What Smart Students Know: Maximum Grades. Optimum Learning. Minimum Time.

Like the other reviewers, I was and am super-impressed with the learning techniques Robinson advocates. A few of the reviewers, however, object that to use all of the techniques requires too much time or effort.These reviewers miss Robinson's primary point: that traditional "learning" methods are boring, time-consuming, AND ineffective. Think of the methods as a football quarter-back's "playbook:" you don't have to run EVERY play in the book in EVERY game. Robinson himself says that the methods do not apply in every course, and that some methods apply more in some types of courses than others. Robinson does NOT tell students to employ ALL the methods ALL the time. Another point I'd like to make is that any new set of learning techniques takes time. Heck, typing took me forever to master; but now that I've invested the time it saves me WAY more than the time I spent learning it. Finally, Robinson's point is that HOWEVER MUCH time you have to devote to your studies, whether it's an hour a day per college course or an hour per week for a high school course -- whatever -- your time is best employed using these methods. If you're short of time, or the test isn't so important, Robinson says to cut back on the methods to fit your time budget and the importance of the test. The more time you have, and the more important the test, the more you should use Robinson's methods. The less time you have, simply cut back. No biggie.Either that, or go back to wasting all your time with the old "learning" methods of rereading your notes ad infinitum until test time.Good luck!

I have been teaching college for 15 years and have always struggled to understand why students do so poorly on assignments. This book opened my eyes - the techniques mirror what I did in school (I thought everyone studied like I did...wrong!). I now use this book in a study skills class I teach. About 95% of my students LOVE this book (and I'm not exaggerating). I think almost all of them have learned something new. In fact many reported that they now feel better about themselves and their grades. Some suggestions are time consuming (and even I would hesitate to do them), but most are little things that students can do to change their habits. He also accurately portrays college professors, textbooks, and the educational system.

Do you have any idea how much easier my life would have been? An incredible book, it points out the irony that of all the things we are taught and study in school the one thing we don't study is perhaps the most important of all: HOW TO STUDY! I am an intelligent person, but I have never done well in school. An occasional A, a more common B, and often Cs or less. What a surprise to read this book and find that I actually have what the author terms the "attitude of a smart student." This attitude is comprised of a love of learning, a willingness to learn, and the knowledge that no one teaches you better than you teach yourself -- because we all learn in different ways, and only we know how we learn best. There is a difference, however, between being a smart person and a smart student. Attitude alone is not enough to succeed in the school game if you do not know all the rules. "A smart student knows that school is a game, but it is an important game," writes the author. And one of the most obvious, and most denied, rules is that there is nothing more subjective and biased than grading. This author points out that grades can even be based on how a student dresses, where a student sits, and the teacher's personal opinion of a student. For example, if you have a good reputation as an "A student" but do the same on a project as someone with a bad reputation as an "F student," you will often be graded according to your earned reputation. "All students make mistakes," teachers will often reason, "This is an `A student' mistake and can be excused." For the student who has established an "F student" reputation, the same mistake will be seen in light of his grade history and he will be graded accordingly. Important in establishing a reputation as a "good student," this author says, is making a good impression early in the course. Dress well, sit near the front of the class, work extra hard on the first few assignments. Teachers are people, people with egos, and they need to be appeased just like anyone else -- which is why arguing openly with teachers, even when you know they are wrong, is not advised unless you want your grade to suffer. Another unwritten rule of school, a philosophy most teachers and institutions are based on but according to the author they would deny, is the idea that students are not even particularly interested in learning. What's more, textbooks are terribly written and are designed for sales: as many texts to as many schools as possible is the objective, not accessibility or user-friendliness, and often not even correct information (texts are plagued with inaccuracies). This results in watered-down, information-dense tomes that are virtually impenetrable and can kill the student's spirit. The author shows us how to get around this by taking a typically boring and hellish passage about igneous rocks and teaching us how to approach the paragraphs. Underlining and highlighting teaches you how to underline and highlight. What yo

I am going to be a first year in medical school in the fall and bought several books to help me get maximum benefit with minimum time spent studying. Because medical school consists of so much material in a short period of time, I needed to learn study techniques that were unlike my old ones-read, take notes, reread until the test. I have read this book and started implimenting the techniques. They really work. I agree that it would be better to start before a semester begins because the techniques are vastly different from how normal students prepare for exams and would be hard to impliment while taking classes. It is well worth it, though, especially if you are in or are planning to go to college or graduate school. It is a must have.