Study For The Win

What Smart Students Know

2008-10-09T19:23:00.005+11:00

Principle #1: Nobody Can Teach You as Well as You Can Teach Yourself
Because you know this, you control any learning situation. While teachers tell you what you have to learn, how you learn that material is your business. You adapt situations to your learning needs, not the other way around. No teacher, no matter how gifted or dedicated, knows how you think and process information better than you do.

Principle #2: Merely Listening to Your Teachers and Completing Their Assignments is NEVER Enough
Because you know this, you do whatever it takes to learn the material in a course. Think of your teachers and assignments as the framework around which true personalized learning is built. You are constantly on the lookout for new and better sources of information and new and better ways to learn.

Principle #3: Not Everything You Are Assigned to Read or Asked to Do Is Equally Important
Because you know this, you set priorities and plan ahead. You budget your time and focus on the most important tasks on your agenda. And you apply this principle to your studying as well. You know the value of concentrating your learning efforts on the most important aspects of a course rather than becoming overwhelmed by trying to absorb everything.

Principle #4: Grades Are Just Subjective Opinions
Because you know this, you don't get overly upset with bad grades (or overly excited by good ones). Besides, you're not in it for the grades (Principle #11). Since grades are important, you also make it a point to get to know the personal likes, dislikes, and biases of the person who decides them--your teacher. But doing the best you possibly can--mastering a subject to the best of your ability--is your true goal.

Principle #5: Making Mistakes (and Occasionally Appearing Foolish) is the Price You Pay for Learning and Improving
And it's a price you're more than willing to pay. In the learning process, mistakes are as important as successes. Young children have a nearly unlimited aptitude for learning owing to their willingness to make mistakes. Observe them some time.

Principle #6: The Point of a Question Is to Get You to Think--NOT Simply to Answer It
Because you know this, you are always looking for different perpectives, different answers, and different methods to solve problems. You see questions as challenges, not threats, and you approach obvious answers with skepticism.

Principle #7: You're in School to Learn to Think for Yourself, Not to Repeat What Your Textbooks and Teachers Tell You
Because you know this, you take nothing at face value. You question everything, especially authority and most especially yourself. Only through constant challenging and reaching beyond limitations does anyone learn anything of significance.
Principle #8: Subjects Do Not Always Seem Interesting or Relevant, But Being Actively Engaged in Learning Them Is Better Than Being Passively Bored and Not Learning Them
Because you know this, you are willing, even eager, to learn things that other students might find boring. Few things are boring to you. You may not be interested in the subject, but you are always interested in your questions about it. If you are bored or distracted in class, you realize it means you aren't learning--and you do something about it. You know that learning is an ongoing dialogue and investigation, and that you must uphold your end or discovery comes to a screeching halt.
Principle #9: Few Things Are as Potentially Difficult, Frustrating, or Frightening as Genuine Learning, Yet NOTHING Is So Empowering
Again, it's a price you're more than willing to pay. Learning does not end when the bell rings or you grab your diploma. It literally is the stuff of life. The alternative to questioning, grasping, and moving forward every day of your life is much more restful but far less exciting and gratifying. It takes courage and hard work to tackle the unknown, but each time you do it will be easier and less frightening--and soon you'll be hooked.

Principle #10: How Well You Do in School Reflects Your Attitude and Your Method, Not Your Ability
Because you know this, you don't take academic mistakes or disappointments personally. There's nothing wrong with you; it's just your attitude or method that needs adjusting. The material is the material; there will always be something you don't understand. You are what is constantly changing. Once you begin to see all classes and topics as withing your control, you can work on fine-tuning what you must do to master them.

Principle #11: If You're Doing It for the Grades or for the Approval of Others, You're Missing the Satisfaction of the Process and Putting Your Self-esteem at the Mercy of Things Outside Your Control
Because you know this, you work hard for yourself first. Of course it's nice to get good grades and to impress those who care about you. But that can't be why you work so hard. You work hard and you excel because it makes you feel good, and because you realize that you alone will live with the consequences of your education. Praise is great but its flip side is disapproval, which can derail learning and undermine your sense of yourself and your abilities. As a smart student, you know that true gratification--like true learning--is something that comes from within.

Principle #12: School Is a Game, But It's a Very Important Game
Because you know this, you keep everything in perspective. Even though you know that a lot of what goes on at school has nothing to do with learning, you play the game anyway. And you play to win.

(by Adam Robinson)

Keep stress at bay, say VCE old hands

2008-10-09T19:17:00.002+11:00

Keep stress at bay, say VCE old hands

Ben Haywood
VCE exam guide, The Age -- Monday, September 8, 2008

Ben Haywood gets some tips on performing well during the exams.

NO MATTER what your subjects, there is one question all students face in the lead-up to their VCE final exams: What is the best way to prepare?

According to those who faced the exams last year, getting organised is a good place to start.

Erin Doherty, who did year 12 at Cranbourne Secondary College, says organisation isn't his strong suit, but he eased into a routine without a great deal of planning.

"My study wasn't as structured as many other people's," he says. "For me, it was just about getting comfortable with a subject and then leaving that and moving on to one that I didn't feel quite so comfortable with.

"So I would just spend maybe a night on one subject and then move to the next."

Even with an ENTER of 95.8, Erin missed out on his first preference of a double degree in mechatronics and science at Monash University. Instead, he is doing a mechanical engineering/science double degree.

But his good result did win him the lucrative Schools Access Monash scholarship: a fully paid five-year course of his choice at the university.

For Deakin University arts student Siobhan Simper, a structured approach was important for keeping stress at bay. The Brauer College alumnus, who got 98.1 last year, split study for her five subjects across weekdays, tackling any extra tasks at the weekend. Very often, that left her weekends free.

"Then I could relax because I knew that I was preparing the best I could," she says.

First-year University of Melbourne bachelor of environments student Jessica King says keeping good notes throughout the year paid off in the months before the exams.

"When it came down to the last couple of months I started making posters of all my notes and put them all around my room," says the former Sacred Heart Girls' College student, who got 98.2 last year.

Because his notes were "a bit everywhere", Erin instead relied on textbooks and summary notes from revision lectures.

"Revision lectures were really good because they made me feel comfortable with what I did and didn't know.

"They summarised the whole subject and helped me identify areas I was a bit vague with."

They gave him a fresh perspective on subjects, too.

"I also did as many practice exams as possible. They really help you identify what you need to know and what your weaknesses are.

"If you can't answer a question, you go back to that topic and go through it again." He also recommends first confronting the topics you find hardest.

"Leaving the hard things that you really don't want to do and only doing the things you really like doing is probably the worst thing. It just sticks in the back of your mind and gets to you."

Jessica agrees that putting off things to the last minute only adds to stress.
She says leaving her most intense study to the days before the exams left her with little time to find answers to things she didn't know.

"That makes you feel really stressed out."

For Naomi Johnson, who is studying music at the University of Melbourne, flash cards were a fun way to memorise facts on the move, particularly for LOTE.

Speaking to her family in the languages she was studying - French and Korean - helped too. "They didn't understand anything, but they would still respond to it and ask me questions."

Jessica also put her family to work, getting them to quiz her on key knowledge.

"I found that if I did it with friends, they would just tell me the answers, but I could get a much more realistic sense of how I was doing from people who didn't know about the subject area." In the final days before an exam, most argue that less is more.

"If I had studied close to the exams I would have panicked, because I'd have realised what I didn't know," Siobhan says.

Naomi, who got 99.35 at Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar, agrees. "Instead of study, I tried to open my mind to the possibilities of the subject," she says. "For example, with the literature exam, instead of trying to read over the revision notes, I just went out into the garden and read through the poems, and really immersed myself in the feel of them rather than trying to pick up on something specific.

"If you think of your mind as a filing cabinet, instead of frantically opening up all the drawers and riffling through all the pages, it is almost like working out which drawers are important to you and putting a ribbon around them and saying, 'I know it's all in there, it will be fine, and when I need it, it will come flying out'."

As for exam day nerves, Siobhan says it is worth putting the exams into perspective.

"Someone said to me at the start of the year that you're not your ENTER, and I think looking back that is really true and I should have paid more attention."

-Source: http://www.education.theage.com.au/pagedetail.asp?intpageid=2036&intsectionid=11

http://www.education.theage.com.au/vce.asp

NEW BLOG ADDRESS

2008-08-19T14:16:00.001+10:00

*NEW BLOG ADDRESS*

http://gabjournal.wordpress.com/

Note: studyftwl.blogspot.com is now obsolote as wordpress has superseded blogspot because it is technologically more superior (lol, awesome accounting jargon :P)

Accounting 101

2008-07-24T21:27:00.009+10:00

A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS STUDYING ACCOUNTING

The following study guide is a series of rules and suggestions
which, if followed, will help you achieve the maximum results for
your study efforts. Although there is no substitute for HARD
WORK and a DESIRE TO LEARN, most of you can use your study time
and classroom time more efficiently.

READING THE TEXTBOOK
-------------------
1. Studying accounting is not like reading a novel or even like
-----------------------------------------------------------
studying history, sociology, or economics.
-----------------------------------------
a. Each assignment in accounting BUILDS on previous
assignments. If you do half-hearted work in Chapter 1 and 2, you
may be confused by Chapter 3 and lost by Chapter 4.

b. Accounting books are condensed. Almost every sentence is
important. Scan reading just does not work!

2. Read to understand "WHY."
------------------------
a. This is a technical subject, it is logical, and it
requires reasoning.

b. Strive to be able to say, "I understand why they do
that." If you can understand "WHY" in accounting, there is very
little to memorize.

c. Try to explain every new topic in your own words.
Putting the new ideas into your own words is better that reciting
the words of the text a hundred times.

3. Work problems to understand "HOW."
---------------------------------
a. Even though you understand "why they do that" in
accounting, you must be able to do it yourself. This is a
do-it-yourself course.

b. To be sure that you understand "how" as well as "why,"
work the problems that are shown with the reading material.
Don't copy the book. Try your own skill and then check your
answers.

4. Remember "why"and "how.
----------------------
a. Go back to previous chapters and notes to refresh your
memory. Rework problems that were difficult for you. Try to
work extra problems that are similar to the assigned homework.

b. Never wait until examination time to review your
accounting.

The REVIEW-AS-YOU-GO plan produces better results, doesn't
take as long, and saves all that last minute worry and sacrifice
of other courses. The forgetting curve is the mirror image of
the learning curve. You forget as fast as you learn

It is a scientific fact that information that has been
forgotten requires that it be relearned, requiring the same time
it took to learn it the first time.

5. If there is something you do not understand, prepare
specific questions to ask your instructor. Some students keep a
notebook of points with which they have questions. PIN-POINT THE
ITEMS THAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Don't make vague comments to
your instructor such as "I don't understand any of this
material." Such statements are a strong indication to the
instructor that you have made no attempt to try to understand,
and will receive very little sympathy or help.

WORKING HOMEWORK PROBLEMS
-------------------------
1. READ THE PROBLEM! Read the instructions and scan the
problem to see what is ahead.

2. Work the problems without "PAGE FLIPPING" back to the
chapter.

a. When in doubt, look back at the chapter -- but NOT until
you have tried to do the problem on your won. This indicates
that you do not remember the chapter material. You are not
prepared for an examination.

b. The "PAGE-PLIPPING" method is guaranteed to waste a
maximum of your time and to produce a minimum of results.

3. Keep up with the class! IT IS EASIER TO KEEP UP THAN TO
CATCH UP!!

A. Check your problem against the solution presented in
class.

b. Be sure that you understand the correct solution.

4. Note the part of the problem with which you have difficulty
and ask questions during the classroom session.

MAKE BEST USE OF CLASS TIME
---------------------------
1. Classes are never interesting unless you TAKE PART.

2. ALWAYS BE PREPARED before you go to class.

3. DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. If you have a question,
at least ten other students probably have the same question but
are afraid to ask because it might sound like a dumb question.

4. Students who make FAILING GRADES also fail to attend
classes, fail to pay attention during class, fail to have their
homework,and fail to ask the instructor for help until it is too
late. And when they do ask, it isn't for help. They go to the
instructor to offer poor excuses for poor performance which the
instructor has heard from other students over the years.
Remember, when you start your career after graduation, excuses
won't be a substitute for poor performance; nor will it earn you
a grade in this course.

PREPARING FOR EXAMS
-------------------
1. Be specific in your study; concentrate on the things which
seem to be most important.

a. Note items that the instructor emphasizes in class.

b. Note homework problems that are assigned.

2. Do not stop with just "getting the idea." Be sure that you
can work problems without the aid of the book. Practice by
teaching the material to someone else. Study groups of two or
three students work well for this purpose.

3. Every exam has an element of speed. Have your "hows" and
"whys" at your finger tips. If you are slow, you probably need
to study more.

4. The questions on exams approach the material from a slightly
different angle to test your ability to REASON AND UNDERSTAND
rather than your ability to memorize.

5. When taking exams, many points are lost and questions missed
because the student does not READ THE PROBLEM. This is
especially true with multiple choice questions. Read what the
question is really asking, not what you think or want it to
ask..AVOID CARELESS ERRORS. On each exam, assume that you have
made several careless errors and allow enough time at the end of
the exam to look for them.

6. An excellent strategy to use when taking an exam is to
quickly look through the entire exam and answer all of the
questions that are easy for you. Those are "sure" points and
help to relieve the pressure when you go back to work on the more
difficult and time-consuming problems.

7. The greatest weakness in a student's ability to take an exam
is to keep up a good STEADY PACE without the clock causing the
student to panic. Remember, when you panic by constantly
thinking about the time factor, the mind closes up on you and
that ends any chance you have to do well. It is better to
concentrate on answering only 80% of the questions and getting
them all correct than to answer all of the question and missing
half of them. Of course it is best to answer all of the questions
and get them all correct, which is only possible if you
concentrate, keep your composure, and maintain a steady pace.

END

-Source 'http://www.csun.edu/~vcact00g/m1a.txt'

Follow this guide and your bound for success in accounting. Good luck.

-Gab

Goals for Unit 2 & 4

2008-06-13T08:41:00.003+10:00

Goals for Unit 2 & 4

(Review goals by midway term 3 and )

Achieve High Grades

∴ Accumulate and store knowledge of topics throughout term 3, term 3 holiday consolidate, term 4 continue accumulating

∴ Follow a structured study timetable

∴ Follow up progress on revaluating goals

TV ban

∴ Taliban ^^

Failed to plan

2008-06-11T17:35:00.004+10:00

I have failed to plan. Thus I must learn from my mistakes and plan for Unit 4. I hear Unit 4 is just a continuation of Unit 3. GG. Any who, here are the chapters (only 7 in total compared to 12):

Chapter 13 - Returns of Stock

Can't be too hard

Chapter 14 - Stock Valuation

Why would we need to value stock?

Chapter 15 - Accounting for Non-current Assets

Okay

Chapter 16 - Balance Day Adjustments - Revenues

O great, another BDA

Chapter 17 - Budgets

Budgeting ... oh help me lord

Chapter 18 - Evaluating Profitability

Dear me, a whole chapter dedicated for profitability - the ability of the business to earn profit, as compared against a base such as sales, assets or owner's equity

Chapter 19 - Evaluating Liquidity

Dear me, a whole chapter dedicated for liquidity- the ability of a business to meet its debts as they fall due

I must retain my

Accounting principles and Qualitative characteristics
Definitions of elements (A = L + Oe R, E)
Accounting process

Source Documents - Chq. butt, Cash receipt, Invoices, Memos

Records - Ledgers, Journals (CRJ, CPJ, SJ, PJ, GJ), Stock cards

Reports - BS, CFS, P&LS

GST
Spec. journals (SJ, PJ, CRJ, CPJ) & General Journal
Accounting for Stock
Determining P&L & BDA

Maybe thats a bit too much. I will finish this wen I get bak from break.

It's 10:33PM

2008-06-10T22:33:00.000+10:00

Accounting Unit 3 Exam Tomorrow
Tonight has been such a blur; study for an hour, watch TV, then MSN'ing. I'll be reading this after getting my exam mark and will probably say to myself "You deserve the mark you got". When I finish this entry I will go to sleep.

What else do I have to say. The exam better have Cash v Profit because I know it in and out. O yes, and not benefits of subsidiary ledgers and control accounts. Infact, no benefits. I HATE YOU THEORY!!!!

Parents home, better be off to sleep. Gaaa it's 10:40PM!!!

Goals and Aspirations

2008-06-06T20:40:00.001+10:00

My goals
(Dated June 2008)

Self-discipline

Setting realistic goals - is this goal even realistic :P
Study

Overcome procrastination
Time management

Sleep

Sleep by 11pm and awake by 7:30am

Health

Bboy - maintain power and more

Year 12: 95+ ENTER

Wealth

Passive income of $1 a day

By blogging

A diversified portfolio

Shares, stocks, property, stamps, cars,

My Aspirations

Courage

Defeating the procrastination devil - 'trying my hardest is what matters

Confidence

Public speaking

Momentum

Developing the ongoing habit of success that will keep my energy and enthusiasm high

Purpose/Fulfillment

Finding my true purpose in life by living consciously according to my deepest values and beliefs

Next Semester

2008-06-06T19:20:00.000+10:00

Alrighty, first off I need to get my priorities straight by setting some goals:

In Semester 2 (starting on the 14th of July) I want to achieve high grades; 95+ test/exam, A+ results.
The reason being so I will be better equipped for VCE Year 12.

I can only achieve this by
- Knowing my work thoroughly by studying daily and not procrastinating

I will have outside school commitments so there will be no time to waste. Reflecting on Semester 1, you could say I was overloaded only because I didn't manage my time properly. My commitments include:

Blogging (studyftw.blogspot.com)
Work (Big W ) - 9 hours; Fri, Sat & Sun
Tuition (Tye and English) - 1.5 hours; Sat
Church (Sunday school) - 2 hours; Sun
Breakdance (Hopefully teaching kiddies) - 2 hours: Wed

Assuming I sleep at 11:00 pm and wake up by 7:30 pm and am at school from 8am to 3:30pm I will have to commit 2.5 hours of study on the weekdays and approx. 6 hours over the weekend.

So Monday-Thursday with Friday off to work and Saturday mornign

My key strategies I will use to fulfill my goal are:

A Stitch In Time Saves 9

I will complete assessment tasks and assignments as soon as I get them
I will write up study notes and summaries progressively throughout the year
I will learn my theory progressively throughout the year rather than cramming before exams
I will start collecting trail examination papers
I will highlight sections of work that I find difficult or I did not understand
I will circle difficult, challenging/trick questions

Smart Use of General Time

I will use school time wisely as the more I learn and complete work at school the less work I will have to do at home
I will never tune out of class
I will use class time just listening and absoring the information being imparted from my teachers
I will keep ahead of the classroom with respect to the material being covered at school
I will write up my study notes and summaries within 24 hours of addressing the materials at school

Capitalise on Low Peak Periods

I will dedicate the majority of each school holiday to study which will give me a huge advantage over my peers
I will review vital concepts from the previous year/semester

Motivation, Dedication and Organization

I won't procrastinate
I will engage in a regular study timetable by studying everyday
I will regularly assess the effectiveness of my timetable and implement strategies that will help me become more time efficient
I will plan each week ahead of time
I will record all major deadlines as assessments/ assignments is they are issued so
I will keep detailed lists of everythying that I must address
I will prepare lists daily so I can take commitments into account into my study timetable
I will be organised and clean my study area each night
I will have well defined sets of goals

Effective learning techniques

I will committ knowledge to memory using the Four Rs; Recall, recite, review

Regular Revision and Repetition

I will revise and repeat to achieve VCE success

Exposure

I will get my hands onto as many examination papers as possible