Many students seem to get caught up in trying to write down/take notes on as much of what is said in a lecture as possible. I think they likely retain or understand less of the material that is presented because they are rushing to write. Does anyone have an opinion on giving students a basic printed synopsis of the lecture (which can also serve the instructor as bulk of the lesson plan)that has room for students to add comments, observations, etc... so that they can relax and listen better rather then just writing what they hear?

As a student I found the syllabus to be a huge component of getting started and settled in classes each semester. Some were simply bullet points of information, and others did convey some "personality" of the instructor. Does anyone have suggestions as to somewhat creative ways to make their syllabus stand out that has worked in the past?