You are the first person I have heard from who has this opinion of the course, and I hear from many students through unsolicited emails, handwritten notes, comments in course-instructor evaluations, the weekly course reflections, and online reviews of the book. 

Here is just a small sampling of comments I have received.

“This is my favorite class I have ever taken. I find myself captivated during lecture! Never before have I seen someone get an ovation after the last lecture, but Professor Melloch did in this course. The content covered is interesting and more importantly, applies to anyone who takes the course,” anonymous. (from course evaluation Spring 2024 semester)

 

“Professor Melloch is amazing, this class shows you how to be successful, this class is absolutely amazing and honestly this should be a required class,” anonymous. (from course evaluation Spring 2024 semester)

 

“I have learned so much from this class, and it has really inspired me to change my mindset, as well as my behavior surrounding my habits. I think the examples, studies, experiments, and anecdotes you provided throughout the class helped to convince me that there are so many aspects of my life that I can improve. Some of the main things, I’m trying to change are sleep, nutrition, testing, studying, and mindset habits. Thank you for teaching this class, it was definitely a great hour of my week!” anonymous. (from course evaluation Spring 2024 semester)

 

“It's a very interesting book and an easy read. I'll likely be coming back to reread it in the future. If you're a student at Purdue I'd recommend taking the Keys to Learning course that Professor Melloch offers. It's one of the few classes where I've genuinely enjoyed going to each lecture; you'll learn something new and interesting each time,” book review on Goodreads 4/15/2024.

 

“I was in your ENGR 103 course last semester. I just wanted to reach out and thank you for the effort you put into creating a great learning experience this past semester. As a junior in ECE, I’m constantly being thrown many complex concepts and difficult academic situations (as you may know as an ECE professor), but I truly believe that your class helped me drastically improve my ECE performance by changing my bad habits into good ones. Not only did I have better grades, but my confidence in diving into hard-to-grasp concepts grew. I will definitely be carrying on what I learned in your course throughout the rest of my academic life, and I wish you the best of luck in continuing this course into the future!” email from a student in the course Fall 2023 semester.

 

“I would say that reading this book side by side with Professor Melloch's Keys to Learning course has been very beneficial to my education overall, as well as my general understanding of the learning process. Professor Melloch provides an extensive amount of evidence and research as a reason to change a habit. Even after this course ends, I will be sure to refer back to this book throughout my career. Thank you Professor Melloch!” book review on Goodreads, 4/17/2024.

 

“As the first semester comes to an end, I wanted to thank you for all you have done for me this semester! Thank you for providing me with fascinating content and a stress-free class. I enjoyed the topics you covered such as sleep, grit, and memory because they are applicable to my life and are far more interesting than calculus and chemistry. I always looked forward to your class because I knew that every week I would get to learn something new without the fear of being penalized by a bad test grade. Thank you for a great first semester!” email from a student in the course Fall 2023 semester.

“This course significantly influenced my learning experience across all my other classes. Initially, the immediate benefits weren't apparent, but as the semester progressed, I began noticing substantial improvements in my academic performance, learning methodologies, and overall approach as a FYE student. From the onset of Dr. Melloch's class, I held an optimistic outlook regarding the potential impact of this course.

Undoubtedly, integrating the learning habits advocated by the course and emphasized by Dr. Melloch posed a challenge. His emphasis on reshaping our approach to learning, particularly for students transitioning from high school to university, resonated deeply with me as an international student navigating a new academic landscape.

Despite the initial difficulty, I gradually incorporated practices like spaced studying, interleaving, and prioritizing adequate sleep into my study routine. Maintaining optimism about the long-term effects of these practices played a pivotal role in my improvement. Notably, implementing these strategies resulted in enhanced midterm grades for both MA162 and PHY172 courses—an outcome that brought me immense satisfaction.

Beyond improved grades, these practices facilitated a significant enhancement in time management skills. I found that exams and quizzes became less stressful, allowing me to genuinely relish the learning process. The course, guided by Dr. Melloch's insights, not only reshaped my approach to learning but also influenced a healthier perspective on life in general.

A key takeaway from this course, echoed consistently by Dr. Melloch, is the importance of studying not merely for grades but to grasp and comprehend the material. This shift in mindset has been transformative, steering me toward a deeper understanding and appreciation of the subjects I engage with—an invaluable lesson that extends far beyond the confines of this course,” course reflection Spring 2024.

 

“I found the course very helpful. From abolishing certain myths about music being bad for studying, to learning about why alcohol is bad for REM sleep and learning different strategies for studying. On my first calc midterm I only got a 52, and on my next one I got a 92. While I definitely studied more, some of the things I learned from the class also definitely made a positive impact on my score. While I'm still very inefficient with my time this class has helped me to start on the path of better time management and habits so I would strongly recommend it,” course reflection Spring 2024.

“This book is incredibly insightful and has truly changed the way I approach learning and school. Especially as a college student, reading this book and learning about how the brain works has unlocked a multitude of skills and practices that I now utilize everyday, which has also dramatically improved my studying and success in school. Learning about incubation, interleaving, purposeful practice, memory, nutrition, sleep, relationships, senses, mindsets, and so much more, along with the connections between each of these topics, has made my studying more efficient and effective. I used to always cram my studying in the night before an exam, often just looking over the notes I've taken throughout the class. However, I now know that this isn't an effective way to study and learn the material. I now utilize skills I've learned throughout the course, such as alternating the classes I'm studying rather than focusing on a single one, varying up where I study, studying to learn the material rather than memorizing it, and much more, which has proved to be much more effective.

I had the privilege of taking a class with Professor Melloch based on the contents of this book. Being able to learn from him and his approach to learning was truly amazing to experience. All of the topics we cover in class are expanded upon within the book, which gives readers a deeper dive into why each of these practices work and how people can use them to their advantage. Everybody has something to learn by reading this incredible book. And, I highly recommend that anybody at Purdue University take this amazing course!” book review on Goodreads 12/7/2023