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  • Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success: A Self Management Approach (2nd ed.)
  • Ricardo Montelongo
Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success: A Self Management Approach (2nd ed.) Myron H. Dembo Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., 2004, 128 pages, $34.50 (softcover)

As the identified "learning specialist" in my office, I rely on the idea of "learning how to learn" when working with students to develop successful academic strategies. I stress to students that subject mastery is not gained from one visit in my office, but requires a continuing process of comprehension. Upon hearing this approach, some students are perplexed that developing good quality study skills demands much labor and reflection on their part. Myron H. Dembo's, Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success: A Self-Management Approach, attempts to explain why this is necessary by revealing the complexity and seriousness involved with college learning. After reading and using this book, students will appreciate the demanding process required to identify and change behaviors that impede academic success.

The dissection of "learning how to learn" is the central focus of Dembo's book. Using a model of academic self-management put forward by Zimmerman and Risemberg (1997), a comprehensive list of six components that cultivate learning—motivation, methods of learning, time management, physical and social environment, and performance—provide a framework for successful learning and motivational strategies. By combining theoretical explanations of cognitive psychology with hands-on activities that allow practical applications, Dembo provides a multifaceted approach to improve academic behavior. The book is sectioned into four distinct teaching units: a theoretical foundation, motivational strategies, behavioral strategies, and learning and study strategies.

The first three chapters that comprise unit 1 offer the theoretical foundations of the book. Chapter 1, "Academic Self-Management," describes the aforementioned six components that affect academic achievement levels. Chapter 2, "Understanding Learning and Memory" discusses the flaws apparent in human memory and why it is important to have a variety of learning strategies for different material. Chapter 3, "Understanding Motivation," closes this unit by explaining the external and internal factors influencing human motivation.

In unit 2, chapters 4 and 5 provide information on managing motivational strategies. Chapter 4, "Goal Setting," focuses on how students can establish personal goals and effective plans to attain these goals. Chapter 5, "Management of Emotion and Effort" explains the importance of creating positive beliefs and using stress reduction techniques to attain goals.

Unit 3 describes behavioral strategies in chapters 7 and 8. Chapter 7, "Time Management," is probably the most familiar strategy to students and the chapter gives a comprehensive overview of how to analyze and develop a time management system. Chapter 8, "Management of Physical and Social Environment," describes the impact that a student's study environment has on learning outcomes and importance of seeking academic [End Page 701] help and study groups.

Unit 4 (the last four chapters) emphasizes practical applications of the previous units and applies them to specific areas in the academic learning process. Chapter 9, "Learning from Textbooks," chapter 10, "Learning from Lectures", chapter 11, "Preparing for Exams," and chapter 12, "Taking Exams," all provide helpful hints on how to maximize the amount of information learned and how each interacts in successful strategies. A useful guide for a self-management study of academic behavior is provided in the appendix to assist students further.

Motivation and Learning Strategies for College Success: A Self-Management Approach can be a beneficial resource for academic support staff looking to improve their study skill courses for academic probation and reinstated students. Dembo takes this subject seriously and believes that these courses are successful both for students and campuses when they are "conducted like a 'real' academic course and not as a remedial experience" (p. xvi). Taking into account this perspective, students will have a basic theoretical understanding of learning principles and will know how to construct their own academic success strategies from the numerous exercises and follow-up activities based on these principles.

The book is also a valuable reference for practitioners in summer college transition programs and first-year college experience programs. I especially recommend this book for federal TRIO programs serving first-generation college students. Treating...

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