I tried the cornell system when I started back at school (OMSCS). I didn't really like it. It felt overly tedious to me. I think it's probably an okay starting point if you have no idea how to learn things. At some point you'll figure out your own personalized way of learning and retaining information - at that point you'll become a lot more productive than following some formula.
My approach is:
* Take lecture notes during the lecture, pausing the lecture to really understand everything (active listening). I never re-watch a lecture (takes too long), so I make sure the lecture notes have all info needed to review for an exam.
* Before an exam review all lecture notes.
That is about all I need to ace pretty much any exam that is about information retention.
If the exam requires real understanding and thought (algorithms, math), then the best way to prep is doing lots of practice. No note-taking system is going to help you there, it will only waste your time.
>pausing the lecture to really understand everything
no doubt in 2001 we had maybe <1% classes available as pre-recorded. this seems like a good foundational approach, better than "just take notes and pause". What if you are in- you know- an actual lecture? I took copious notes but had no review process or built in repetition (which this does).
That is more of a challenge :). This is why I think pre-recorded lectures are a superior form of teaching. They can be tweaked and revisioned to convey information in the most lucid way possible. Meatspace should be reserved for interactive QA sessions. Schools that accomplish this have a pedagogical advantage over everyone else.
Bar that, I recommend what you do is record the lecture audio while jotting down the major points (note taking apps like Notability work great for this). After the lecture re-review the audio, make sure you understand everything thoroughly, adding any additional notes that are required. This requires having to go through the lecture twice. If you are comfortable in the subject you can probably take sufficient notes during the lecture without having to listen to it again. Then before the exam, go through your notes and make sure you understand it.
My approach is:
* Take lecture notes during the lecture, pausing the lecture to really understand everything (active listening). I never re-watch a lecture (takes too long), so I make sure the lecture notes have all info needed to review for an exam.
* Before an exam review all lecture notes.
That is about all I need to ace pretty much any exam that is about information retention.
If the exam requires real understanding and thought (algorithms, math), then the best way to prep is doing lots of practice. No note-taking system is going to help you there, it will only waste your time.