I am a graduate of Williams College and Princeton University and now a professor and former dean of arts and letters at the University of Notre Dame. As dean, I learned that too many of Notre Dame’s students were majoring in business. Invariably, when I asked them about their rationale, they would confess that their favorite courses were in the arts and sciences. They might have followed their passions, I thought, if they and their parents had a deeper sense of the value of a liberal arts education, so I wrote this book to answer their questions and give them justified confidence in the value of liberal arts courses.
I read this book when it came out in 1985, as I was polishing my first book. I recommended it to a senior colleague who had written several books and edited a leading journal. He took it with him to some beach on winter vacation as he was completing his next book. When he returned, he said he was so engrossed in the book that his wife got mad at him for not putting it down. He loved it as much as I did.
If you have mastered this book, your writing will improve dramatically, and you will not need another style manual for the rest of your life.
The essential guide for all writers. With over 700 examples of original and edited sentences, this book provides information about editing techniques, grammar, and usage for every writer from the student to the published author.
When I was an undergraduate, I prepared for exams by reviewing my notes and books. When I was a graduate student, I prepared for exams by thinking through possible questions and answering them in my head.
Which was the best strategy? Brown et al. make clear that self-testing is best.
Testing yourself involves active learning and effortful learning, which are far more likely to stick. The book draws on empirical research to help students (and adults) understand how best to learn.
To most of us, learning something "the hard way" implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head. Drawing on recent discoveries in cognitive psychology and other disciplines, the authors offer concrete techniques for becoming more productive learners.
Memory plays a central role in our ability to carry out complex cognitive tasks, such as applying knowledge to problems never before encountered and drawing inferences from facts already known. New insights…
I wish I could have read this book before I entered college.
Based on in-depth interviews with students at Harvard, Light’s well-written book offers superb academic and personal advice for students entering college and for faculty members who wish to help their students develop.
The book covers the full range of college experience and offers many counter-intuitive insights, including students’ enthusiasm for foreign-language classes, which tend to be small and offer students regular feedback. The anecdotes are, in turn, engaging, surprising, and helpful.
Why do some students make the most of college, while others struggle and look back on years of missed deadlines and missed opportunities? What choices can students make, and what can teachers and university leaders do, to improve more students' experiences and help them achieve the most from their time and money? Most important, how is the increasing diversity on campus-cultural, racial, and religious-affecting education? What can students and faculty do to benefit from differences, and even learn from the inevitable moments of misunderstanding and awkwardness?
From his ten years of interviews with Harvard seniors, Richard Light distills encouraging-and surprisingly…
When students come to college, everything is new. This book offers well-seasoned advice on how to make the most of office hours, how to study effectively, why not to worry about your major or career path too early, and at the same time, how to plan ahead.
Lots of nuts and bolts advice, a perfect high school graduation gift.
The unwritten rules of success that every student must follow to thrive in college
The Secret Syllabus equips students with the tools they need to succeed, revealing the unwritten rules and cultural norms and expectations not included in the official curriculum. Left to figure out on their own how the academic world works, students frequently stumble, underperform, and miss opportunities. Without mastery of the secret syllabus, too many miss out on the full, rich experience available to them in college.
Jay Phelan and Terry Burnham share the essential lessons they have learned from struggling, unfocused students as well as award-winning…
When I heard Ken Bain give a talk on what the best college teachers do, his arguments so impressed me that I changed my syllabus that night before the start of classes the next day.
This book follows a similar model of drawing on interviews to search for best practices. In this case, Bain culls his best practices from interviews with successful college students. From a student’s perspective, reading the book is a bit like speed-dialing peer advice.
Bain devotes an entire chapter to working through failure and spends considerable time on deep versus superficial learning.
"The 'best' students are curious risk-takers who make connections across disciplines. By following those instincts-rather than simply chasing 'success'-the best students achieved it...A wonderful exploration of excellence."-Fortune
"Skillfully weaves together some of the best research about effective learning strategies with moving stories about remarkable life-long learners. Some of them had great teachers. But most of them succeed because of what they did for themselves."-Thomas Luxon, Dartmouth College
"We are always telling students to 'find their passion.' Now we have a book that looks at how that happens...Ken Bain can really tell a story...it is very rare for a book based…
In a world where the value of a liberal arts education is no longer taken for granted, Roche lucidly and passionately argues for its essential importance.
Drawing on more than thirty years of experience in higher education as a student, faculty member, and administrator, Roche deftly connects the broad theoretical perspective of educators to the practical needs and questions of students and their parents.
So many books, so little time! If you're a nonfiction fan, this field guide may help you make better choices about what to read.
Just like a field guide helps you identify plants or birds, this book helps you navigate the rich world of nonfiction. You’ll uncover how your favorite authors break down complex topics, keep you hooked, and forge those deep, personal connections that make their work unforgettable.
Practice spotting techniques "in the wild" and track your responses in the Field Notes. Record your own preferences and favorites in the Field Observations. With this guide by your side, you'll…
Attention nonfiction book lovers, this guide is for you!
If your nightstand is stacked with histories or essays, how-to guides or science books, The Curious Reader’s Field Guide to Nonfiction is going to be your new favorite companion.
Just like a field guide helps you identify plants or birds, this book helps you navigate the rich world of nonfiction. You’ll uncover how your favorite authors break down complex topics, keep you hooked, and forge those deep, personal connections that make their work unforgettable.
More than just a guide—a reading companion
This isn’t just a book you flip through—it’s an interactive…
