A surprisingly simple way for students to master any subject--based on one of the world's most popular online courses and the bestselling book A Mind for Numbers A Mind for Numbers and its wildly popular online companion course "Learning How to Learn" have empowered more than two million learners of all ages from around the world to master subjects that they once struggled with. Fans often wish they'd discovered these learning strategies earlier and ask how they can help their kids master these skills as well. Now in this new book for kids and teens, the authors reveal how to make the most of time spent studying. We all have the tools to learn what might not seem to come naturally to us at first--the secret is to understand how the brain works so we can unlock its power. This book explains: Why sometimes letting your mind wander is an important part of the learning process How to avoid "rut think" in order to think outside the box Why having a poor memory can be a good thing The value of metaphors in developing understanding A simple, yet powerful, way to stop procrastinating Filled with illustrations, application questions, and exercises, this book makes learning easy and fun.
Here's something worth learning: Studying doesn't have to be a chore! This fun and accessible resource provides the tools you need to develop better study habits, boost your grades, and position yourself for academic success. Educational consultant Cynthia Clumeck Muchnick uses a wide range of ideas taken from hundreds of students to help you find a unique, effective method suited for your individual learning style. You'll improve transcripts for college applications, ace standardized tests, and become a better student at any level of education. This indispensable guide shows you how to: Get the most out of class time Use the best strategies for note-taking and memorizing Improve writing skills Prepare completely for tests Safely and effectively conduct online research Use Skype, iChat, or social media to form study groups With this guide in your backpack, you'll be able to balance school and activities, avoid pre-test panic, and achieve consistently better results.
This longtime favorite among teachers and students is a guide toward mastery of the skills every person must acquire for academic success. The authors point out the need to take different approaches to the study of different subjects. They also offer tips for scheduling and organizing study time, taking useful notes, and understanding one's own strengths and weak points.
Looking to jumpstart your GPA? Most college students believe that straight A’s can be achieved only through cramming and painful all-nighters at the library. But Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don’t study harder—they study smarter. A breakthrough approach to acing academic assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, How to Become a Straight-A Student reveals for the first time the proven study secrets of real straight-A students across the country and weaves them into a simple, practical system that anyone can master. You will learn how to: • Streamline and maximize your study time • Conquer procrastination • Absorb the material quickly and effectively • Know which reading assignments are critical—and which are not • Target the paper topics that wow professors • Provide A+ answers on exams • Write stellar prose without the agony A strategic blueprint for success that promises more free time, more fun, and top-tier results, How to Become a Straight-A Student is the only study guide written by students for students—with the insider knowledge and real-world methods to help you master the college system and rise to the top of the class.
Lecturers, why waste time waiting for the post to arrive? Request your e-inspection copy today! 'Brilliant little book! ... It's easy to follow and understand, full of practical hints and tips, helps to remove some of the pressures of uni life!' - Amazon review 'Really useful sections on reading and taking notes ... the bread and butter of student life.' - Amazon review Do you want to do better at university? Whether you're a student wanting to improve their study skills or a lecturer who wants to give their students a helping hand with their work, this book is for you. Packed with study tips and handy activities, this proven guide shows you step-by-step how to study effectively and make the best of your time - whatever level you're at. Whether you are going to university straight from school, a mature student, or an overseas student studying in the UK for the first time, you'll find out how to: Sail through those tricky first weeks Get the most out of lectures by understanding how you learn Learn techniques for academic writing and research Pass exams with flying colours Stay cool and cope with stress. Practical and interactive, this edition features six brand new chapters to arm you with even more essential skills including how to produce a dissertation, planning your career and focusing on building relationships with lecturers and other students to help you get ahead. Visit the Essential Study Skills Companion Website Launched with this edition is an improved and expanded companion website. Don't miss the extensive range of guidance and resources for both students and tutors, including video tips, study packs, practice exercises and other tools for you to use in both your preparation and actual work. SAGE Study Skills are essential study guides for students of all levels. From how to write great essays and succeeding at university, to writing your undergraduate dissertation and doing postgraduate research, SAGE Study Skills help you get the best from your time at university.
Co-published with and Miriam, a freshman Calculus student at Louisiana State University, made 37.5% on her first exam but 83% and 93% on the next two. Matt, a first year General Chemistry student at the University of Utah, scored 65% and 55% on his first two exams and 95% on his third—These are representative of thousands of students who decisively improved their grades by acting on the advice described in this book.What is preventing your students from performing according to expectations? Saundra McGuire offers a simple but profound answer: If you teach students how to learn and give them simple, straightforward strategies to use, they can significantly increase their learning and performance. For over a decade Saundra McGuire has been acclaimed for her presentations and workshops on metacognition and student learning because the tools and strategies she shares have enabled faculty to facilitate dramatic improvements in student learning and success. This book encapsulates the model and ideas she has developed in the past fifteen years, ideas that are being adopted by an increasing number of faculty with considerable effect.The methods she proposes do not require restructuring courses or an inordinate amount of time to teach. They can often be accomplished in a single session, transforming students from memorizers and regurgitators to students who begin to think critically and take responsibility for their own learning. Saundra McGuire takes the reader sequentially through the ideas and strategies that students need to understand and implement. First, she demonstrates how introducing students to metacognition and Bloom’s Taxonomy reveals to them the importance of understanding how they learn and provides the lens through which they can view learning activities and measure their intellectual growth. Next, she presents a specific study system that can quickly empower students to maximize their learning. Then, she addresses the importance of dealing with emotion, attitudes, and motivation by suggesting ways to change students’ mindsets about ability and by providing a range of strategies to boost motivation and learning; finally, she offers guidance to faculty on partnering with campus learning centers.She pays particular attention to academically unprepared students, noting that the strategies she offers for this particular population are equally beneficial for all students. While stressing that there are many ways to teach effectively, and that readers can be flexible in picking and choosing among the strategies she presents, Saundra McGuire offers the reader a step-by-step process for delivering the key messages of the book to students in as little as 50 minutes. Free online supplements provide three slide sets and a sample video lecture.This book is written primarily for faculty but will be equally useful for TAs, tutors, and learning center professionals. For readers with no background in education or cognitive psychology, the book avoids jargon and esoteric theory.
To most of us, learning something "the hard way" implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners. Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights into how memory is encoded, consolidated, and later retrieved have led to a better understanding of how we learn. Grappling with the impediments that make learning challenging leads both to more complex mastery and better retention of what was learned. Many common study habits and practice routines turn out to be counterproductive. Underlining and highlighting, rereading, cramming, and single-minded repetition of new skills create the illusion of mastery, but gains fade quickly. More complex and durable learning come from self-testing, introducing certain difficulties in practice, waiting to re-study new material until a little forgetting has set in, and interleaving the practice of one skill or topic with another. Speaking most urgently to students, teachers, trainers, and athletes, Make It Stick will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.
This volume reflects current research on the cognitive strategies of autonomous learning. Topics such as metacognition, attribution theory, self-efficacy, direct instruction, attention, and problem solving are discussed by leading researchers in learning and study strategies. The contributors to this volume acknowledge and address the concerns of educators at the primary, secondary, and postsecondary school levels. The blend of theory and practice is an important feature of this volume.
"We would heartily recommend the book to students who are at the beginning of their studies." Maxine Fletcher, Lecturer, Oxford Brookes "This book’s crammed full of very useful topics, information and exercises that I've never seen before, especially in the section on research, which I particularly liked." Joel, Student, Keele University Competition for graduate jobs has never been so fierce. The Ultimate Study Skills Handbook will help you succeed from the first week of your studies through to graduation. Covering all the core skills you will need to help you make the most of your university course, The Ultimate Study Skills Handbook is your key to success. This is the handbook of techniques, tips and exercises. Written by a team of experts and tested on students, the advice in this book will help you to improve your grades, save time and develop the skills that will make you stand out to prospective employers. Whichever subject you are studying, this practical and concise book will help you find your individual learning style and tell you exactly what you need to know to excel as a student: Working out the best way for you to learn Doing your research Presentations Revising for exams Improving your critical thinking skills Managing your time
We've all been there: a new school year starts and there's 8 months till your exams - that's plenty of time, right? Then there's 6 months, 3 months, 1 month and oh, now there's 2 weeks left and you haven't started studying... What happens next is a panic-induced mayhem of highlighting everything in the textbook (without even questioning if it's actually helpful). But I'm here to help you change this! In The Only Study Guide You'll Ever Need, I'll cover a range of different topics including: · How to get started and pick up that pen · Learning techniques that actually work (hello, science of memory!) · The dos and don'ts of timetabling · And combatting fear of failure, perfectionism, exam stress and so much more! As a fellow student now at university, I definitely don't have a PhD in Exam Etiquette but this is the book younger me needed. All I wanted was one place that had a variety of tried-and-tested methods with reassurance from someone who had recently been through the education system. The Only Study Guide You'll Ever Need is just that, and I have collected the best techniques and tools I wish I'd known earlier to help you get through your studies and smash your exams! Jade x
