What do I do if my dd doesn't know how to take notes. or want to....?

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We are using Monarch Online for History and Science, and last year used Apologia online.  Apologia has more scaffolding so that students are effectively taking notes even if they're not actually "taking notes" while reading.  

With Monarch, the students read the section and then immediately have a homework questionnaire to ensure they remember and comprehend.  My dd usually gets about 100 on those.  Then, what she does is make flashcards for the things she feels will be difficult to remember.  Then she studies her flashcards while moving on, or preparing for the quiz.

But, she doesn't actually TAKE NOTES in any subject and this worries me.  I feel that in college a person needs to be able to take notes on what they read because it moves so quickly and there's so much to digest you'll never be able to remember it all without notes and review.  

What should I do for this year?

And, for next year, should I choose curriculum that will be easier/different in some way so that she will be forced to take notes, or find it more necessary?

 

EDITED: ok, so I think she does know how to take notes because she takes very good notes in church.  She also took excellent notes as part of her David QUine Worldview curriculum class last year, and she also learned how to highlight books, write notes, and watch for different characters and themes.  

She seems to struggle the most with taking notes in Science.  To her, Science has no connection, and is nothing but a huge pile of random facts, and any textbook you might see will organize the same facts somewhat differently.  She sees no story, and no connectoin (and no point TBH), so she has a really hard time especially in Science. 

Edited January 10, 2019 by Calming Tea

[Mom22ns]

Neither of my kids took notes in high school classes until they started dual enrollment. We did a little note taking on textbooks, but not much. I don't think it has hurt either one of them at all. It sounds like she is already getting some note taking experiences. I would continue to look for a few of those here and there, but I wouldn't make it your focus. If she can do it for some things, she'll be able to do it when she needs to.

[Arcadia]

2 hours ago, Calming Tea said:

She seems to struggle the most with taking notes in Science.  To her, Science has no connection, and is nothing but a huge pile of random facts, and any textbook you might see will organize the same facts somewhat differently.  She sees no story, and no connectoin (and no point TBH), so she has a really hard time especially in Science. 

 

My dear slacker kid use the chapter summary pages for physics and the the teacher’s chapter outlines for chemistry. I was explaining to him recently how to do better at open book Chemistry quizzes. I think open book quizzes, regardless of subject, help my kids see the usefulness of notes and/or knowing how to find the stuff you half-forgot fast in your textbooks.

[freesia]

I had the very same worry. Ds wouldn't take notes in high school. He refused.  He just finished his first semester of college.  Guess what?  He takes notes.  I have no idea what flipped the switch, but something did.  So, if she knows how, she will if she needs to.

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THanks for all the thoughts! She did a great job taking notes today and I'm also reassured by your stories.

[Clemsondana]

This doesn't directly pertain to notetaking, but when you mentioned seeing science a a bunch of random useless facts, I thought I'd toss in a suggestion or 2.  I tend to think in flowcharts, which is a great fit for organizing science info.  If you start with a question (What functions are necessary for a cell to remain alive?  or What needs to happen to make a protein?), then the 'unrelated facts' can be connected to form something a bit more story-like.  For the first, you can start with, First, a cell needs to define and physically support itself, so it needs a membrane, maybe a wall, and a cytoskeleton (additional details added as appropriate for the level of the course).  Then, the cell needs energy, which it can make (photosynthesis, needs chloroplast) and/or break down (glycolysis/cellular respiration, mitochondria).  Etc.  I was once asked to tutor a student attending public school, and her biology seemed to be a bunch of unrelated facts - it was awful!  Depending on whether she's a 'story' person, or whether tree diagrams would help (what are the 4 main jobs, and within each job, what are the organelles involved, and within each organelle, what is it made of and what does it do...).  Anyway, I thought this might help - science notes by themselves rarely make sense, so you have to find some way to organize them that turns them into something usable for that particular student.  

[katilac]

One of my dds took very few notes in high school. She did quite well so it was pretty hard to come up with reasons for more notes! 

And yep, she takes notes in college. 

If a student is struggling or just consistently making C's, I would probably push the issue more. I would also make sure that the work is at an appropriate level, that they aren't just breezing through with no notes because the work is so easy. Easy subjects in high school can definitely lead to a hard time in college. I don't see how an easier subject would somehow require more note taking?