On Course, Sixth Edition
Transition Guide
This guide will help instructors who have used the Fifth Edition of On Course transition
smoothly to the new Sixth Edition.
In addition to the regular edition, we are also pleased to announce the publication of the
new On Course, Study Skills Plus Edition, which includes completely revised and unique
coverage of study skills. Using a simple but powerful learning system based on brain
research as well as a critical thinking format (Wise Choice Process), students diagnose their
challenges with each study skill (reading, note taking, studying, memorizing, test taking,
and writing), identify and implement a plan to overcome the problem (using the greatly
expanded offering of learning strategies, examples, and activities provided), and finally,
assess the success of their plan by using the criteria they set for themselves. In this way,
students learn both study skills and a powerful critical thinking process that empowers
them to solve problems in every part of their life: academic, personal, and even professional.
All of your favorite features remain in both textbooks, with updates as noted below.
Design Changes
 New Four-Color Design
Based on feedback from instructors using On Course in their classrooms, a revised design is
a major change to both new editions. Now in four-color, added visual interest will help
students engage even more actively with the text. You will also find On Course cartoons
created specifically for the On Course textbooks by artist Rob Dunalvey. The cartoons
appear throughout the book and are thematically linked with the success strategies being
explored. Plus, they’re fun!
New and Proven Features of the Sixth Edition
• Self-Assessment Questionnaires. On Course begins and ends with a self-assessment
questionnaire. Students have the option of completing the questionnaire either in the text or
online. An advantage of the online version is that it gives students an immediate calculation
of their scores and provides a report that identifies specific strengths and weaknesses within
each area of focus. The self-assessment is available online at the new web sites for the On
Course titles www.cengage.com/success/Downing/OnCourse6e and
www.cengage.com/success/Downing/OnCourseSS. Items in the self-assessment have
been updated from the previous edition to reflect new content.
• NEW! Expanded Coverage of Critical Thinking. When polled, virtually every
college educator agrees that critical thinking is essential for success in college and in life.
The Wise Choice Process in Chapter 2 introduces students to a powerful problem-solving
strategy that begins their learning about Critical Thinking. A new section in Chapter 7 called
Employing Critical Thinking (pages 216-220 in the Sixth Edition, and pages 276-280 in
the Study Skills Plus Edition) guides students through constructing logical arguments,
asking probing questions, and applying critical thinking skills. In a new journal entry on
critical thinking skills (Journal Entry 25), students apply these reasoning skills to create and
analyze persuasive arguments.
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In the Study Skills Plus edition, students use the Wise Choice Process to design their person
academic skills plan; in this way, they learn effective study skills while simultaneously
practicing a powerful critical thinking tool. Throughout both editions, Case Studies for
Critical Thinking give students additional practice in applying critical thinking skills in reallife situations.
• Updated Embracing Change Activities. These activities encourage students to
experiment for a week with one of the specific success strategies they have just learned. In
this way, students assess the results that this new choice created in their life. The
Embracing Change feature now provides more room for students’ responses. Also, this
feature has been relocated to appear before the Wise Choices in College section to bring it to
the student’s attention immediately following the last Journal Entry in the chapter.
• One Student’s Story—More Added! These short essays are authored by students who
used On Course strategies to improve the quality of their college outcomes and experiences.
Each story shows the positive and dramatic results possible when students apply what they
learn in this course to overcome the multitude of challenges that can sabotage success in
college, and beyond. You will now find many of the stories include a picture of the featured
student! With the addition of seven student stories, this edition now offers twenty-three
inspiring student essays.
Ch
One Student’s Story
College Name
Sixth
Edition
page
number
1
2
4
5
Phyllis Honore
Alexsandr Kanevskiy
Jason Pozsgay
Amy Acton
23
42
107
162
6
Sarah Richmond
176
224
6
9
Annette Valle
Stephan J. Montgomery
Cuyahoga Community College, Ohio
Oakland University, Michigan
Oakland University, Michigan
Southern State Community College,
Ohio
Missouri University of Science and
Technology, Missouri
The Victoria College, Texas
Washtenaw Community College,
Michigan
Study
Skills
Plus
Edition
page
number
23
42
135
202
189
285
237
355
• NEW! CORE Learning System. All good learners employ four principles that lead to
deep and lasting learning. In this new feature, students learn how to use these four
principles—Collecting, Organizing, Rehearsing, and Evaluating—to create their own system
for learning any subject or skill. The CORE Learning System is first introduced in Chapter 1
on pages 16-17 in both editions, and is followed by Journal Entry 2 (on page 18). Then, each
of the four components is expanded and reinforced in the Wise Choices in College sections
in Chapters 2-7. In these chapters, students develop a personalized CORE Learning System
that they can use in college and beyond.
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• REVISED and EXPANDED! Wise Choices in College. This feature helps students
learn the essential study skills necessary to succeed in college—reading, note taking,
studying, memorizing, test taking, and writing. New strategies have been added to provide
even more help for deeper learning and better grades. Additionally, you’ll find sections on
learning college customs and making wise choices with money, both important factors for
success in college.
A new introduction to each Wise Choices in College feature helps students connect the study
skill to the CORE Learning System. Additional strategies, examples, and activities have been
added for each study skill.
o Chapter 2 (Effective Reading) includes more strategies for determining key
concepts, main ideas, and supporting details.
o Chapter 3 (Taking Notes) now includes a what to take notes on section and a how
to take notes section with more examples of how to collect information during a
classroom lecture or discussion.
o Chapter 4 (Organizing Study Materials) was revised and moved from Chapter 5 to
Chapter 4 in the 6e and this section now provides numerous effective strategies
for creating study materials that lead to greater understanding of the knowledge
and skills of any academic course.
o Chapter 5 (Rehearsing and Memorizing Study Materials) was revised and moved
from Chapter 7 to Chapter 5 in the 6e and provides numerous strategies for
achieving a deeper, longer-lasting learning of study materials, with added
suggestions for when and how to use memorization skills
o Chapter 6 (Taking Tests) provides more in-depth suggestions for answering
various kinds of test questions and includes a new test-debrief that helps students
learn from their mistakes on a test and use that knowledge to improve later test
scores.
o Chapter 7 (Writing) was moved from Chapter 4 to Chapter 7 in the 6e and gives a
thorough explanation of the writing process, as well as showing students how
they can use writing as a powerful learning tool.
In the Study Skills Plus Edition, the Wise Choices in College feature now employs the six
steps of the Wise Choice Process to empower students to identify their learning problems,
actively choose strategies that will help them, and create an Academic Plan to put those
skills into use and evaluate their success. The result is that students simultaneously learn to
solve their personal study skills problems as they practice a powerful critical thinking
process that helps them solve problems of all kinds: academic, personal or professional. To
learn study skills, students follow the 6-step process outlined below.
Step 1: What is my present situation? To personalize their exploration of each
of the six essential study skills, students begin by identifying any challenges they
have with the learning skill under consideration: reading, taking notes, organizing
study materials, rehearsing and memorizing study materials, taking tests, and
writing. To help them identify their personal challenges, students read six brief case
studies in which other students share the difficulties that they have had with the skill.
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Step 2: How would you like your situation to be? Next, students are guided to
shift their attention from the problem to a solution. To do so, they specify how they
would like to improve the study skill under consideration, including the explicit
outcomes and experiences they want to create by mastering the skill.
Step 3: What are my possible choices? In this step, students learn dozens of the
very best strategies for mastering each study skill. They engage actively with the
information by giving each strategy a grade (A to F) based on how helpful they think
the strategy would be in helping them achieve the goals they defined in Step 2.
Step 4: What’s the likely outcome of each choice? After reading and rating
each strategy, students now review the strategies they rated highest, selecting the
specific ones they believe will help them create the most positive learning outcomes
and experiences.
Step 5: Which choices will I commit to doing? Students are now ready to
design their own personal Academic Skills Plan for the particular study skill they
want to master. Each Academic Skills Plan includes the student’s desired outcomes
and experiences (from Step 2), the specific strategies he or she will implement (from
Steps 3 and 4), and the specific actions her or she will take to improve the skill. As an
example of what such a plan might look like, students read a sample Academic Skills
Plan for one of the case study students whose problem was introduced in Step 1.
Step 6: When and how will I evaluate my plan? Finally, students determine
the date when they will evaluate the success of their Academic Skills Plan and the
specific criteria they will use to assess it.

The Facilitator’s Manual has been thoroughly revised and updated. New activities
have been added to support the instruction of the CORE Learning Process and the
expanded study skills content. There is one Facilitator's Guide that supports both
textbooks. It is available online for download or you can request a printed version here.
Chapter-by-Chapter updates
Listed below are the major changes made to each chapter. You will find that the order of the
chapters has not changed and remains aligned with the 8 Choices of Successful College
Students found on the inside front cover of the textbook.

The Active Learning section was moved from Chapter 7 to Chapter 1 to introduce this
important concept to students earlier in the text.

The CORE Learning System is new to Chapter 1, featuring strategies that are common to
good learners—collecting, organizing, rehearsing, evaluating—and applied to the Wise
Choices in College feature.
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
The self-assessment in Chapters 1 and 9 was revised to match the new content and to
make it easier for students to access and complete. This feature is also available on the
web site for each of the books.

In Chapter 2, revisions to the Making Wise Decisions section were made, including an
improvement in the Wise Choice Process to incorporate a step for evaluating a plan.

Why Learn Study Skills was deleted from Chapter 2.

Expanded coverage of study groups is featured in Chapter 5, in the section labeled Start
a Study Group.

A realignment of study skills affects two chapters. Writing was moved from Chapter 4 to
Chapter 7. Studying was broken into two separate topics: Organizing Study Materials
(Chapter 4) and Rehearsing and Memorizing Study Materials (Chapter 5).

A new section in Chapter 7 is devoted to critical thinking, along with a new journal entry
(24).

In Chapter 7 you will find an easy to read chart of different learning preferences,
showing students all of the characteristics in a visual format (see pages 213-214 in the
Sixth Edition, and pages 273-274 in the Study Skills Plus Edition).

Revisions were made to Chapter 9, in the section entitled Planning Your Next Steps.
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