How Would You Make Your Subjects Better?

[beep boop]

Here is one rarely seen:
Religion and Society:
The theory is fine but sometimes it is tedious/not really relevant to all religions. It can be seen but it just feels clunky at times.
The biggest thing I would change is how the practice is handled, as in real world tradition specific. It always has to be from the religions perspective, what they intend etc. U r not allowed to have any opinion or evaluation on how a religion acts in society, there is no room for free thought, doing research projects etc. Adding them would be cool and make the subject more engaging if the essay part was not on some rote question but like a cool analytical essay.

i can wholeheartedly agree with this. a lot of this focuses on memorising lengthy definitions. i can definitely say that there is a lot of writing. to do sacs, what answers the question is a textbook answer, which makes the subject a bit tedious.

[KenW]

ENGLISH CAN STAY COMPULSORY BUT IT SHOULDNT BE IN YOUR TOP 4
I understand why it is, but like the students who need a certain ss for uni entry will work to achieve that and it takes off some of the pressure i think?

Doesn't that kind of beat the purpose though? A student could just study English as an extra subject, and just turn up to class, barely pass while doing the bare minimum, and then just put the extra effort into another subject?
Making english still compulsory makes sense, but not forcing it in the top 4 just rewards people for just passing it and spending more time in other subjects.

[Billuminati]

I think English shouldn’t be compulsory but if it were, I think it’s a good idea to make a STEM subject compulsory (and in the top 4) to compensate at the same time. Personally I found the current system favouring humanities-minded students not because of the compulsory English, but the compulsory top 4.

In terms of what I want changed in VCE, I’d change methods to the pre-2016 study design. From 2017 onwards, the methods exams got harder and harder and I felt they examined stuff not covered well in the course in 2018. More geometry might be nice, because I feel this will be a lot more useful practically and wasn’t taught well (despite this geo still comes up on a lot of exams and many of us lack the intuition to succeed in these questions)

For chem, I’m pretty happy with the way it is, but I’m not happy about the pedantic marking like in bio where you must repeat the stock explanations ad verbatim in theory questions. The removal of Ka and pKa decreased the calculation:explanation question ratio, which made this issue worse, and these are used extensively in uni. After studying uni chem, I think VCAA should introduce mechanisms in the organic section just to make the high school-uni transition easier.

[ConFinCMC]

English Language:
-The entire subject can burn, for all i care. Unit 1/2 had nothing to do with Unit 3/4, and the damned essay structure can perish with it. Such a horrid way to write, and every single damn time I submitted essays for feedback, I wasn't "concise or detailed" enough. In 2035, I bet all the exam will be is "Write a 7 page Analytical Commentary on the word "clock" and how its uses have shaped the English language over the past 1000 years"
-The subject shouldn't focus solely on essay writing, but perhaps a more prominent short-answer question section. I feel as if we can learn more from short questions rather than writing one large essay on two or three aspects.

Biology
-Learning about metamorphosis would have been pretty interesting in caterpillars and tadpoles, and perhaps how it had been first utilised in evolution.
-Learning about extinct animals, why they became extinct, and how it could have been prevented. (this might have been covered in the normal study design, but I did it in 2020, so idk)

History: Revolutions
-tbh, i barely paid attention in this class, so idk what to change lol. We just looked at the causes and consequences of the Russian and Chinese Revolutions. equality good, human rights bad, something like that. (no wonder I got an 18 SS for this one lmao)

French
-This counts for all LOTE's, but I would have love, love, LOVED a small unit on the history of each language's country. The French Monarchy, the numerous wars with England and surrounding kingdoms, the Revolution, and its colonisation in the Americas, Africa, etc.

Drama
-The Solo Performance should not be as heavy on the study score. I kid you not when I say that 35% (AN ENTIRE GODDAMN THIRD) of your Study Score all comes down to a seven minute performance out of the entire year. I was rolling on a 75% average in all my SACs and in my Ensemble Performance, and that slight stint in the works crushed it all and made it insignificant
-The Solo Performance's Statement of Intent (a small note you write on how the performance links back to the stimulus) should be larger and more prominent in the assessment. If you make the tiniest, most insignificant, barely noticeable to the naked eye mistake, you can kiss any dream of getting above a 40 SS goodbye forever.

I don't know, maybe I just had a really bad time in Year 12. I wish I did Geography instead of History, tbh.

[GreenNinja]

Doesn't that kind of beat the purpose though? A student could just study English as an extra subject, and just turn up to class, barely pass while doing the bare minimum, and then just put the extra effort into another subject?
Making english still compulsory makes sense, but not forcing it in the top 4 just rewards people for just passing it and spending more time in other subjects.

Thats what happens in QLD. You still have to pass english to obtain a QCE or 'pass highschool' but by not making english compulsory to go toward your atar, students have the abbitily to put more effort into subjects they enjoy or know will allow them to obtain a higher atar.

[Moskva]

Doesn't that kind of beat the purpose though? A student could just study English as an extra subject, and just turn up to class, barely pass while doing the bare minimum, and then just put the extra effort into another subject?
Making english still compulsory makes sense, but not forcing it in the top 4 just rewards people for just passing it and spending more time in other subjects.

Some people will never need more than a satisfactory pass level of English and that’s fine.

[AngelWings]

It’s been a few years since I was studying and longer since I did Year 12, but here’s how I’d change my subjects:

1. All subjects: I would have less emphasis on exams and place more emphasis on practical applications and areas that are actually applicable to life.

I would also have a single class in which you discuss career and course pathways in that subject, or a class devoted to practical uses of that subject in life. If school or restrictions permit, I’d like this session to include an incursion where a guest speaker from the industry or nearby Uni is invited to come talk to the students. 

2. English subjects: Have a compulsory AoS on practical life skills related to English e.g. understanding jargon used in work/ property/ lease contracts, how to complete taxes to a basic degree, how to write a good CV. This AoS would be just a pass/ fail and not have a huge impact on ATARs. (And in Year 9/10, I’d have a compulsory subject dedicated to essential life skills e.g. how to cook, how to sew back on a button, how to do taxes, how to drive (with an alternative class for those who can’t), how to buy/rent a property, how to do basic first aid.)

I love this thought. Especially the changes in the English language. I would add one more thing though. I would make reading of the newspaper compulsory in the first few minutes of the class or have a discussion about that day’s newspaper. Students nowadays are very far from the things that are happening around the world. There is hardly anyone who has the habit of reading a newspaper. This would also create momentum to start reading more and more books. Hence, improve English altogether!

I also like this idea but would make this a brief discussion on what made the news in general once a week or fortnight.

3. Maths: I would probably make this a compulsory subject and add more higher level data and stats into Methods. (Controversially, I’d likely simultaneously scrap the Top 4 system.)

4. Psych: I’d include a short non-assessed class on mental health. I’d also add more on neurology, though the latter began to play more of a role in later study designs (I took it in 2013).

5. Japanese SL:

French
-This counts for all LOTE's, but I would have love, love, LOVED a small unit on the history of each language's country. The French Monarchy, the numerous wars with England and surrounding kingdoms, the Revolution, and its colonisation in the Americas, Africa, etc.

Honestly, I would’ve also like to have seen a bit less emphasis on Japanese pop culture and a little more on traditions and history (just a glance through).

6. Chemistry: I remember there being too much content to get through, but not sure what I’d take out of it.

[waterangel82]

All VCE (English/Maths/Science/Hums/Business) subjects:
-Introduce more variety of assessments, e.g. assignments and presentations that form part of the coursework (e.g. like in the QCE and HSC); SACs should not just be in-class exams. This is important because in uni there's a whole variety of different assessments that are not solely based on tests/exams, and it's important to become familiar with tackling these assessment types. These assignments/presentations should also be carried out in a way where students are forced to critically think (e.g. writing a literature review or a mini thesis), like in the coursework component of the IB program. Similarly, like in the IB program, keep the coursework component to a minimum (max. 20% of subject mark) to ensure every student is assessed as fairly as possible.
-Do multiple mock exams (like in the UK A-levels) after each major outcome. These are an excellent way to see where you're at in terms of knowledge and teachers can also use your results from these to estimate your study scores. But these mock exams won't contribute towards your SAC grades.
-Units 1 and 2 will count towards the study score for the whole subject, and there will be 2 large exams at the end of the year. This gives the student more opportunities if they don't perform well in one exam
-Eliminate the GAT. With mock exams and Unit 1 and 2 exams the GAT will be a useless tool for predicting a student's performance.

English:
-Get rid of argument analysis - personally I don't find the point of writing a whole essay based around how the author/s present their arguments. Writing your own point of view piece is much more practical
-Increase the number of oral presentations - oral presentations are very important in everyday contexts (like in job meetings); doing 1 oral a year is not sufficient. Would be nice to have at least 2-3 orals a year
-Increase the time allowed to write an essay - make each essay at least 1.5 hours (ideally 2). So for Unit 3/4 English, there may be 2 separate exams each of 2 hours - one for writing the text response, and the other for the comparative essay
-Allow novels to be brought into the exams

Biology:
-Make Units 1/2 solely focussed on basics + evolution + adaptations, and Units 3/4 on human biology + genetics
-Unit 3 could have a strong focus on molecular biology (e.g. biochemistry, cell biology, microbiology, immunology, genetics) and Unit 4 could focus on anatomy and physiology (plant and human). I personally find there's a lack of emphasis on physiology in VCE bio and first-year bio really requires you to have a strong understanding of physiology, so including it would be beneficial.
-Change exam format - Have 2 end-of-year exams, 2 hours each (one purely MCQ, other SA/Extended response)

Chemistry:
-Cut down the section on fuels (especially the theory) - not useful for uni chemistry and too dry anyway. This section should just focus on how to calculate different thermodynamics equations to find the enthalpy.
-Introduce the ideas of Gibbs free energy and entropy
-Include kinetics (e.g. first-order, second-order reactions)
-Cut down the theory on batteries - place strong emphasis on the electrochemistry and calculations instead. Introduce the Nernst equation
-Include more organic chemistry (yes, the dreaded arrow reactions). Introducing this earlier in VCE means students won't have to struggle through the organic chem sections of first-year uni chem as much
-Reintroduce the idea of Ka and pKa - first year uni chem requires you to be very confident with these concepts, not learning about them in high school made this transition much more difficult
-In summary, VCE chem should be modelled after A-levels chemistry (increased difficulty and depth)
-Change exam format - Have 2 end-of-year exams, 2 hours each (one purely MCQ, other SA/Extended response)

Methods/Spesh:
-Scrap use of CAS. Student should only bring a scientific calculator or a non-CAS graphics calculator. Students should be able to manipulate and solve algebraic equations by hand.
-Scrap Methods. Too many convoluted worded problems that have very little practical use. Replace with a subject that is the equivalent of HSC Maths extension 1
-Scrap Spesh and replace with a subject that is the equivalent of HSC Maths extension 2
-Change exam format - Have 2 end-of-year exams, 2 hours each (one purely MCQ, other SA/Extended response)

General/Further:
-Scrap modules. All modules should be completed. E.g. Unit 1 - Linear graphs, relations + non-linear graphs (include some methods Unit 1 content), Unit 2 - Geometry and Trig, Unit 3 - Statistics and Financial Maths, Unit 4 - Matrices and Networks
-Change exam format - Have 2 end-of-year exams, 2 hours each (one purely MCQ, other SA/Extended response)