Student Guide Corner

As some of you might know, about five years ago I cofounded the website www.CPAreviewforFREE.com .    Since that time, we have provided CPA exam candidates with 2,400 free questions and answers which are (in my opinion) well written and well explained.   We do this because we firmly believe that everyone needs access to affordable materials so that they have a reasonable opportunity of passing the CPA exam.   The CPA profession should be open to all people, even those who cannot afford expensive study guides and review materials.   Over the years, many candidates have passed the exam solely using our questions and answers.   These are often young people with very limited resources.    These are the kinds of folks who keep the profession fresh, active, and innovative. We have been searching for some way to fund this site so that we can continue to offer this assistance for free.    Over the last couple of months, I have been writing an ...

Periodically, I list the entries on this blog that have gained the most readership over the years.    I am not always sure why these postings have become so popular but you might find a few of these thoughts to be especially interesting as you start a new school year. (1) � What Do We Add? � July 22, 2010 (2) � Introduction � Teaching (Financial Accounting) � January 7, 2010 (3) � What Is the Purpose of a Final Exam � May 12, 2010 (4) � What the Catcher Tells the Pitcher � August 21, 2011 (5) � A Good Suggestion � June 1, 2013 (6) � What Is the Best Book You Ever Read � June 23, 2012 (7) � The Future Is Now? � August 13, 2012 (8) � How You Test Is How They Will Learn � January 31, 2010 (9) � A Note to My Students � January 15, 2012 (10) � We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Us � May 22, 2012 ** I was hunting through some old materials this morning and found the following paragraphs that I had written a number of years ago.    It is a list of what I th...

Last week, in each of my three classes, we were covering some extremely difficult material.    The students came to class well prepared for the most part.    They did a good job of analyzing and discussing the issues.    They came up with reasonable solutions.     They were certainly not perfect but they demonstrated a solid understanding of some truly complicated concepts.    I was proud of them.    They had come a long way. We are now down to the last few days of the semester.    I was extremely happy to see such a good effort here near the end.    Even a grump like me had to be pleased.    Virtually every student in class had demonstrated a real improvement since we began back in August.    They not only knew more financial accounting but, just as importantly to me, they knew more about how to be good students.    At times like these, I am always reminded of a quote ...

Several weeks ago, I wrote a blog entry describing my discussion each semester with my juniors about the best book that they have ever read. In the blog, I explained that I thought education needed to be more than just conveying material. It also needs to be about helping students to broaden their horizons and become better rounded members of our society. If we are just going to teach stuff, computers can probably do that better than we can. I got quite a number of emails about that post � most were positive although some were a bit mystified as to why I would do that in an accounting class. Heck, I would do that in any class. So, okay, let�s take this thought a step further. What is your favorite class memory of the spring semester? I assume virtually everyone who reads this post is a teacher. What is your favorite teaching memory from the spring? (If you don�t have one, you probably need to make some serious changes.) One of my favorite memories is of a photograph (now taped to m...

Occasionally, someone will ask me to give them my number one piece of advice for becoming a better teacher. Teaching is such a complex art that I really think that is close to impossible. However, I do think there is one thing that every teacher (and I do mean every teacher) should do that will help them immediately to become a better teacher. Can you believe it? I�m almost guaranteeing you success with just one piece of advice. Every teacher should get a reality check by enrolling as a student each year in a class in something about which they have no real knowledge. In other words, they should walk around to the other side of the desk and put themselves into the student role just as a reminder of how it feels to be the struggling one. I don�t mean for a history teacher to take another history class. There�s no benefit. I don�t mean for an English teacher to take a class in poetry. I mean for a history teacher or an English teacher to take a class in quantum mechanics. Two weeks ago, ...

My department chair (Darrell Walden) sent out the following link to an article from The Washington Post . You may have to register to read it but it is well worth your time. (If the link doesn�t work, just go to www.washingtonpost.com and search for �Is college too easy� as of May 21, 2012.) http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/is-college-too-easy-as-study-time-falls-debate-rises/2012/05/21/gIQAp7uUgU_story.html Darrell summarizes the story quite well in just a few words. �Over the past half-century, the amount of time college students actually study � read, write and otherwise prepare for class � has dwindled from 24 hours a week to about 15, survey data show. And that invites a question: Has college become too easy?� As I travel around the country talking about teaching, I very frequently hear faculty members complain that �college students are not like they used to be.� My feeling (after 41 years in this job) has always been that college students really do not change much o...

Just a quick reminder (because I know adoption decisions for the fall semester are being made as I write), if you would like to receive a copy of the second edition of my Financial Accounting textbook (written with C. J. Skender of UNC and published by Flat World Knowledge) which just came off the press a few weeks ago, all you need do is send a note to faculty@flatworldknowledge.com.  Okay, I�m biased but I honestly believe you will get the best textbook on the market AND your students will each save $100 to $200. In these days and times, those are two very good reasons to give it a look.   (If you are interested, drop me a note at Jhoyle@richmond.edu and I'll send you a survey we did of all the students using the first edition just to see how they liked the book.) ** I have written this type of blog entry before over the years BUT last night at 9:47 was my very favorite time of the entire semester by far. Right before I entered my final grades for the semester into the...

There are many times in teaching that a teacher needs to explain things to students. In many college classes, they are young people with limited experience. Occasionally, they simply don�t understand, especially when things are not as they have experienced them in the past. Part of my job as a teacher is to explain things beyond my subject matter. There are stories that can sometimes help them come to a better understanding. I often have students come to my office after I return a test. They are upset that they didn�t make the grade they had wanted or expected. It is common for me to hear something like �I cannot tell you how hard I studied. In fact, I studied with Mr. A and Ms. B and I knew just as much as they did. We worked every question from class 8 times apiece. Yet, they made a 95 and I made an 83. What am I supposed to do?� I guess this is on my mind because one of my students told me this afternoon that the 83 he got on a recent test was the first grade he had received in coll...