Study Smarter with Science

Cheri Kalkowsky is an educator, instructional designer, and speaker who helps students of all ages replace guesswork with evidence-based study techniques. With more than fifteen years of experience teaching and coaching learners from middle school through graduate school, she has made it her mission to translate cognitive psychology research into routines that work in real classrooms, real households, and real schedules.

Her work focuses on the science of learning: how memory is built, why forgetting is normal, and how techniques like retrieval practice, spacing, and self-testing can transform struggling students into confident, independent learners. She has led workshops and training sessions for schools, universities, and parent organizations, and has designed academic-support programs used by thousands of students.

In addition to her writing and speaking, Cheri has spent her career in and around the classroom, where she continuously tests new strategies against the most demanding audience there is: students facing real deadlines, real exams, and real pressure. She holds a master's degree in education with a focus on instructional design, and she remains a lifelong student herself.

When she is not teaching or writing, Cheri is usually deep in a research paper, learning a new language, or working through an aggressively optimistic reading list. She believes that the best learning strategies are the ones that survive contact with an ordinary week — and that anyone, with the right techniques and a little consistency, can learn to study smarter.