On Course Study Skills Plus Edition 3rd Edition

On Course: Strategies for Creating Success in College and in Life — Study Skills Plus Edition, Third Edition by Skip Downing — Published by Cengage Learning

Created for educators who would like to promote student growth and self-awareness while providing more extensive instruction in study skills, this edition retains the powerful guided journal entries from the original On Course text to encourage students to explore essential life skills such as personal responsibility, self-motivation, interdependence, and self-esteem. The Study Skills Plus edition engages students in a learner-centered construction of study skills knowledge and gives them practice in applying empowerment strategies.

A self-assessment at the beginning of the text helps students identify behaviors and beliefs they may wish to change in order to achieve more of their potential in college and in life. Through short articles and distinctive guided journal entries, the author encourages students to explore and develop eight keys to success: personal responsibility, self-motivation, self-management, interdependence, self-awareness, lifelong learning, emotional intelligence, and self-esteem. A "Toolbox for Active Learners" provides extensive study skills instruction — covering note-taking, reading comprehension, memory strategies, test preparation, and time management — grounded in a learner-centered approach that builds both competence and confidence.

Skip Downing is an international consultant in the field of faculty development and student success strategies. He holds advanced degrees in English and counseling psychology, with degrees from Princeton University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Santa Monica, and Carnegie Mellon University. He was a professor of English at Baltimore City Community College for 32 years, where he also created and coordinated the college's Student Success and Learning Community Programs — programs that produced significant increases in both student academic success and retention.