Students' zone - Get the best out of this book

What’s the best way to read a textbook? That depends on how the book has been structured.

• Understanding Human Development has been written so that you can read it in any order you like. Each section of the book has been written to stand alone, so that you can dip into it, looking up the topics that interest you without needing to read the whole book to understand the material. If there’s more information which you might find useful somewhere else in the book, the text will tell you where.

• But you can also, of course, read the book from cover to cover, which will give you a coherent overview of Developmental Psychology as a whole

At the end of each chapter you will find a revision summary. These summaries are a précis of the whole chapter, listing all the key points.

• You can use the revision summary as an ‘aide memoire’, to remind yourself of what you have read in the chapter.

• But you may find it useful to read the revision summary before you read the chapter. Read in advance, the revision summary will give you a ‘map’ which can structure your reading – and can serve as the basis for taking notes from the book or in lectures, or for making plans for essays or seminar papers.

At the end of each chapter you will also find exercises which are designed to put what you have learned from the chapter to work, and to build on your understanding.

• Try them out by yourself first, and then try them out with friends.

• Is there a ‘right’ answer – or is there a controversy here? How can you explain your own view – or convince others that you’re right?