a peaceful day of today

Selepas mengharungi beberapa minggu yang sibuk dengan first stage evaluation for my phd, baru hari ni rasa lega dan sedikit udara segar boleh masuk keparu-paru aku ni. Sebenarnya, jika kita mengurus diri dengan baik dan belajar menghargai masa yang ada, kehidupan kita akan jadi bertambah baik. Tapi disebabkan suka berlengah dan menangguh kerja, satu apa pun tak boleh. Last minit kerja memang terrible. Sedikit pengajaran for me, be prepared. So untuk hari nie boleh la aku ikut sedikit perkembangan dunia. Kes dato seri anwar, kes hassan ali dipecat dari PAS, kes gempa bumi di indonesia, kes dato' chong wei menang keatas lin dan( first time aku tgk lin dan begitu frust dengan kekalahan dan berputus asa) dan yang paling penting this week we have jump shonnen. That mean naruto, one piece dan bleach dah kembali.yuhuuu..boleh jugak aku tgk camana naruto lepaskan 4 tails, camana keadaan di new world dan apa jadi kat ichigo lepas lawan ngan ginjo...

Reasons for considering postgraduate study

I really enjoy my subject

This is a highly motivating reason to do a higher degree. It’s worth considering the long-term implications of your choice though. Does your choice of course fit in with your career plans? All further study programmes will enable you to develop skills that you could market to an employer but some will be of much more use to you than others.

I need it to pursue my chosen career

Some career areas do require a professional qualification, for example, law and teaching. For other employment areas a postgraduate qualification, although not essential, will provide a distinct advantage to applicants, particularly when competition for places is fierce. Research the area of work that interests you to identify whether a postgraduate course would be necessary or advantageous.

I want to convert to a new career area

Many postgraduate programmes provide a way of converting to a particular career area. These may be taught Masters or diploma/certificate qualifications.

It is also possible to convert to a new career area through employment. Many recruiters offer employment opportunities for graduates of any discipline and provide the relevant professional training.

I don’t know what to do - this will give me more time to decide

Past experience suggests undertaking a further year or more of study to get careers inspiration is not necessarily helpful. If you choose a course for this reason, it is important to use the time to actively research your options.

My tutors suggested I take this course

Students are sometimes offered postgraduate places by their tutors, possibly with funding attached. This can seem a very tempting offer but it does not mean it is the right option for you. Is the course or research programme of real interest to you and does it link with your career goals? Postgraduate study may be a good option but is staying at the same university the right choice?

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What do employers think about postgraduate study?

Some employers place great value in the advanced knowledge and skills developed in a postgraduate course. They may also conclude that doing further study demonstrates determination to succeed in the chosen career area and that the candidate is prepared to undertake further training.

However, for other employers a postgraduate degree may offer no advantage or have a negative impact. Some common employer concerns about candidates with postgraduate degrees include: specialisation and narrowness of interest; difficulties in integrating into a business environment; and unrealistic salary expectations.

Because of these differences of opinion, it is important to do as much research into your prospective employers as possible before enrolling.

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Researching your options

Have a look at explore types of jobs, job adverts and other literature from employers and professional bodies. Also talk to employers at fairs or other recruitment events.

Consider the following questions:

• Is a postgraduate qualification essential or desirable?
• Does the employer value relevant experience more than a postgraduate qualification?
• Do they welcome qualifications from all institutions or are they only interested in select institutions?
• Would having a postgraduate qualification place you ahead of candidates who hold only a bachelors level degree, or make-up for not possessing the necessary grades at A level or first degree level?
• Would you receive a higher starting salary or advance more rapidly within the organisation with a postgraduate degree?

technics to do well in test

To do well on tests you must first learn the material,
and then review it before the test.
These are techniques to better understand your material:

Learning

• Take good notes in your class lectures and textbooks
  

• Review your notes soon after class/lecture

• Review notes briefly before the next class

• Schedule some time at the end of the week for a longer review

Reviewing

• Take good notes
  about as your teacher tells you what will be on the test

• Organize your notes, texts, and assignments
  according to what will be on the test

• Estimate the hours you'll need to review materials

• Draw up a schedule
  that blocks units of time and material

• Test yourself on the material

• Finish your studying the day before the exam

tips for visual learner

“Learning, for visual-spatial learners, takes place all at once, with large chunks of information grasped in intuitive leaps, rather than in the gradual accretion of isolated facts, small steps or habit patterns gained through practice. For example, they can learn all of the multiplication facts as a related set in a chart much easier and faster than memorizing each fact independently." ¹

Organizing:

• The visual/spatial perspective is the organizing principle
  Perfectionism for visual/spatial learners is a well-ordered and -designed space with each object in its place and appealingly so.
  They are uncomfortable, even restless, encountering incomplete or unsettled situations
• With an instinctive sense of balance and completeness
  they can tell when something is out of alignment, or not truly horizontal or vertical.
  They are adept at working with mirror images and rotating images in their minds, and strive to bring order by constructing, arranging, color coding, or fixing things

Observing/experiencing:

• Visual/spatial learners are good at seeing the “big picture”
  of both simple and complex systems. Overviews or summaries are their specialty, often at the expense of remembering details or constructing sequences
• Personal presentation (dress, grooming, even gestures) is important
  Their own presentation/dress is as important as what they notice about others. They establish eye contact when speaking, though can be distracted by their surroundings. So also background sounds can disrupt their listening skills, and they often doodle during lectures, at meetings, etc.
• They prefer to read and work under subdued or natural lighting
  and in comfortable conditions, and are uncomofrtable with glare/harsh lighting, rough clothing, drafts, and temperature extremes

Learning strategies:

• Focus on the learning objectives of the class
  Meet with the teacher to understand and apply these to your situation
• Request advanced organizers
  to help you relate to new material with what you already know
• Look for opportunities to work with, manipulate and/or engage new material
  • Hands-on approach manipulating forms or objects
  • Using visual clues or landmarks rather than (verbal) sequential steps
• Look for visual/spatial dimensions in your study:
  Example: geometry has more visual components than algebra in mathematics;
  physics rather than chemistry in science;
  graphic applications in computer science and technology fields;
  studio arts in the creative arts, architecture, mechanics, aeronautics, engineering, urban planning
• Seek out independent and open-ended studies,
  problem-based learning, case studies, or ways you can be more active with the material to be learned and have alternative strategies of assessment or demonstrating learning

Study habits

• Always have the "big picture" before you
  especially when studying its parts or details
• When trying to remember things,
  close your eyes to get a “picture” or image of the information to facilitate recall or use flash cards with limited information so that you can "picture" details and concepts
• Once a concept is grasped,
  Practise applying the information to new situations or progressive stepped learning
  in place of routine drill and practice that will challenge your attention span
• Use mind or concept maps (rather than outlines)
  to organize writing assignments to visualize ideas, their connections, sequences, and conclusions
  Brainstorm using illustrations, mind maps and models
• Look for alternative sources of visual material when you study
  videos, overheads and PowerPoint demonstrations, graphs, maps, and media programs

Using technology:

• Take advantage of the visual elements
  of the computer in studying or locating information
• Take advantage of stop/start/replay
  in mediated programs
• Produce your own mediated programs
  in place of written reports
• Develop and apply graphical and/or three dimensional models
  to understand new material

For lectures

• Avoid visual distractions
  in classroom seating (windows, open doorways, etc.)
• Look for opportunities to break up lectures
  with reflective though active exercises (question-write-pair-share) and brain-storming sessions
• Illustrate your notes
  with images and graphs
• Review and organize your notes after class
  with concept maps
• Keep and organize a file of handouts
  and summary documents after lectures for review
• Request "guided notes" or blanks in handouts
  that provide you with cues for completion

Reading text books

• Look through titles, charts, graphs, and pictures
  to get an overall idea of the content before reading a chapter
• Use color highlighers
  to emphasize important material
• Write or illustrate in the margins
  to emphasize important material

Test taking/assessment

• Write out/illustrate steps in a sequence
  as a checklist to keep on task
• Think of visual cues and associations in remembering information
  (You may also see the location of an answer rather than the answer itself!)
• If you are challenged by standardized and/or timed tests,
  meet with your teacher to discuss alternatives for assessment
• Essay and/or short answer tests, or class presentations/demonstrations may be optional assessment techniques