I'm about to graduate college and I still don't know a good note taking method that works for me
I just write terms I deem important and make sure I know those for when I need them(the test).
But now I'm trying to read a coding book and have no damn idea how to make sure I actually learn a damn thing besides passively absorbing knowledge

try www.notion.so
it allows note taking with markdown and code blocs.
And you can organize your study time with tasklists and kanban boards, which acts as a small database you can cross reference on other tasks.

and if you've got an ipad or mac i can highly recommend you mindenode. Took all my notes with it when i studied ux design.

https://mindnode.com/

Ye olde pen and paper

@WildPotato did you buy a nice note book specially for this one topic or course?

I always buy a moleskine and every time i'm at the shop counter paying those goddamm ridiculous $40 for some empty pages i ask my self why?

But during the year i know i paid top money for that and i have to make it worthwhile to use that note book because it was so expensive. And a moleskine feels nice in the hand and the rubberband keeps the pages from beeing squashed in my backpack.

I never took notes, instead I always try to think about the thing I'm learning - why and how it works under the hood, what are the reasons why it works that way, how does it fit into it's ecosystem etc. By just memorizing terms you'll learn "nothing", you'll just waste your time.