progress reports. The work they put into their notebooks can predict how well they do in my class.
Final Thoughts…
If you have been on the fence about using interactive notebooks I would recommend you give them a try. And then keep revising them. The notebooks my students completed after a few years were quite different from year one. Best of luck and keep working to make you class the best on campus!
