Studying ahead

[grannysmith]

I've noticed and have been advised on studying subjects a year ahead of me in preparation (for year 11 and 12). The idea is that by the time I'm in year 11, I would have already been studying year 12 subjects. So come year 12, I'm just revising and perhaps strengthening my foundation.

What would you say about this? The only problem(s) I see would be that a. I would maybe get bored and lose focus (because it definitely demands a strict self-discipline) b. retaining the knowledge, not to mention the work in year 10 on top of that.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

Thanks

Edit: 99th post!

[psyxwar]

Let me get a guide I made last year about acceleration. It'll take me a little while to find because it didn't get stickied or added to any resource threads and has consequently been lost.

EDIT: Found it for you. See Completing a Unit 3&4 subject in Year 11.

I don't think this is what he means, rather he's referring to studying ahead (eg. doing the 3/4 in year 12, but self studying that 3/4's content in yr11)

If you're interested in the subject, there's no harm in studying ahead. Just don't overdo it, try and enjoy highschool. You don't need to be years ahead to do well, and if you overdo it you might just be throwing away some of the best years of your life. Maybe do some light reading on the content a year ahead, but don't spend excessive amounts of time on it. However, if you're finding a subject too easy to the extent where it feels like you're wasting time, then by all means go ahead.

[Stick]

I don't think this is what he means, rather he's referring to studying ahead (eg. doing the 3/4 in year 12, but self studying that 3/4's content in yr11)

Whoops. Don't mind me then.

[m.Chemia]

This is what I did:
I finished Methods 1&2 during normal Yr 10 maths class in a separate room by myself (because my maths teacher loved me so much lol), plus an hour or so everyday before/after school. (I did not formally enrolled in Methods 1&2)
I finished Methods 3&4 during the summer holiday after Yr 10, and I spent the whole Yr 11 to do revision/checkpoints/past exams. (I only did 20~30 sets of past exams THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE YEAR, too lazy in Yr 11...)
I finished Spesh 3&4 during the summer holiday after Yr 11, and I spent the whole Yr 12 to do revision/checkpoints/past exams. (49 sets of past exams accomplished.)

My point is, it is absolutely possible and beneficial to study a subject or two a year ahead. Yes, it definitely demands a strict self-discipline, but that's the only thing. For maths at least, let's face it, Yr 10 maths is just (nearly) the same as Yr 9 maths.

The ultimate benefit of doing so is that if you can complete one or two 3&4 subjects in Yr 11, Yr 12 becomes easy. I did 3 subjects (plus uni Jap that demands 0 effort) in Yr 12. The majority of student did 5, or 6 in rare cases. The difference in terms of workload and everything is more than obvious.

[charmanderp]

I always just found that if I studied ahead I'd be really bored when we covered that material in class and as a result not really pay attention and miss crucial details/tips/practices that the teacher gave out that I couldn't have attained from self-study. And you run the risk of studying ahead, but not revising it later and compromising your understanding of that material come assessment time. This is all from personal experience, but yeah.

[Lasercookie]

I would argue if you're self-studying, don't restrict yourself to the VCE curriculum and don't stick too closely to the VCE textbooks. It's something you're doing in your free time so it should be fun. If you're finding it fun and interesting, then self discipline shouldn't be a problem.

You could look over the topics covered in VCE as a place to get started, but from there just learn what you're interested in. It might also help to see a bigger picture of things, rather than the small subset that VCE gives you. I guess for maths, similar to what I suggested in one of your threads here Re: Preparation. The gist of what I said there would apply to a few other subjects too: go the library and open up a book or just jump on google/wikipedia and go from there.

[charmanderp]

I would argue if you're self-studying, don't restrict yourself to the VCE curriculum and don't stick too closely to the VCE textbooks. It's something you're doing in your free time so it should be fun. If you're finding it fun and interesting, then self discipline shouldn't be a problem.

You could look over the topics covered in VCE as a place to get started, but from there just learn what you're interested in. It might also help to see a bigger picture of things, rather than the small subset that VCE gives you. I guess for maths, similar to what I suggested in one of your threads here Re: Preparation. The gist of what I said there would apply to a few other subjects too: go the library and open up a book or just jump on google/wikipedia and go from there.

This is what I did for chem! Found it helped quite a lot. chemguide.co.uk is fantastic, I still browse that casually out of interest

[kamb0z]

Yeah, I know so many that got too keen and burn out throughout the year because they started studying way too early. Don't get too excited.

Personally, I just followed what the school was doing, and did no study outside SAC and exam periods. Year 12 is one of the easiest years of your life, take advantage of that. Don't be one of those dungeon-crawlers that stay inside all day studying. It's usually those people that end up getting sub-95.

Someone from my school started all their VCE subjects in year 11 and ended up with a 7x.xx ATAR score. Just some food for thought.

[Shenz0r]

I think studying a year ahead for a subject isn't really necessary. Some people do it, and end up with really good scores. And some end up with disappointing scores. So time isn't too much of a big factor here, in my opinion. There were some people who finished both Methods and Spesh courses in the summer holidays before Year 12 and their scores weren't wildly higher than the rest of the cohort.

Good marks in Year 12 come from understanding the coursework thoroughly. From my experience, studying a week or month in advance was already enough time for me to grasp things quite well. 

[grannysmith]

Yeah, school shouldn't be (too) much of a burden.

Would there be an alternative to buying the textbooks? I think my school's library holds textbooks, albeit outdated. Would this matter in a subject like methods or Spesh due to the new study design?

[Lasercookie]

Yeah, school shouldn't be (too) much of a burden.

Would there be an alternative to buying the textbooks? I think my school's library holds textbooks, albeit outdated. Would this matter in a subject like methods or Spesh due to the new study design?

The maths study design hasn't changed since 2006, so shouldn't be an issue (VCAA website says that the current one is accredited until 2015, so you might end up sitting the same study design in 2015 too). You don't really need to buy the textbooks if you don't want to, most VCE subjects cover fairly standard stuff. You could just go look at the study design document and google those topics. There'll be an abundance of resources (notes, videos, problem sets etc.) found that way.

If your school library has the CD's of textbooks too, you could copy the ebooks onto a USB or something. 

[Guest]

I think studying a year ahead for a subject isn't really necessary. Some people do it, and end up with really good scores. And some end up with disappointing scores. So time isn't too much of a big factor here, in my opinion. There were some people who finished both Methods and Spesh courses in the summer holidays before Year 12 and their scores weren't wildly higher than the rest of the cohort.

Good marks in Year 12 come from understanding the coursework thoroughly. From my experience, studying a week or month in advance was already enough time for me to grasp things quite well.

The question I have here is: WHY do you think people who prepare ahead get disappointing scores? This question, in particular, has been really bothering me in the midst of my work in VCE subjects that I'm currently doing a year ahead, because it causes me to question whether what I'm doing is actually worth it in the long run. At the moment my thought on this issue has been that people doing subjects earlier tend to lose focus in higher year levels as they are continuously doing work a year ahead. In due time consistency is lost and they aren't able to switch between relative workloads on whatever subject it might be. However, this is somewhat of a theory that I developed so far. The chances are that it is incorrect since I don't have the experience to comment on such an issue. Will appreciate it if someone's got their own opinion or logic to share as to why some people doing subjects earlier succeed while others still fail.

[EspoirTron]

The question I have here is: WHY do you think people who prepare ahead get disappointing scores? This question, in particular, has been really bothering me in the midst of my work in VCE subjects that I'm currently doing a year ahead, because it causes me to question whether what I'm doing is actually worth it in the long run. At the moment my thought on this issue has been that people doing subjects earlier tend to lose focus in higher year levels as they are continuously doing work a year ahead. In due time consistency is lost and they aren't able to switch between relative workloads on whatever subject it might be. However, this is somewhat of a theory that I developed so far. The chances are that it is incorrect since I don't have the experience to comment on such an issue. Will appreciate it if someone's got their own opinion or logic to share as to why some people doing subjects earlier succeed while others still fail.

I think the idea of studying ahead is excellent. I remember once someone recommend for me to complete the VCE Chemistry course (Units 3&4) halfway through year 11. I opted against this option and I am glad that I did. I think studying ahead is a plausible option if the said student is dedicated to the task. There is no doubt that VCE is demanding both mentally and physically. It requires not only the ability to sit there and learn, it requires the mental stamina to maintain a focus and stay dedicated to the task for the greater cause. I guess speaking from experience I completed my Unit 3&4 course around August last year (I would say late August) and this helped me focus a lot of effort into my examination revision. However, in my opinion studying ahead becomes an issue when you study ahead just for the sake of it and for no real intended purpose. What kept me going as I studied last year was the fact that I knew I was aiming to get revision done and that motivated me to sit there and just learn. I guess other people have many other incentives, for example, some people may be studying ahead for the Olympiad, a scholarship or some form of entrance exam and I think that these are all great incentives to push one's self.

I don't really want to make a comment about why some people succeed and others do not, for I know I cannot speak for all students out there who opt to study ahead. I think it all boils down to the fact of how hungry a person is to achieve whatever they set out to achieve, whether that be a high study score or ATAR or just for wanting to understand. Learning ahead is excellent like I have said but in my opinion it needs to be supplemented with continual revision so that you don't forget what you have learnt and also extensive examination revision so that you can gain an understand of what may be thrown at you in an examination situation.

P.S I chose not to complete the Chemistry course so early because one and a half years of exam revision and revision didn't really seem necessary and it would prevent me from putting an equal focus across all of my subjects.

[shadows]

A problem with studying ahead is that, people often neglect the basics, and jump into the deep end, and find that they struggle.
Studying ahead is beneficial in the way that it alleviates your workload in year 12. But I don't think studying too early will bring  any difference.

Some people think that studying early is key and mandatory to succeed in Year 12 because of shortage of time etc. But If you study consistently and not slack of in year 12, I think one will manage just fine.

[shadows]

However, in my opinion studying ahead becomes an issue when you study ahead just for the sake of it and for no real intended purpose.

I absolutely agree with this. Having the dedication to study ahead is no doubt an arduous task, and I've seen people studying ahead like a damn chore. I think this is counter-productive.
You will start to lose focus, start to despise the subject, and might possibly obtain worse results.
However, if you are motivated,  feel like working ahead because you enjoy it then go ahead. I just don't think it's necessary if you feel that is mandatory, and feel forced to do it.
I'd recommend working ahead in the summer holidays, by opening your book when you feel like it, and probably doing the first couple of chapters.
You'll enter the class (probably a month or two ahead), and if you work consistently throughout the year, you can finish the course a month or two ahead of your class, and start prepping for exams. (Another thing a lot of people do is rush the course and finish halfway through  the year, I really don't recommend it. I think you should cover the course the same rate as taught in school (but given you started earlier, you will finish earlier)

It really depends on the person but if I commenced the year whilst completing the course what would I do for the whole year?
I'd most likely just slack off, waste time, and forget everything I've learnt a year ago.

So if you are up to it, it takes serious dedication and make sure you revise and review old topics constantly. You'll be surprised how quickly you will forget them if you don't revisit them.