Student Success Secrets
by Eric Jensen
List Price:
Our Price: $2.45
You Save: $7.54 (75%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Eric JensenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-01
ISBN: 0764120077
Number of pages: 244
Publisher: Barron's Educational Series
Book Reviews of Student Success Secrets
Book Review: The three books which have influenced my understanding of effective studying during the early years!
Summary: 4 Stars
1) Student Success Secrets (1979), by Eric Jensen;
2) You Can Succeed: The Ultimate Study Guide for Students (1979), by Eric Jensen;
3) B's & A's in 30 Days: Strategies for Better Grades in College (1994), by Eric Jensen;
Over the last two decades & within the realm of study strategies, I have amassed a vast repertoire of books & resources on the subject. They cover a very comprehensive & broad academic range from young children through teen/college students all the way to university/matured students. This is attributed to my deep personal interest in understanding the `concept of studying' as well as my relentless search for the `study smart process'. Many of the ideas & techniques have been adapted & put to work in my own public workshops as well as in collaborative school projects.
Amidst the many books I have owned & read about the study process, only a few of them have been my personal favourites. They include: Walter Pauk's 'How to Study in College' (1974), Adam Robinson's `What Smart Students Know: Maximum Grades. Optimum Learning, Minimum Time' (1993) & William Armstrong's `Study Is Hard Work: The Most Accessible and Lucid Text Available on Acquiring & Keeping Study Skills Through a Lifetime' (1995).
However, there are three books which have influenced my understanding during the very early years. They are listed above.
The decisive factor in acquiring all the three early books, by Eric Jensen, more or less lies in his impressive track record in education. As a teacher in the middle schools, he co-founded the internationally-acclaimed SuperCamp, a residential summer camp for teens, pre-teens and college-age students, with Bobbi dePorter in the early eighties.
[In the late seventies, Bobbi studied with Dr Georgi Lozanov, father of accelerated learning, & applied the innovative methods to her highly-successful, but now-defunct, Burklyn Business School. Seeing an urgent need to teach school children how to learn, she later applied the techniques in SuperCamp, a youth program. In the years since, SuperCamp has helped over 45,000 students re-learn how they learn & reshape how they live their lives.]
Eric left a few years later to create Turning Point for Teachers, a training outfit applying the innovative accelerated learning techniques to teaching staff development, which eventually become Jensen Learning, a consultancy outfit. The specialty of Jensen Learning is the integration of brain research into practical, user-friendly training applications & it has trained more educators/teachers in brain- based learning than anyone else in the world with over 50,000 graduates. He also subsequently wrote more than two dozen books about how to apply brain science to learning & education, including `Super-Teaching' & `Teaching with the Brain in Mind'.
All Eric's early three book as mentioned above essentially focus on the development of effective study strategies.
`Student Success Secrets' is primarily targeted at younger students, whereas `B's & A's in 30 Days' is catered more for college students. To me, `You can Succeed' is a condensed version of the first book with a more crisp writing to cater for high school students. This book is packaged like a handy pocket guide.
All the three book share these common features:
- An illustration of the author's sure-fire study process, even though I feel it applies more specifically to only reading, which is one vital component of the entire process. [In `Student Success Secrets', the author breaks it down to 1) Prepare Your Mind; 2) Ask Questions; 3) Gather Information; & 4) Evaluate Your Understanding. In the second book, the author tweaks it a little bit: 1) Browse; 2) Prepare; 3) Read; 4) Review & Check; & 5) Recall. In the third book, it's 1) Pre-study; 2) Ask Questions; 3) Gather Information; & 4) Evaluate/Correct. In reality, these are playful variations of the original SQ3R reading methodology created by Francis Robinson in the late forties.]
- Review points at the end of every chapter;
- Amusing cartoon illustrations to keep readers' mood appropriately light;
In `Student Success Secrets', I believe the first four chapters of the book, particularly, Chapter 2: Success Habits, provide an excellent preamble for readers. Strategy-wise, it is jam-packed with more than a hundred practical, time-saving tips. I like the author's `Stop & Take Action' at the end of each chapter. I reckon his timely use of Jane Roberts' quotation in the prologue:
"There are no limitations to the self. There are no limitations to its potential. You can adopt artificial limitations through ignorance."
is a very meaningful gesture.
My most favourite chapter in the book is the last chapter, i.e. Chapter 13: The 1% Secret. Here the author talks about the importance of taking baby steps & making incremental changes in your skills & attitude, coupled with affirmations & positive suggestions. This certainly helps to narrow the knowing-doing gap in learning & performance.
In `You Can Succeed', the Daily Scroll & the sample Self-Improvement Contract' in the introductory pages are useful tools to help readers to get started in developing effective study strategies.
In terms of breadth & depth of coverage, the other two books, namely, `Student Success Secrets' & `B's & A's in 30 Days', stand out comparatively better than this one.
Unlike the first two books, thirty short, entertaining instructive chapters are organised specifically in `B's & A's in 30 Days' to create an unique thirty day format of structured daily "learning menu" for readers. Application-wise, the reader can implement specific action one day at a time. This is really great!
One thing that strikes me most about Eric in all his writings is his uncanny ability to communicate eloquently in plain language with readers. He can write about (more specifically, talk to readers), from the most mundane stuff like reading & gathering information from a passage to the more complex stuff like understanding the impact of neurons on learning. Today, he is recognized as one of the leading translators of educational neuroscience in the world.
On the flip-side, one vital component of the `study process' is missing in all the foregoing three books. It pertains to lesson revision & rehearsal as a preparatory step to test/exam preparation. From my work with students, I find this step to be very significant in helping students to consolidate &/or recapitulate what they have learned prior to taking a test/exam. This step often helps to moderate the students' test/exam anxiety.
[To me, the `Study Smart Process' involves ten requisite steps or components:
- Goal setting;
- Time management;
- Active Reading;
- Information Gathering;
- Taking & Making Notes;
- Organising Information for fast Recall;
- Lesson Revision & Rehearsal;
- Test/Exam Preparation;
- Creative & Logical Writing;
- Stress Management/Energy Engineering;]
-
In the case of the first & last book, the last component or step in the process, i.e. stress management, is given only perfunctory treatment by the author. For some reasons, it is missing from the second book. In the case of `Student Success Secrets', Eric talks very briefly about `Eat Smarter' but offers limited advice on `Reduce Study Stress' in Chapter 2. Likewise, in `B's & A's in 30 Days', the author's advice on `Handling Stress' is seemingly sketchy.
Summary of Student Success Secrets
Updated so that it speaks to today's students, this long-time Barron's bestseller presents strategies to improve test scores, a plan to help students develop regular and effective study habits, tips on retaining information from their reading, and methods for taking useful classroom notes. They will also find advice on getting the most out of library and computer research facilities. Here is a book that will help students foster the habit of success in all academic subjects.Children's Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Children's Books
Looking for Bobowicz: A Hoboken Chicken Storyby Daniel Pinkwater
HarperCollins; Published: 2004-06-01; Library Binding; Book
Best price: $4.98
Price in other shops:
The Magician's Nephew, Color Gift Edition (Narnia)by C. S. Lewis
HarperCollins Narnia; Published: 2003-10-28; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $2.48
Price in other shops:
My Book About Me (Beginner Books)by Dr Seuss
Harpercollins; Published: 1983-03-24; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.75
Call of the Wild (Hrw Classics Library)by Jack London
Holt Rinehart and Winston; Published: 1997-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $0.32
Price in other shops:
Apple Valley Yearby Ann Turner
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1993-09-30; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
The Tales of Olga da Polgaby Michael Bond
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; Published: 1989-04-30; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $83.57
The Complete Chronicles of Narniaby C. S. (Clive Staples) Lewis
HarperCollins Children's Books; Published: 2006-11; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops:
How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?by Jane Yolen
Harpercollins Childs; Published: 2004-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.60
Oh, The Places You'll Go!by Dr Seuss
HARPER COLL CHILDREN; Published: 2003; Paperback; Book
Loraxby Dr Seuss
HARPER COLL CHILDREN; Published: 2004; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Movie Tie-in Edition (Narnia)by C. S. Lewis
HarperFestival; Published: 2005-10-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.98
Price in other shops:
The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNAby James D. Watson
Touchstone; Published: 2001-06-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.40
Price in other shops:
The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil Warby Michael Shaara
Ballantine Books; Published: 1996-07-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.74
Price in other shops:
SOAR Study Skillsby Susan Kruger Woodcock
Grand Lighthouse Publishers; Grand Lighthouse Publishers; Published: 2006-09-20; Perfect Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.40
Price in other shops:
Building Power in Reading and Writingby Henry I. Christ
Amsco School Pubns Inc; Published: 1989-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.54
Price in other shops:
The Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt (Landmark Books)by Elizabeth Payne
Random House; Random House Books for Young Readers; Published: 1981-02-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.38
Price in other shops:
B's and A's in 30 Days: Strategies for Better Grades in Collegeby M.A. Eric Jensen, Tom Kerr
Barron's Educational Series; Published: 1997-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $130.06
The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War (Modern Library)by Michael Shaara
Modern Library; Published: 2004-11-02; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.18
Price in other shops:
Preyby Michael Crichton
Harper; Published: 2008-10-28; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.57
Price in other shops:
What Smart Students Know: Maximum Grades. Optimum Learning. Minimum Time.by Adam Robinson
Three Rivers Press; Published: 1993-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.49
Price in other shops: