Study Like a Champ

Cognitive science has revealed the hidden secrets of what really works for studying.

This engaging, student-friendly book debunks major myths about studying and provides practical tips for how students can learn to study smarter, not harder.

Written by psychologists who are experts in the science of study habits, this book outlines clear steps students can use throughout their high school and college careers to plan, monitor, and evaluate their learning.

Numerous examples and self-assessments will help students apply these strategies to their own unique situations to help them create and maintain habits that foster life-long learning.

Psychologists Regan A. R. Gurung and John Dunlosky are award-winning teachers and researchers who have spent years conducting studies on how students learn. Not only have they published a significant number of scientific peer-reviewed papers on the topic, but they have received national recognition as teachers.

Preface: Or Why You Should Really Care About What’s in This Book

I. Groundwork

• Chapter 1. So You Think You Know How To Study? Let’s FoK-About-It
• Chapter 2. First Things First: Planning!
• Chapter 3. Take Notes Well

II. Strategies

• Chapter 4. Spacing It Out
• Chapter 5. Retrieval Practice for Monitoring and Mastery
• Chapter 6. Specialty Strategies for Problem-Solving Courses: Interleaving, Self-Explanation, and Worked Examples
• Chapter 7. When to Use Highlighting, Rereading, Summarizing, and Imagery
• Chapter 8. A Quick Look at Something New: Mixing and Matching

III. Beyond the Classroom

• Chapter 9. The A(ffect), B(ehaviors), and C(ognitions) of Champions

Appendix. Championship Practice Exercises

Glossary

References

Index

About the Authors

Regan A. R. Gurung, PhD, is professor of psychological science and associate vice provost and executive director for the Center for Teaching and Learning, Oregon State University.

Winner of the American Psychological Foundation’s Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award and the U.S. Professors of the Year (Wisconsin) Award, Dr. Gurung is a social psychologist whose work focuses on improving teaching and learning.

He is past President of Psi Chi and the Society for Teaching of Psychology, and has published over 120 articles in peer-reviewed journals and coauthored/coedited 15 books.

Visit Regan A. R. Gurung, PhD onlineopens in new window and follow him on Twitteropens in new window.

John Dunlosky, PhD, is professor and director of SOLE Center in Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University.

Dr. Dunlosky's research program has focused on understanding three inter-related components of self-regulated learning: (1) monitoring of learning, (2) control of study time, and (3) the application of strategies during learning. These three components of learning fall under the rubric of metacognition, which concerns people's cognition or beliefs about their cognitions.

By studying metacognition in students across the life span, a major goal of all facets of his research involves developing techniques to improve student learning and achievement across multiple domains.

This book should be essential reading for high school and college students, among others. The authors, both experts in their field, write in an informal way about how to plan to study, how to study, and how to assess the effects of study to prepare for evaluations. Reading this book will prepare students to master various types of subject matter in any level of education.
—Henry L. Roediger, III, PhD, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO

Regan Gurung and John Dunlosky, two leaders in the field of how people learn and what they can do to make learning last, have written a gem of a book for everyone who wants learning to be easier, more effective, and longer lasting. This book will pay lifelong dividends for everyone who wants to learn.
—Diane F. Halpern, PhD, Professor Emerita, Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, CA

This is the perfect book to help undergraduate students learn to learn without excess baggage. The book is clear, concise, and focused, and the authors—two scholar–teachers—write in an engaging, accessible style that will help readers master practices and strategies that really do work. Teachers of introductory-level courses: Take note!
—Dana S. Dunn, PhD, Professor of Psychology, Moravian University, Bethlehem, PA