Colour Coding

Brief Intro to Colour Coding 

It is a dynamic way to structure your notes, organise the information and conceptualize the main ideas from textbooks/ lecture notes. Colour-coding study notes is purposeful in allowing a rapid review of the most important information, for the colours stand out and allows it to be a key identifier for our notes. 

How does it benefit our study?

Colours improve recall time over a longer term. Our brain works to marry the information, and connect one thing to the other with a common footing. The common ground of setting a colour scheme to particular topics allow us to identify, for example the colour RED as exceptions to a topic and Yellow for important information in a text.

This is an effective way to making sure the information STICKS in our head a lot longer and disputes the passive learning by just aimlessly rewriting/ reading boring black and white notes.  

BEST WAY to apply the Colour Coding Method:

1. Colour-code AFTER the notes have been written down

    - Allows for productive learning, whereby  information flows and it isn't disrupted by the constant thought of having to colour code as you write your notes down.

    - Gives an opportunity to organise the notes and review the notes once more as you go.

2. Be CONSISTENT with the colour schemes

- Having a uniform pattern of colour system allows us to relate and connect the particular information to the specific colour scheme we have chosen.

- A set colour scheme would also reduce confusion across the other notes which we may have.

3. MINIMAL Colour Choices!

- We do not want to have TOO many choices of a colour scheme to choose from. Keeping it to under 6 colours would be the best and efficient way to put the colour coding system in place.

- The goal is to have the minimum amount of colours chosen to be effective, for you would eventually have to know it by heart which colour, applies to the necessary category/topic.

4. OVERHIGHLIGHTING is Counterproductive

YES, ALL information is important. However, we should not aim to highlight the entire page because every bit of information seems important. We want to avoid having to review at a much later time, a page of rainbow-coloured distraction.

- Limit the colour and highlighting to specific areas of information.

- Highlight the critical information, the HIGH-Yield facts, and the KEY concepts.

SAMPLE of my COLOUR CODING

Show  me YOUR Colour Code Schemes!

- Deanna-