How to Become a SuperStar Student, 2nd Edition

In this introductory lecture, students learn what intelligence is, how it reveals itself in multiple ways (including visual, spatial, interpersonal, and logical intelligence), and several characteristics that all great students share.

Students explore three keys to success in the classroom: preparing, participating, and taking good notes. How can they make preparing for class quick and simple? How can they participate in class without looking “dorky”? What are the best ways to take notes while still paying attention to what’s going on in class?

Professor Geisen focuses on the techniques of effective group work. Students discover how to structure their group to use everyone’s strengths; how to avoid the dangers of insensitivity by communicating with tact; and how to reach a consensus using a variety of methods, including dot voting and weighted voting.

By navigating their busy lives more effectively, students can free up more time and space for true learning—and things they really like to do. First, students will bust the myth that multitasking actually works. Then, they’ll develop strategies for planning and prioritizing activities. Finally, they’ll learn some secrets to keeping themselves—and their work—organized.

Here, Professor Geisen gives students tips for creating the perfect study environment, offers them study techniques that fit with their unique learning style, and demonstrates ways to take truly effective notes.

Students take a closer look at play, risk, trust, and other mind-sets needed for creative thinking, as well as practical techniques for brainstorming, using a different viewpoint, and changing their environment.

Students turn to the second half of thinking: critical thinking, where they decide what to do with all their ideas. They explore how to evaluate evidence, recognize bias, distance themselves from emotions, use logic and reasoning, and much more.

The ability to research effectively is a huge factor in students' success. Professor Geisen guides them through the process of pre-searching, searching, evaluating, and organizing. They’ll also get tips for working with the wide range of sources available to the 21st-century student.

Whatever kind of learning style students have, all it takes to strengthen and improve their writing is following a series of guidelines and techniques. They’ll discover the secrets to choosing powerful words, building effective paragraphs, organizing entire essays, spending the right amount of time drafting and editing their work, and more.

Develop an opening hook that takes advantage of a startling image or fact. Organize your speech or presentation the way you would organize a research paper. Make sure to use visual aids sparingly but effectively. These are just three of the many strategies students will find here for delivering dynamic presentations.

In this lecture, students find out what it takes to perform at their best when the stakes are high: taking tests. They’ll learn how to prepare themselves for various types of tests, focus their studying on what they need to know, combat test anxiety, attack tests with a clear strategy, learn from their wrong answers, and more.

Students learn the importance of maintaining balance in their lives. Professor Geisen’s pointed advice includes getting more efficient with their time, cutting back on things that prevent them from achieving their goals, and diving deep into a couple of activities they really love to do.

The most important teacher in a student’s life: his or her parents. Professor Geisen shows you how to become a true learner, why most learning happens outside the classroom, and how you can adapt to the continually changing landscape of 21st-century education.

Approach learning with wisdom from neuroscience and educational research. How do our brains assimilate information? What can you do when your student is out of his or her comfort zone on an assignment? How can you help your student embrace his or her learning style?

Discover how to create the perfect mood, space, and time for your student’s academic success; how to help your student with homework—and how much help to give; and what to do when you don’t have the answers.

Professor Geisen reveals the two foundations of a solid parent-teacher relationship, offers tips to improve communication, and provides options for effectively handling problems and complaints.

How you talk about and expose your student to college makes a huge difference in how he or she approaches this subject. Which post-high-school option is best for your child? What are colleges looking for in applicants? Find the answers to these questions and more.

Professor Geisen offers you candid advice on being the best parent you can be—all from the perspective of his role as a teacher. You’ll find tips and exercises to ensure that you’re inspiring, not forcing, your child to learn and live a responsible life.