College Study Skills

Dianna Van Blerkom, a University of Pittsburgh educator, built this textbook around a simple conviction: students who understand how they learn do better than students who just study harder. The metacognitive thread running through the book — self-assessment quizzes, journal prompts, discipline-spanning practice passages — sets it apart from rote how-to guides that just list strategies. Coverage is thorough: time management, note-taking, memory, reading, and test prep are all here. The caveat is that its bones are showing; digital learning environments, online courses, and AI tools have reshaped the college experience since the early 2000s, and the text doesn't address them. As a foundational college success course text, though, the core skills it teaches remain as relevant as ever.