This was an interesting book. I definitely understand the motivation and methods for studying better however the book felt quite dense and unapproachable. Often the writing was like it was made for other people who would understand the advanced concepts than a student. I have friends that read self help books like this even though they're already miles ahead, probably the reason they are, and that's who this book feels like it's written for them rather than someone already behind. Do I believe someone could use this to turn their studying around? Yes, but it would take a lot of hard work.

STUDY LIKE A CHAMP by Regan A. R. Gurung and John Dunlosky is subtitled "The Psychology-Based Guide to 'Grade A' Study Habits." And while the information might be helpful (more on that in a moment), the text fails to offer an attractive cover or a truly compelling message. The New York Times recently published a guest opinion piece by Jonathan Malesic which commented on how important the desire to learn truly is. Honestly, it seems rarer and rarer as students (and their parents) chase grades instead of learning for its own sake. Gurung and Dunlosky, psychology professors at Oregon State and Kent State, respectively, had an opportunity to address this trend and failed. 

They do cite work by John Hattie which reinforces the importance of self-motivation and the way in which a student approaches studying. However, STUDY LIKE A CHAMP itself is written as though the intended audience is other psychologists (maybe some teachers or education administrators would be curious, but even they would likely tire of slogging through this text). Even though Gurung and Dunlosky say "you" (seemingly addressing student readers) frequently, this manuscript is not geared to a middle or high school student. Explicitly modeling a poor writing style and dryly explaining metacognition or the cycle of self-regulation (in a figure without a memorable diagram) are not going to attract converts amongst the many students struggling with building better study skills. The authors need crisper language and at least some images to attract attention – the preview text references Table 1.1 (a summary of key skills?), but it is not provided. There is a Figure 1.1 and an Exhibit 1.1 which again gives a subtle clue as to how research oriented and unengaging this supposed study guide is. There are attempts to be helpful such as ending each chapter with a summary, plus flowery "key training tips" and "go for the gold with advanced reading." However, consider Chapter 2's suggestion: a thirty-four page scholarly article in the Journal of Educational Psychology. Really?!

We know (especially given disruptions driven by COVID) that students need help/guides/tools now more than ever. Other publishers (e.g., Adams Media, Crown, DK, Lerner and more) produce books on study skills, many of which have real-world contributions from educators. STUDY LIKE A CHAMP is a disappointment; even this short 2020 article (link below), also published by the American Psychological Association, is a more accessible overview. Turn instead to Outsmart your Brain by Daniel Willingham (review forthcoming). 

Related Links:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/03/opinion/college-learning-students-success.html
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274741568_The_applicability_of_Visible_Learning_to_higher_education
https://www.apa.org/ed/precollege/psychology-teacher-network/introductory-psychology/study-better

This practícal and engaging has been such a good refresher of study concepts I should implement in my academic life, They book is written in a entertaining format with cute images. I recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley, the authors, and the publisher for this ARC! I liked this book a lot. I thought it was nicely structured and well written, and I enjoyed the callouts and self-assessments in the chapters. My favorite parts of this book were the key tips and extra readings at the end of each chapter and the visual summary of the concepts. The visual summary of the chapter concepts really made this book stand out to me as a reference for students to use related to studying. However, it did get a bit dense at times and read like research rather than something that might catch students' attention. Overall, a good read filled with lots of information and actionable tips.

This book has a lot of great tips to help students study. I like how the book is so detailed and has lots of different strategies for different people. Definitely something that I would use to help my kids study!

Thanks to the publisher for the arc.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Study Like A Champ was comprehensive, had a great and accessible tone, and offered some great tips. I liked the feedback provided on popular methods I had heard about!

This one didn’t live up to my expectations. As a former teacher and lifelong student I like hearing better ways to study. But some of the ways the knowledge is presented takes the fun out of learning. There weren’t enough photos and it’s all just a blob of text (at least in the advanced copy). It feels inaccessible to students who would need it. Shorter chunks, varied texture sizes and pictures would be great helps. It also had a lot of contradictory info in it (ex. You’ve heard this fact? Wrong. This one? Wrong.), which makes it really confusing.