How to Approach Learning

What teachers and students should know about succeeding in school

Academic success is rooted in a number of factors, of which 'intelligence' is only one. Attitude and beliefs, and knowledgeable strategy use, are critical. This is the core message of this collection of articles and research reports on study skills from the author's websites, arranged and edited for greater cohesiveness. Its aim is to describe and provide evidence for concepts and strategies that may change your approach to teaching or studying.

The book contains articles on:

• personal factors that affect academic achievement: motivation, persistence, anxiety, intelligence, self-regulation

• choosing strategies that are effective for the situation

• what 'transfer' is and why it's important

• how experts develop expertise

• the idea of 'desirable difficulties'

• the limits of memorization and rote learning

• some useful strategies in:

  • reading
  • note-taking
  • reaching understanding.

This book is for students who are serious about being successful in study, and teachers who want to know how best to help their students learn.

As always with the Mempowered books, the short book is fully referenced.