Journal on Excellence in College Teaching, Volume 28, Number 3

Students' ability to learn--including a belief in their ability to learn--is vital to success in college. In her exciting book Teach Students How to Learn, Saundra Yancy McGuire (2015) presents metacognitive, motivational, and study strategies for ensuring that students are able to learn effectively in college and, as a result, to succeed academically and achieve their personal and professional goals. As McGuire argues, learning is a two-way street, and there is much both faculty and students can do to ensure academic success. Students may need to develop their ability to think about and process information, their approach to studying and test taking, and their ability to motivate themselves as learners. Faculty may need to alter how we see our students as learners and what we teach them about how to learn. The learning strategies McGuire shares with readers can make the difference in success or failure in college and are especially important for students who arrive on our campuses unprepared for the rigors of college-level work.