The Effects of the Medium of Notetaking on the Delayed Learning Effect of College Students: A Mediated Moderation Model.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
By design analogy; non-clinical educational study testing mediated moderation without explicit reporting of random assignment.
PubMed 39335971 · doi:10.3390/bs14090756
What was done
The authors examined the relationship between notetaking medium (electronic coded as 0 vs. traditional paper notetaking coded as 1), word count in notes, and review opportunity on delayed learning performance in 189 college students. The analysis used a mediated moderation model controlling for gender and prior knowledge.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, test statistics, or effect sizes. It reports that notetaking medium was positively correlated with delayed test scores regardless of whether review was permitted. Additionally, the mediating role of word count between notetaking medium and delayed test scores was moderated by review: the mediation was statistically significant when review was allowed, but not significant when review was not allowed.
Why it matters
The study adds evidence on how notetaking formats influence long-term retention, suggesting that the volume of notes recorded interacts with review opportunities to affect delayed recall.
Limits
The abstract reports no numerical data, confidence intervals, or exact p-values. The sample is restricted to 189 college students, the abstract does not state whether participants were randomly assigned to conditions, and the duration of the delay before testing is unspecified.
Cited by
- supports Taking notes with pen and paper results in better learning and retention compared to taking notes on a computer.