Should I do Spesh in yr 12

[latenightwithyourmom]

I haven’t done specialist 1/2 but after my not so good performance in methods, I am leaning towards doing spesh, however at my school I’m currently doing biology which runs during spesh. If anyone is doing both these subjects, which one would you recommend to do?

Thanks in advance!

[DSubShell]

Going by the Spesh 1/2 in our school... it definitely was not required at all to do Spesh 3/4. While there is slight overlap in some topics, majority of Spesh focuses on calculus and goes very far in-depth by itself. So that should not affect your decision.

However, what I would want to know is why you didn't perform so well in methods. Was it because it just didn't work on the exam day, or because you don't feel very confident in maths in general. A lot of kids feel drawn to spesh because of its incredible markup, but without being too confident in maths, it definitely isn't the right subject to choose.

That aside, I can tell you personally that I really enjoyed spesh, far more than methods. It was very interesting and the questions felt less "forced" in a way. Methods is more pure mathematics, ie. learning about mathematical principles (eg. Functions and stuff), while Spesh is more practical, and in my eyes, enjoyable. Definitely a fun maths subject if you like maths.

As for bio, I can't say too much because I only did the 1/2. From what I've heard, its a lot of memory work, with a bit of application. But the application doesn't come close to something like chem.

Interested in hearing back from you

[latenightwithyourmom]

I consider myself relatively strong in maths, but it wasn’t working for me on exam day.

[DSubShell]

I consider myself relatively strong in maths, but it wasn’t working for me on exam day.

Yeh I totally understand :-(

Well if you you are confident in your abilities its a very good sign And if you also enjoy maths (at least a bit), then I would definitely recommend doing spesh.

Its an intense subject, but the course is smaller than methods which makes it more forgiving. If you understood the methods concepts, you will apply a lot of them again, but in a more accessible way (hopefully less likely to muck up on game day!) From what you've said it just sounds like the right idea.

Good luck with your choice!

[keltingmeith]

Facts:

1. There is no specialist 1/2 atm, no matter WHAT your school calls it. Some schools cover concepts relevant to specialist 3/4 in their 1/2 variant (actually called "GMA", or General Mathematics Advanced) - but I've also seen schools that cover completely pointless and irrelevant material to 3/4.

2. Doing specialist WILL improve your methods scores if you do them concurrently (your post is a little unclear)

3. If you choose to study maths/science/engineering at university, you have a leg up if you do decently in specialist (>=30 study score, essentially) - and if you do really well, you can even go onto "advanced" units at Monash or Melbourne

4. Specialist scaling >>>>>>>>> biology scaling. Hell, pretty sure biology scales down for some scores...

5. Idk. Maths is cool?

Note: as somebody who never liked biology and UTTERLY HATED the biological section of his chem exam, I am extremely biased.

[cosine]

I haven’t done specialist 1/2 but after my not so good performance in methods, I am leaning towards doing spesh, however at my school I’m currently doing biology which runs during spesh. If anyone is doing both these subjects, which one would you recommend to do?

Thanks in advance!

Trust me, Specialist 1/2 is completely useless when it comes to 3/4. The only thing that 1/2 did for me is that it allowed me to be mentally stronger with application-type questions (which will be helpful later in year 12). I also do biology and I really enjoy it, so what I would reccomend you is to do what you enjoy more, trust me! Dont worry about the massive mark up for spesh, because if you do not enjoy the subject and the topics covered, you can still do good but you would hate every single minute of class!!!!

Good luck with your decision