Why Do College Students Work Hard, Make Good Grades and Learn So Little?

ALBANY, N.Y. - March 3, 2015 - PRLog -- Derek Bok, former president of Harvard wrote “Many students graduate college today… without being able to write well-enough to satisfy their employers…reason clearly, or perform competently in analyzing complex problems.”

One of the main problems is that students begin college with poor study skills and habits.  They don’t have time-management skills, they don’t know how to take notes or write an essay. They cram for tests sometimes believing that if they start learning too early, they’ll forget it before the test. They don’t understand that cramming is he least effective strategy, that with cramming, they will soon forget nearly everything.

Some of these students make good grades, but they don’t get an education.  They memorize facts but don’t really understand.  Tested again weeks after the exam, many of these students remember very little.  Making this problem even worse, many popular books on study skills focus on getting straight A’s rather than getting a good education.

Straight A’s Are Not Enough takes a radically different approach. Based on the belief that learning is more important than grades, it suggests that students define for themselves what kind of education they want and need and plan how they will get that education.

Students who take charge of their own education are self-motivated. Instead of learning what a professor might consider important, student focus on what they consider important. Instead of seeing their college years as something to get through, they are excited about having such wonderful opportunities to learn. While getting a great education, they will still make top grades and they will learn the skills employers want most.

This well-researched book makes the research sound fascinating. There are stories about monkeys who loved doing  puzzles and stories about why 5000 girls every year don’t get the credit they deserve for AP Calculus. There are personal stories, vivid metaphors, and even comic strips – all designed to help readers understand how to get that great education.

Judy Fishel is an award-winning science and math teacher who went from asking how to learn more in college to asking how she could help her students learn more effectively. Her efforts led to twice winning the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics. When she retired, she created two websites on study skills, one for high school and one for college students. As she discovered even more exciting research on how we learn, she knew she needed to write a book, a book that could help students be more excited about learning and to get the kind of great education  they need.

While intended for college students, many high school students will find it useful, and readers of any age who are interested in how we learn will also find it interesting. The book would be a great gift for students graduating from high school and getting ready to leave for college.

Straight A’s Are Not Enough will be published on April 28, 2015. I will be available for 17.95 from most bookstores, online or from the distributor, Pathway Book Service at 800-345-6665.