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This is my second year using interactive notebooks and I'm wondering if anyone else has problems getting students (and co-teachers) to buy into the concept. I've spent more time up front this year modeling how to do them. I'm still walking students through the process every time we add a new set of notes. I really like the fact that the notebooks help keep the kids organized and provide an opportunity for reflection. I'm the only teacher in my department to use these and I get the impression the other two teachers feel as if it's a waste of time and energy. I'm attempting to provide more opportunities for my students to reflect (and write) over things we have done in class in preparation for the Common Core. Am I just wasting my time with this?

I am a new teacher and do not have any advice, but I wondered if you could write more about the reflective writing your students do in their interactive notebooks. I think it could be so useful for my students.

My class is going to use interactive notebooks this year and I am working with a co-teacher as well. I can let you know how my experience goes. I think they are a great idea and hope they are successful!

I have been using interactive science notebooks in my classroom for years now (first when I taught biology and now in my IGCSE chemistry and AP chemistry classes). I keep the structure of the notebooks very organized, input on one side and student output on the other. For example, on p. 18 we had notes on diffusion and on page 19, the students had to complete a processing assignment demonstrating their understanding of diffusion. The processing assignment has a visual component (students drawing a model to show the process of diffusion) as well as a written reflection. Students at my school have bought into the notebooks because they appreciate that everything is easy to find and that they have the opportunity to choose how they demonstrate their understanding for some topics instead of just the traditional lecture-> worksheet -> lab sequence. A math colleague who also uses interactive notebooks in her classroom and I approached our administration and asked if we could share more information to our staff on interactive notebooks and their use in the classroom. Three workshop sessions later and now my school has more than 10 teachers all implementing the interactive notebooks in science, ELA, fine arts, and even sports medicine. There are some great articles here in the Learning Center that can be shared with science colleagues to show them the benefits and research behind the interactive notebooks. I have attached them here. Keep doing what you are doing and share your enthusiasm. The students will catch on that the notebooks really do help them and your colleagues might get curious. Good luck!

Attachments

Science Sampler: Science interactive notebooks in the classroom (Journal Article)

Integrating Interactive Notebooks (Journal Article)

Thank you for all of the great advice! It's good to know that other teachers have found them beneficial in upper level science courses as well as the lower grade levels. I will definitely keeping chugging along. Especially after checking out the amazing journal links that everyone has shared!

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on interactive notebooks. I am currently a student teacher and we are using them in our college classes as well. I found them to be challenging because it was a different approach to taking notes. This is my second year using interactive notebooks and I find that although the process is still challenging, I am retaining the material on a much deeper level. I have also held onto all of my past notebooks and find myself continually referencing and revising them.

Up until last year I had never heard of an interactive notebook, we used them in a few of my college classes. I'm excited to be able to use them in my classroom because I can see how they help students retain the material.

I am also a college student in my student teaching. Like many of the previous post we have started using interactive notebooks in some of our courses. They are a ton of work, but I do feel that at the end of the unit or semester, I have retained more information taught in the course, then if I had just taken normal class notes. I do feel that there needs to be a great deal of modeling and instruction untill students feel comfortable with INs. Even I get confused on what information goes where and of course every teacher is different. I would also like to use INs in my classroom and thankfully since I have learned how to use one I can already see some of the problems and time restrictions that may arise and I can hopefully address those when I start using them. I say if you want to use them, Do It! INs or Journals are only a waste of time if you never use them or go back and look through them.

I am a science Coach and I have to oversee the use of interactive notebooks. I think they are a wonderful way to keep the classwork organized and it becomes a great resource when studying for a test, but Unfortunately not all teachers buy into this. i agree with the teacher that says that is teachers do not see them as valuable then they will be a waste of time, that is why I don't think teachers should be mandated to do them. The teachers that take the time to think about what will go in the journals ahead of time and check student work (using a rubric) tend to have an easier time. Also it is important to give the students meaningful feedback based on their work, not just write Great! or Awesome! We try to make fun activities in their journals as well, for example we create many foldables where students write vocabulary words and add illustrations, or mind maps and other graphic organizers. Although most upper grade teachers use the right side left side, I don't recommend that for the early grades as it requires them to write in the right side first (input) and do the left side later. This can be confusing in the early grades when children are learning to read and are still getting the concept that we read from left to right.

I am a science Coach and I have to oversee the use of interactive notebooks. I think they are a wonderful way to keep the classwork organized and it becomes a great resource when studying for a test, but unfortunately not all teachers buy into this. I agree with the teacher that says that if teachers do not see them as valuable, then they will be a waste of time. For this reason I don't think teachers should be mandated to do them. The teachers that take the time to think about what will go in the journals ahead of time, and check student work (using a rubric) tend to have an easier time. Also it is important to give the students meaningful feedback based on their work, not just write Great! or Awesome! We try to make fun activities in their journals as well, for example we create many foldables where students write vocabulary words and add illustrations, or mind maps and other graphic organizers. Although most upper grade teachers use the right side left side, I don't recommend that for the early grades as it requires them to write in the right side first (input) and do the left side later. This can be confusing in the early grades when children are learning to read and are still getting the concept that we read from left to right.

I use my own version of the interactive science notebook/lab notebook. I use one composition notebook for labs, notes, foldables, science fair, activities, vocabulary, etc... The left-side and right-side version did not work for me but I do like having all of their work in one place and I do give them feedback and progress grades. I believe this helps them to stay organized and have ownership of their work. It is also great for studying. Stephanie

I am in student teaching right now and I see my cooperating teacher using it in our 3rd grade classroom. In my observation kids see interactive notebooks mostly as somekind of art activity rather than a reflection journal. I would also love to know more about how to integrate these notebooks in an efficient way in a science class.

I do not think interactive notebooks are a waste of time at all! All the notes, worksheets, foldable's, students thinking, and so on are in the interactive notebook. You do not have to worry about anything getting lost, the students can just glue everything in their notebook. You should have the students create a table of contents page so they know exactly what page a certain topic is on. Teachers can also take up the interactive notebook for a grade.

I definitely agree with the benefits of incorporating Interactive Notebooks, in college we used them in the education program which enhanced my conception of the IN. Continue to use them as students will be able to reference them to study throughout the year as well as for future references

Thank for posting this information on Interactive Notebooks in the classroom. As a college student I have utilized these in many classrooms and was interested in how to implement IN into my future classroom. I feel like they have helped me stuey for tests and reflect on my own learning. Thank you again!

Interactive journals are a great idea to get your students writing!

From my experience both as a student and as a student teacher, interactive notebooks are very beneficial even if it seems like the students are completely lost and that the whole idea was a waste of time. Before the class starts using the notebooks, provide clear instructions on what the notebook is going to be used for, what to put in it, and where. If it helps, have a slide on overhead/Smartboard/Powerpoint that tells the students what they are going to put into their notebook during the course of the day. If they are capable, encourage them to organize the notebook however they wish, this might motivate them to be responsible of their own learning and manage their materials.

This is the first semester I use interactive notebook in my class. At first, I thought it was a waste of time but now i find it very useful and resourceful. I believe it is all about how you use it that makes the difference if the students find it a good source.

May have missed it but did anyone post student examples of student interactive notebooks. I did see the journal articles from NSTA, but I was hoping to view a collection of notebooks to get a long range look at the notebooks.

I really like the idea of using interactive notebooks in science class. Although I never used them in any class as a child, I was introduced to them in college in my "Math in Elementary" course. They are very beneficial in which they hold students accountable for their own notes therefore their own learning, especially when the teacher frequently performs random checks to see how well they keep up with it. My instructor modeled a great way to use it in our own classrooms. There are many different things that you can teach your students to do in order to really make it "interactive" and best of all, students enjoy the fact that they can actually personalize it and make it unique!

I feel like some of my students struggle to decide what should go on the right side of their notebook. Last year I started making right side worksheets (which was more like a mini-quiz) for them to use instead of coming up with their own ideas. I almost feel like this is giving them an "out" rather than encouraging them to think for themselves. Maybe I'm expecting too much for 7th graders?? Also, I love/hate the rubric I'm using for notebooks. I feel like it takes a big chunk of my time to collect notebooks and grade them. I'd like to do something that provides immediate feedback like stamps or checkpoints. Any suggestions on streamlining the grading/feedback process? I attached a copy of the current rubric that I'm using this year.

Attachments

Scoring_Guide.docx (0.02 Mb)

I am a Student Teacher and as part of our curriculum in our teaching courses we use interactive notebooks. In the school I student teach at I have noticed that yes, many teachers think that Interactive Notebooks are a waste of time. I can say that I have had very strict professors with the IN and they made the experience horrible. Other professors were more lenient and they made the IN experience for me better. I can understand that for children the liberty can be too much, but I think that if students have more choice and understand that input goes on the right and output goes on the left this will make IN work better for them. I am a huge believer in making things personal so that students can learn, connect and retain information. IN's are worth the effort if done right for students to learn.

Thank you all for your ideas on using interactive notebooks. It gives students more ownership of their learning, so I definitely think its worth the effort!!

I have to say that I love interactive notebooks; they are a great tool to incorporate in the classroom. Last semester when I observed a dual language 4th grade classroom I was able to witness the power the interactive notebooks have in a science classroom. With the interactive notebooks students were able to reflect on their thinking and go back and review previous work. I have also used the interactive notebook for some of my college courses and I have to say that it is useful resource. The interactive notebook helped me retain information at a deeper level and was also useful when studying for midterms and finals. Although, it is a useful resource to use in class, it does require lots of work and time.

I'm a student teacher. My guide teacher utilizes these in her class and it works really well. Over 60% of the class is English Learners, and the extra writing practice is really great. My students also have graphic organizers of important information available for them to reference.

All these ideas are great. Im doing field as well and some of these ideas would really help.

I really like using science notebooks. I am currently student teaching in a fifth grade classroom, and the students use them all the time. They are especially helpful for the scientific concepts and terms that they are expected to know. I usually make a chart and students write the terms/diagrams in their journals. I often see them referring back to their notes in their notebooks during discussions when I ask questions. This also supports struggling students who may not remember the content, as they can go back to the journals and find the definitions they need. I have also seen these students participate in the discussions more often as they feel confident in what they have written.

I've decided to change up the way I use notebooks next year. We normally glue our notes on the left side and then students are expected to provide some sort of output activity on the right side that summarizes their understanding (or any questions) on the right side. The problem I've noticed over the past two years is students wait till the last moment, often the day I check the notebooks, to complete a output activity. I've attempted to remind them that the output activity is supposed to help them remember what we learned in class, especially before we take the assessment. I'm considering assigning them a task to complete for their output activity, but I feel like this is infringing on their creative ability. How do you have students demonstrate their knowledge in their notebooks? Maybe I should organize it differently?

This thread has inspired me to give my version of interactive notebooks a "go" in my 5th grade pre-engineering class. I try to give a wish (I'd like to see....) and a star (I like how you...) every week with a post it in each student's notebook. Even if I only have time for one quick comment I go to the last page and give some kind of encouragement. I can now go through a class set in 25 minutes (1 minute per notebook). As a result, my students are putting more details in their model diagrams, highlighting their modifications, and adding more quantitative data in their testing of their model. Assessing the notebooks after class frees me up to coach their process during class.

I have tried to implement the interactive science notebooks for several years. However, when I have the students keep their information in anything other than a binder, nothing seems to go right and I become overwhelmed. How do you organize yourself so that you can monitor the notebooks regularly? I have approximately 150 students.

I am a pre-service teacher, so I haven't integrated interactive notebooks yet. However, I fully intend to do so when I begin teaching. I spent a few years pursuing my PhD in cancer biology and learned how important keeping an organized notebook is. It kept me accountable, gave me a place to insert my thoughts, allowed me to look back at previous experiments, and provided a timeline of my work. I think this practice reinforces some of the aspects of the nature of science. Scientists are required to keep notebooks to defend their work in the event that it is challenged. Students could benefit greatly from this practice, regardless of their future endeavors, as it teaches accountability and organization. Thanks for posting this! I truly enjoyed reading all of the responses!

I think that you are correct when you say that science notebooks help the students organize their thought, and in many different ways. It can also allow the students to predict or adjust their ideas throughout the lesson. 

I am finishing up my first semester of student teaching and we utilized science notebooks throughout the entire semester. We drew models, developed explanation, and reflected on everything we did. It was really nice to have everything in one place and have some ownership of it. I think these are great for the classroom and i will definitely be using these in my classroom one day! 

If worksheets and print outs or diagrams are continuously used in a classroom, is it still beneficial to have a science notebook?

Even with handouts, you can use science notebooks.  It doesn't necessarily have to be an actual notebook.  I like to use binders instead.  You can contain all your notes, assignments, and handouts in the same place.  It can work almost like a portfolio.  You could add extra individual projects for them to keep in their as well.  Works like a charm. 

I am a veteran high school Biology teacher, and I am interested in using interactive notebooks in my classroom.  I have attempted to use them previously without much success.  I prefer binders because I give my students graphic organizers and other handouts; however, they are bulky and cumbersome to collect and grade. Additionally, sometimes students lose the sheets.  Some of my colleagues use composition notebooks, but I feel that they are too small.  I am curious if anyone is currently using binders and if so how do you manage the collection, tracking, and grading?  Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Hello, I think providing interactive science notebooks is not a waste of time. I feel by incorporating it, it would give students a sense of being investigators. I believe as long as it's use for interactive activities rather then just only notes, it would be a powerful tool. The notebook would allow students to go back and check what they have worked on as a refresher.

I do not think it is a waste of time if you truly believe it is helping your students. Everything should be for the best interest of the students. I think that if you share with your team how it is working in your classroom, and improvement you see they would probably invest more time and thought. I have seen interactive notebooks taken for granted as well. I think that if uses with consistency and structure they are definitely worth it.

I think that interactive notebooks are a great tool to use in the classroom. I think where the students lose focus, is when they feel that no one is looking at it. When students turn in assignments they know that someone will look at their work. I think that if you take the time weekly to do a interactive book check, they will feel the need to put in more effort. Many students are creative and do great things with their notebooks, it would be a great idea to give positive reinforcement by showing these books as examples or having two books a week that receive stickers. The books are a great tool, but the catch is to get the students interested in doing them.

I do not think it is a waste of time at all! It is something students can benefit from when created, used, and implemented the correct way. It is also something that will take others to get used to if they have not heard about it before and do not use it in their own classroom. I think you should try to possibly bring up the idea during a PLC meeting or even shooting an email if anyone would like to try implementing the idea with you. Even for other grade levels, too. The sooner the students start using it the easier it will be when you receive new students and your former ones go to a new teacher because you will not have to walk them through how to work in them for every time.