How did you organize your notes/handouts/binders in PT school?

[dannibambi]

I know this is a very "Type A" question, but I am a Type A kind of gal . I have searched the forum and am still wondering how I should organize my binders for DPT school (I start classes on May 5). For my undergrad, I did not have lockers, and I rarely brought my laptop (but I did bring my tablet for the last two quarters of school); I usually took notes on loose leaf lined notebook paper from my binder. For DPT school, I plan to take notes on my laptop with Microsoft Word (because I don't like Evernote or OneNote or those other services), which are constantly backed up to my One Drive account.

How did you keep paper notes/handouts/etc organized? Did you bring multiple binders to class each day, or use a single binder for all of your classes for a particular day. What sections (dividers) did you have in your binders? If you took paper notes in classes or labs, did you bring one of those big 5 subject spiral notebooks, a single subject spiral notebook, or loose leaf notebook paper from your binders? Did you take notes on your laptop? Is there anything you would have changed to stay more organized?

My first trimester classes are:
HSC 5003 Critical Thinking
HSC 5010 Scientific Inquiry
HSC 5100C Applied Human Anatomy
HSC 5213C Skills and Procedures
HSC 5741C Applied Medical Physiology
PHT 5802 Physical Therapist Practice I
PHT 5006C Massage and Soft Tissue Palpation

Thank you so much for your help!!

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[TheIron]

Looks like you're attending to the same school as me! Congrats! I'm just finishing my 2nd term and so far this program has been awesome.

As far as organization of notes, it is largely dependent on how each class is structured and how you learn. For most classes you will get a PDF of the powerpoint slides instructors use. I would say most students take notes on the PDF and just save it on their computer. You can go to cal-copy down the street and print off all of the slides if you like taking physical notes better. As for handouts, I just put them in a 5 subject notebook for future reference. Honestly I would say 90% of information you get will be online, so that makes things easy. You will have access to class syllabi/blackboard before classes start so you can put all of your assignments/exams/projects on a calendar .

It's good to have a plan, but you may change the way you take notes and organize yourself once you are actually in the thick of things. PT school is so much different than undergrad. I started my first term trying to take as many notes as I could and it was incredibly stressful for me. Once I figured out it was more efficient for my learning style to just sit and listen to what the professor was saying instead of having my nose in my computer I completely changed my note taking habits. Try what has worked for you in the past, but don't be afraid to change it up if you aren't preforming as well as you should be. Good luck!

 

[BranBran]

I know this is a very "Type A" question, but I am a Type A kind of gal . I have searched the forum and am still wondering how I should organize my binders for DPT school (I start classes on May 5). For my undergrad, I did not have lockers, and I rarely brought my laptop (but I did bring my tablet for the last two quarters of school); I usually took notes on loose leaf lined notebook paper from my binder. For DPT school, I plan to take notes on my laptop with Microsoft Word (because I don't like Evernote or OneNote or those other services), which are constantly backed up to my One Drive account.

How did you keep paper notes/handouts/etc organized? Did you bring multiple binders to class each day, or use a single binder for all of your classes for a particular day. What sections (dividers) did you have in your binders? If you took paper notes in classes or labs, did you bring one of those big 5 subject spiral notebooks, a single subject spiral notebook, or loose leaf notebook paper from your binders? Did you take notes on your laptop? Is there anything you would have changed to stay more organized?

My first trimester classes are:
HSC 5003 Critical Thinking
HSC 5010 Scientific Inquiry
HSC 5100C Applied Human Anatomy
HSC 5213C Skills and Procedures
HSC 5741C Applied Medical Physiology
PHT 5802 Physical Therapist Practice I
PHT 5006C Massage and Soft Tissue Palpation

Thank you so much for your help!!

I'm not in PT school until next fall but I'll probably bring my laptop to every class and make a folder on my computer for each specific class and save notes and assignments in those ^.^ idk lol

 

[starrsgirl]

I highly recommend making a plan to use the PDFs to take notes. I loved taking notes in Word before going to PT school and I stuck to that plan for the first semester. It was a disaster. The tests are generally from the PDFs. The PDFs have pictures or diagrams you need to know. It was such a pain to try to go back to my word document and figure out where in the PDF it came from. Or it was a pain to retype words that were already on the PDF. I found that it was just a different type of information. It wasn't as important to capture the flow from the instructor like in previous classes I had.

I use the PDFs and Notability. You can type onto the notes with that program on your computer. I prefer to use my iPad and write on the notes with a stylus.

I have a small collapsible folder that I always bring with hard copies of the syllabus, class schedule and any returned assignments. Each course has it's own pocket (or sometimes 2 courses have to share).

 

[ChefWu]

Also not in PT school yet but I listened to this the other day: http://www.npr.org/2016/04/17/474525392/attention-students-put-your-laptops-away

I understand taking notes by hand may require more time to organize after class, possibly transcribing them electronically. But hey, more repetition for encoding

 

[beestrng]

I went to same school different campus. Used laptop for course text. Big binder with notes, worksheets etc.

 

[BiffTheFlashRogers]

I take the vast, vast majority of my notes on my laptop. Essentially all lecture materials are posted on Blackboard, so I download those and save them in individual folders for each course. After my last final on Monday, I look forward to condensing all of the folders on my desktop from this year into one nice, neat "year one" folder and moving it to the left side of my desktop.

I have binders for each class that I use to hold any papers we get.

Honestly, I'm not all that organized in a traditional sense. I don't use a planner. I send notes to myself and write stuff down on post it's and just refer to syllabi for due dates and such. If I can get through without really altering my personal organization strategy, you'll be fine I'm sure.

 

[DesertPT]

iPad + Bluetooth keyboard/case + Notability + automatic backup to Google Drive. 10/10 would recommend.

 

[okramango]

It depended on the class for me. For more intensive classes, I found it easier to handwrite notes on the printed powerpoints, then later transcribe the notes into a Word doc (time intensive but really helped me learn). My school offers unlimited printing for students so cost wasn't an issue with the printing. For easier courses, I just typed my notes in class, sometimes into the powerpoints, and sometimes in a Word doc. This was more passive but was fine for courses like "professionalism", "research" etc. I did have a couple of binders, with a tab for each class, where I kept handouts, etc. Some of my classmates did everything electronic, others mostly paper, and everything in between, and you'll probably play around with this during your first semester to figure out what works best for you.