New Maths Study Design Questions

[keltingmeith]

Turns out that VCAA have finally published the new study design! See here

Feel free to direct all questions about the study design here - if you're doing year 12 now, you don't have to worry about this. If you're doing year 12 next year/the year after, this might be something to start thinking about. If your questions relate to the new content in probability/statistics for methods and specialist, don't worry - I have a post on that coming around half-way through the year.

If you just want to sit here and bitch about/praise the new study design because you care about mathematics education, you are also okay to do that. This topic is basically just an attempt to catch all "new study design" banter and put it in the one place.

[Adequace]

I'll be taking methods and Spesh both 1/2 next year. How do you think the new study design will affect the scaling and difficulty of each subject?

[keltingmeith]

I'll be taking methods and Spesh both 1/2 next year. How do you think the new study design will affect the scaling and difficulty of each subject?

No way to predict, but you'll have a full year of scaling to see how it might happen anyway if you're going into 1/2 next year. The positive of the changes are is that there isn't an extreme amount for methods and specialist (minus probability), so I don't think we'll see any significant change in the scaling.

[Cogglesnatch Cuttlefish]

Has the study design improved in your opinion?

[Gentoo]

The changes to the course would only affect scaling so long as it changed the overall aptitude of the students taking the subject. Given almost all students considering what maths to take for year 12 next year would be unlikely to appreciate the changes in the course and even less likely to alter their decision based on such changes (which as mentioned before, are pretty minimal, at least for methods/spesh), pretty much nothing will happen to the overall aptitude of the population as a result of the changes. And even if it did, the scaling would merely make it fair.

Aaaaand they still haven't put up the assessment reports from last year. Classic VCAA. :p

[lzxnl]

So then...looks like it's going to be harder to tutor spesh without actually looking at this extra probability and statistics....

[abcdqd]

Does anyone have a list of all the changes?

Apart from the new statistics stuff, I've noticed from Methods that modulus functions and linear approximation have been removed. However they have taken out the "(formal derivation is not required)" clause from the derivatives section; maybe we'll see more proof questions?

For Spesh, they've taken out ellipses and hyperbolas and added in arc lengths of curves, separable ODEs and the probability bit. Is there anything else?

[lzxnl]

Does anyone have a list of all the changes?

Apart from the new statistics stuff, I've noticed from Methods that modulus functions and linear approximation have been removed. However they have taken out the "(formal derivation is not required)" clause from the derivatives section; maybe we'll see more proof questions?

For Spesh, they've taken out ellipses and hyperbolas and added in arc lengths of curves, separable ODEs and the probability bit. Is there anything else?

Arc lengths of curves? What, by integrating sqrt(1 + (y')^2) dx? That'll be interesting. Dunno why they removed ellipses and hyperbolas though; those weren't exactly time-consuming to learn.

There's statistics as well as probability now; I don't know if spesh is going to be more fun or not to teach next year.

[keltingmeith]

Has the study design improved in your opinion?

Yes and no. My honest opinion is that methods 1/2 should go on to specialist 3/4 - until they do that, there is no improvement.

The inclusion of the new statistics stuff is nice, and they've added in separable DEs (which was literally in the last study design, just not specifically mentioned or taught...) Still no integration by parts, though. :\ Further is the most interesting - I don't whether if it's a step in the positive or negative direction, but it's definitely a step...

Aaaaand they still haven't put up the assessment reports from last year. Classic VCAA. :p

Legit so much annoyance. >.<

So then...looks like it's going to be harder to tutor spesh without actually looking at this extra probability and statistics....

Arc lengths of curves? What, by integrating sqrt(1 + (y')^2) dx? That'll be interesting. Dunno why they removed ellipses and hyperbolas though; those weren't exactly time-consuming to learn.

There's statistics as well as probability now; I don't know if spesh is going to be more fun or not to teach next year.

The statistics inference in methods is stupid and I hate it. >( The stuff included in specialist is great, though - confidence intervals and hypothesis testing is great fun, and I love it! They definitely could've added more (such as estimation), but what they've done given the limited amount of probability knowledge is pretty cool.

Granted, there is no way to prove the formulas used without central limit theorem, and to prove THAT you need the use of the characteristic, moment generating or probability generating function. So, there's that, which is annoying. :\

As for conics, they're still there - they've included them in parameterization, they've just removed them specifically. Basically means there won't be any more conics questions unless "vector calculus" is involved.

Does anyone have a list of all the changes?

Apart from the new statistics stuff, I've noticed from Methods that modulus functions and linear approximation have been removed. However they have taken out the "(formal derivation is not required)" clause from the derivatives section; maybe we'll see more proof questions?

For Spesh, they've taken out ellipses and hyperbolas and added in arc lengths of curves, separable ODEs and the probability bit. Is there anything else?

Modulus is now in specialist, too - so, there is that. Otherwise, I don't think there's anything else - they could've included a lot of things, but I think they're a bit hesitant given the massive changes to Further.

[lzxnl]

What ARE the changes to Further? I don't know much about the old or new course.

[IntelxD]

What ARE the changes to Further? I don't know much about the old or new course.

The old course consisted of the Core which was a compulsory area of study for all students undertaking Further Maths and also a selection of 3 out of a possible 6 modules. The new course has essentially integrated a large portion of the Business Mathematics and Number Patterns modules into the compulsory area of study. Schools must now choose only 2 modules from a possible 4 to compliment their study of the course. This is only a summary of the major changes.

[Sine]

Can someone summarise the changes for Methods 3/4 and Specialist 3/4 ?

Where would you be able to get practice exams for next year?

What time during the year do you think textbooks for the new study design will be released or are the old ones sufficient if you want to learn some content ahead of time?

[keltingmeith]

Can someone summarise the changes for Methods 3/4 and Specialist 3/4 ?

Methods:
-No more matrices.
But matrices will still pop up. (it's pretty nonsensical from what I can see, tbh...)
-Probability + Statistics (more to come later)
-No more modulus.

Specialist:
-Modulus. (lolwut)
-Conics are no longer specifically taught/assessable - but you must still draw them.
-New calc things, yay~ (arc length + separable ODEs)
-Statistics (more to come later)

Where would you be able to get practice exams for next year?

Companies have probably already started considering what to do about practice exams for next year - whether they have a group consciously looking at it yet or not, though, remains to be seen.

Basically, the same place you get all non-VCAA practice exams. VCAA should provide a sample exam later this year.

What time during the year do you think textbooks for the new study design will be released or are the old ones sufficient if you want to learn some content ahead of time?

I have no bloody clue. However, content is still very similar - in terms of:

Methods:
Algebra
Functions (-modulus)
Calculus
Probability (-Markov chains)

Specialist:
Algebra
Vectors
Mechanics

NOTHING has changed. Feel free to use the old section of your textbook for those areas of study.

[alondouek]

Damn the new spesh course looks really good, if I had my time again I'd definitely have a crack at it lol

Methods:
-No more matrices.
But matrices will still pop up.

This is the most VCAA thing I've ever seen.

[keltingmeith]

Huge thank you for making this thread EulerFan101. I was not aware of any of this.

So if I were to continue tutoring Methods next year, all I would need to do is read up on Statistics?

If it's just methods, yes. Granted, there's not too much to be added there, so I wouldn't worry, could easily learn it over the sem 1 holidays after exams.

This is the most VCAA thing I've ever seen.

Much VCAA, very wtf.