Writing things down really helps to ‘seal’ the learning in my mind… it’s like reinforcing the knowledge that’s being transmitted during lectures, meetings, etc.
That makes a lot of sense. When I was a student, I’d take notes before class on the material we were going to cover, add to them during the lecture, and then rewrite everything afterward. It took a lot of time, but it was one of the best ways to really lock the information into my memory.
This is an excellent study and confirmed what I had suspected. I’d also start with initial notes pages and then rewrite them into a more organized and legible form for easier reference. I found doing so really cemented my retention of the knowledge.
Here’s another link about it from NIH:
Also, Norwegian SciTech News
I knew a guy in college who would take notes in class writing with his right hand, then recopy them at home using his left hand. He said that way both halves of his brain would absorb the knowledge!