By Sydnie Harrell, Office of Undergraduate Studies at Texas A&M University
With the new year comes an opportunity for setting resolutions and achieving goals. If you’re trying to change the way you learn, become more motivated about your academics and boost your GPA, check out these books geared toward accomplishing your 2022 goals.
1. “Atomic Habits” – James Clear
Through sharing his personal experiences with habit-building, author James Clear describes how small, atomic changes can help you reach your potential. He presents a four-step model of habits, cue, craving, response and reward, and explains how you can improve your everyday life by forming good habits and breaking bad ones.
If you want to improve your time management skills, sleeping habits or become a better version of yourself, this read will help you achieve those goals one step at a time.2. “Teach Yourself How to Learn” – Saundra McGuire
Students are constantly taught what to learn but rarely are they taught how to learn. Author Saundra McGuire addresses this issue by proposing strategies to help you efficiently learn material. Along with metacognition and Bloom’s Taxonomy, McGuire explains that understanding your emotions and motivation plays a big role in your success.
If you’re searching for study habits that will move you towards your desired GPA this semester and you want to improve your mindset towards your academics, this is a read tailored to you.3. “The A Game” – Kenneth Sufka
By giving real-life examples of students who struggled with their grades and explaining how they overcame those struggles, author Kenneth Sufka breaks down the process to follow to make better grades into nine steps. The straightforward process will help you prepare for class, avoid all-nighters and teach you test-taking strategies.
Whether your goal is to increase your GPA or maintain the average you already have, this book will help you do so in less than ten steps.4. “Make It Stick ” – Peter Brown, Mark McDaniel, and Henry Roediger III
If you find yourself rereading your notes and textbooks repeatedly but still not understanding the topics you’re trying to learn, then you might be stuck believing in the myth that re-reading is an effective strategy. These three authors examine this ineffective method and provide strategies that are proven to be more beneficial in learning successfully.
From practicing retrieval to embracing difficulties, this book can help you achieve your goal of making good grades while encouraging you to learn material instead of memorizing it.5. “Becoming a Master Student” – Dave Ellis
A bit different than the traditional academic success books, this book includes journal entries and hands-on activities to help you become a master student. Author Dave Ellis talks about what a master student is like, how to discover yourself, how to tackle time management and how to take notes and tests.
Make 2022 the year you become a master student by reading this book and practicing critical thinking through the interactive strategies found in the text.6. Additional recommendations:
- “How We Learn ” – Benedict Carey
- “The Power of Habit ” – Charles Duhigg
- “The Willpower Instinct” – Kelly McGonigal
- “Orientation to College Learning” – Dianna L. Van Blerkom
- “How to Become a Straight-A Student” – Cal Newport