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Student Success & Career Development

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Learning to Learn: The Skill and Will of College Success, 2/E
Scott W. VanderStoep, Hope College
Paul R. Pintrich

ISBN-10: 0131586068
ISBN-13: 9780131586062

Publisher: Prentice Hall
Copyright: 2008
Format: Paper; 336 pp
Published: 05/07/2007

Suggested retail price: $45.00
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For courses in Learning Strategies, First-Year Seminar, and Study Skills.

 

Using a broad-based approach to college success that is grounded in current theory and research in cognitive and motivational psychology, this text shows students how skill AND will are both necessary for success in learning in college and throughout life. Strategy-based rather than learning-style based, it takes students from where they are currently on the skill-will continuum (high skill, low will; low skill, high will; low skill, low will; or high skill, high will), helps them develop a variety of learning strategies, tells them when to use them, and explains how to generate the energy, desire, and self-confidence to make those strategies work for them. Multiple assessments throughout help students evaluate their progress, and hands-on activities allow them to try out new strategies.  Increased coverage of Life Skills is new to this edition.

  • Customized Learning Instrument—A 67-item diagnostic tool designed specifically to correspond to the chapters in the book. Each segment of the learning inventory provides the reader with an initial assessment each of the areas covered in the book. Students then take the entire instrument again in the final chapter and discover any changes they have experienced from the beginning to the end of the text.
    • Gives students valuable feedback about the various learning and motivational behaviors covered in the text.
  • A focus on skill and will.

    • Shows students that to be successful learners, they must 1) develop skills (e.g., setting goals and plans, trying to enact them, working to become proficient at reading, writing, studying, note taking, and test taking), and 2) strengthen their will (e.g., motivate themselves with different goals, try hard, persist, and find what things motivate them to excellence).

  • Strategy —rather than learning-style—oriented—Takes students from where they are on the skill-will continuum and shows them how to enhance all aspects of their learning and motivational strategies.

    • Shows students that they can improve their learning whether they currently have high skill and low will (i.e., “He is so smart, but he's lazy”), low skill and high will (i.e., “She works really hard, but she's not very smart”), low skill and low will, or high skill and high will.

  • Strategy suggestions--Each chapter contains several practical, straight forward strategy suggestions, all grounded in theory and research (not presented in cookbook/recipe format), but worded in language undergraduates can understand.

    • Helps students improve learning and motivation.

  • Learning activities—Each chapter contains several activities that students complete as they are reading.

    • Gives students a first-hand demonstration of the concepts being discussed, and introduces them to practical ideas for studying and getting motivated for school.

  • Multiple assessments—Students complete the MSLQ in the first and last chapters of the book, and complete a brief self-contained assessment tool in each chapter. Each chapter assessment is accompanied by a brief diagnostic.

    • The MSLQ assessments allow students to assess changes that occurred while they read the book; the chapter assessments give students an overview of their behavior with respect to the chapter topic.

  • Critical thinking about the World Wide Web—Contains strategies to help students become “Web wise”--e.g., for critically evaluating the voluminous information available to them on the Internet.

    • Shows students how to evaluate biases and orientations of news sources and how to understand and interpret information, commerce, and advocacy on the Web.

NEW!  Chapter 5 -- Includes Life Skills. (Ex. pg. 78, 81, 88).

  • Covers various Life Skills: Using the counseling center, healthy living, nutrition, stress management, self-esteem, and other positive psychological virtues.

NEW!  More accessible prose.

  • Previous edition was written at a more advanced undergrad level.  This version has been re-written to be more accessible to the first year college student, without sacrificing its' original flavor.

NEW!  Introduction and Conclusion Chapters -- First and Last chapters modified. (Ex. pg. 1, 271).

  • The beginning and the end of the book now include discussion of library, the role of the advisor, etc.  The first chapter has immediate survival tips for students who feel like they are drowning when they start; the end wraps up with discussion of appropriate topics now that students had progressed through the term.

NEW!  Reduced reference to research.

  • While the book is still based on sound educational and psychological research, it is now running more 'in the background'.  This makes the terminology easier to understand.

NEW!  Self-assessments throughout the book -- The self-assessments have been streamlined.  (Ex. pg. 6-11, 18).

  • A 4-6 item assessment begins each chapter.  These items are also combined into a large assessment that students take at the beginning and end of the book to track progress.

 1. Becoming a Self-Regulated Learner. 

 2. Goal Setting: Preparing to Use Your Skill Components. 

 3. Motivation: Preparing to Use Your Will Components. 

 4. Managing Your Resources I: External Tools. 

 5. Managing Your Resources II: Internal TooIs. 

 6. Improving Your Attention and Memory. 

 7. Improving Your Cognition and Metacognition. 

 8. Taking Notes. 

 9. Improving Your Reading.

10. Improving Your Writing.

 

11. Taking Tests.

12. Critical Thinking.

13. Problem Solving.

14. Conclusion: Assessing Your Progress, Planning Your Future.

 

Appendix: Choosing a Major and Choosing a Career. 

Test-taking is an acknowledged problem area for most students.  Learning to Learn is more comprehensive than other texts and includes more examples.  I was pleased to find the section entitled "Tests as Learning Tools".  The more students are encouraged to see where their instructor is coming from, the better they will be able to adjust to the demands of the course.

--Kathleen McGough, Broward Community College

Learning to Learn: The Skill and Will of College Success

Scott Vanderstoep & Paul Pintrich

 

Grounded in up-to-date research on cognitive and motivational psychology, this text shows students how skill AND will are both necessary to succeed in college and life.  This strategy-based text helps students move along the skill-will continuum by using various learning strategies and generating the energy, desire, and self-confidence to make these strategies work.  Multiple assessment tools throughout help students evaluate their progress; hands-on, real-time activities allow them to try out new strategies.  Chapter 5 provies an in-depth discussion on life skills.

 

Features include:

  • Self-assessment tools throughout the text
  • Revised opening and closing chapters
  • Advice grounded in scientific research
  • Hands-on learning activities 
  • Tips to improve thinking and motivation

View a Sample Chapter PDF: /samplechapter/0131586068.pdf

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