Are students doing what is required to get them where they want to go?This book gets students to ask and answer this vital question.  Written by a master teacher, the 2nd edition of Study Skills: Do I Really Need This Stuff?  makes potentially difficult and dry subject matter come alive by integrating two critical themes for student and life success: critical thinking and personal choice.  Each study skill is introduced and built on specific standards of critical thinking, and then the reader immediately practices the study skills they need for academic success.  The second theme, personal choice, reinforces responsible decision making and follow-through to put potential and ambition into action.  Ambition is the desire; potential the ability; initiative is the doing.  Effective study skills will empower students to do what is needed to master their course requirements and this book will provide the necessary tools!

Table of Contents:
(Note:  Each chapter contains the features Spotlight On Classroom Skills, Preview, Key Terms, Chapter Introduction, Chapter Summary, and Reality Check)   Introduction:  The Choices You Make 1.    Setting the Stage: What’s On Your Mind? What Do You think of When You Hear the Term Study Skills? What Is On Your Mind? Is There a Common Thread to These Chapters? 2.    Critical Thinking: How Will Higher-Order Thinking Skills Improve Academic Success? Defining Critical Thinking Higher-Order Thinking Skills Using Higher-Order Thinking Skills Adapting Old Skills to New Situations: Making Choices 3.    Goal Setting: If You Know What You Want to Do, Why Do You Need to Read About Goal Setting? Motivation Goal Setting 4.    Organizing Time and Space: How Will These Skills Improve Academic Performance and Reduce Your Stress? Organization and Time Organization and Space Organization and Stress 5.    Learning Styles: How Will Knowing Your Learning Style Help With Your Studies? One Size Does Not Fit All Why Now? Thinking: How Do You Process Information? 6.    Class Time: How Can You Be More Successful During Class Time? Do I Know What the Instructor Is Doing in Front of the Room? Do I Know What I Am Doing in the Back of the Room? Note Taking as an Active Learning Strategy 7.    Note taking: How Will Effective Notes Help You Understand Class Material? Learning While Taking Notes Learning After You Have Taken Your Notes: ROI Using Your Notes to Understand the Big Picture Additional Out-of-Class Strategies to Improve Your Notes 8.    Reading: You Have to Read 1,000 Pages By When? Do You Know Why You Read an Assignment? How to Complete a Textbook Reading Assignment Additional Strategies for Reading Success      9.    Memory: Why Do You Forget--And What Can You Do About It? Noticing the Information Storing the Information You Have Noticed Reclaiming the Information You Have Stored 10.  Test Taking: How Can You Improve Your Test-Preparation and Test-Performance Skills? What Test-Taking Skills Do You Possess? Test Anxiety Additional Test-Taking Strategies 11.  Information Literacy: How Can You Use Information and Technology For Your Benefit? Four Simple Steps to Completing an Assignment in an Information Literate Manner Responsibilities of the Information Age 12.  Civility: How Can Working with Others Affect Your Academic Success? Emotional Intelligence Working with People Interpersonal Relationships: How to "Play Nice" with Other People Are You Really Listening, or Just Talking? Conflict Management 13.  The Choices You Make: How Do Your Current Decisions Affect Your Future? The Choices You Make Where Have You Been--And What Have You Done? References Problem-Solving Index Subject Index