This introductory chapter contains information for both students and instructors to help them efficiently learn and teach the material contained in the rest of the book. This consists of three main sections. The first, aimed at students (though professors should read it, too!) contains evidence-based techniques for effective learning, with application to autophagy. These strategies will help students “read to remember”, “make homework worthwhile”, “study to learn”, and “know what they know”. The second section, aimed at professors, discusses how instructors can create an interactive teaching environment and align their teaching strategies with what is known about how students learn. Finally, the third section gives a very brief overview of the process of autophagy and establishes a basic vocabulary, with an emphasis on the terms used for different autophagic structures.