Students in my class are required to take notes and complete their assignments in a journal that they keep in my class. Below is an example of a student's notebook agreement page. Notice the tabs this particular student has in her notebook. This student needed an organized way of finding quickly the information in her notebook. Between her, her mother, and myself we worked on creating a new notebook so that she would be more successful. In this notebook they have areas that are designated as "other." This is where they can interpret the notes I have had them write down into their own words, or where they can ask questions about the content. Most students won't ask questions out loud either from shyness or fear of appearing less intelligent than their peers...no matter how much I wish they would ask out loud. I make it a point to go through the notebooks every week and answer all the questions I can and jot down my own notes on their assignments, such as hints on where to look for help in working problems. With a few students, I have seen a progression from just asking questions in their journals to actually finding other ways of solving problems or even looking at them and seeking confirmation on their thought process. Even when they struggle with new concepts, I can see the difference having notes always present has with their understanding.