Should I choose Further Maths or Maths Methods

 As a teacher and tutor of many years, this is a question I get asked all the time. Students are torn, unsure of their abilities and what is going to get them into their dream course, career or apprenticeship. The problem with many public schools as well, is that they spoon feed their students up until the VCE level, and then expect them to take responsibility, work harder and faster and finish all their homework. Students are completely taken by surprise by the pace and difficulty of all VCE subjects and are often overwhelmed.

Making decisions for the wrong reasons:
There are a few instances where students choose their subjects based on myths or the uneducated recommendations of others:

• I’ll do methods because it gets marked up

Do not do this! I can tell you first hand that regardless of scaling, you will get a better score in Further Maths 99% of the time (pretty much unless you are a genius and get 50 in both). I did Further and Methods in year 12. I spend more than double the time studying for Methods and still received a higher score for Further.

• I’ll do Further because it’s the easy Maths

Further Maths is NOT easy. It’s different. It has a lot more practical applications than methods, and you can rely and the calculator quite heavily which makes it easier, but not easy. So many students choose Further as what is meant to be their easy subject, intending not to study. I can tell you that even if you are a Maths wizz, if you don’t study, you will not reach your potential in this subject.

• I’ll do Further because Mum says I must do Maths

What you must do is your homework. Think about all of the possible career paths you are interested in and what their prerequisites are. If Maths is required, then yes, you must do it. If not, you have the option not to do it. Make choices based on your needs and preferences and make sure that you are not making subject study decisions to please anyone else.

Making decisions for the right reasons:

• Doing the Maths you enjoy most

You may have looked at the study designs or been given some descriptions of the topics in each subject. Further Maths is directed more towards practical analysis using statistics geometry, linear equations and networks. Methods is more of a pure math subject with various functions, calculus and advanced probability. If you do not enjoy Maths at all, you might like to consider not doing it at all.

• Doing the prerequisite for your course

Make sure you do all the subjects required to enter into the course of career you intend to do following high school. And, if your course does not require Maths, please refer to the first point.

• Keeping your options open

If you are not sure what you’d like to do after high school, I recommend Further Maths to keep your pathway options open. Many apprenticeships prefer students with some mathematical background and it is a prerequisite for common courses such as teaching and nursing.

I hope this article has helped in your decision making for year 12 Maths. If you are still unsure or need further guidance, make an appointment with a careers counselor at your school.