How Should I Choose A Maths Subject? Maths Teacher Eddie Woo Breaks It All Down
We’ve talked about English, scaling, and everything you need to think about when choosing your Year 11 and 12 subjects.
We thought its time to look at Maths, what’s on offer, and what to think about when choosing your Maths course in your final years of school.
Maths is one of the most popular choices for Year 11s and 12s in Australia, so it’ll be good to know what you’re heading into.
We caught up with Maths teacher, founder of Misterwootube, leader of the Maths Growth Team, and Education Ambassador for the University of Sydney Eddie Woo, and he told us everything you need to know before making your decision.
What courses are on offer?
Although courses differ slightly depending on where you live, Maths courses in Year 11 and 12 generally follow the same pattern across the country.
Eddie’s a teacher in New South Wales, but he said that the same program applies generally to all Australian students.
“We have, very broadly speaking, three kinds of tiers of mathematics,” he said.
“Mathematics standard is a very practical, everyday course, which focuses on the kind of mathematics you are going to encounter in your everyday life.”
Eddie said this might be finances, algebra, geometry, and interpreting real-life data.
In your state, this course might be called Mathematics Applications, Foundation, Essentials or General.
“Then we go into this middle tier, we call it advanced,” Eddie said.
“This is where we start to introduce more sophisticated levels of mathematics, particularly, a branch of Maths called calculus.”
He said although calculus can sound scary, it’s really just the study of “quantities of change”.
“There’s lots of quantities that change all around us – time, speed, location, population, the number of people who have contracted a virus.”
The final level of Maths is called Extension One and Two in NSW, but across most of the country it’s called Mathematics Specialist.
“These are levels of mathematics that aren’t really intended to be practical at all. They’re quite pure in a way, which is to say they’re not necessarily applied to specific contexts or situations, it can be quite theoretical.”
Eddie said Specialist is a common choice for people who have scientific aspirations, such as engineering, or are interested in a career that uses Maths quite intensely, like finance or accounting.
If you want to know more about the specific Maths choices in your state, head to your state’s curriculum website, like SCSA in WA or VCAA in Victoria.
What should I be thinking about?
Eddie said it’s important to think about your “future focus” when deciding on a Maths course.
He said everyone will end up using Maths in their future studies and careers, so knowing what you might want to do after you finish school is key to making an informed decision.
“Everyone, no matter what they want to do after school, if they want to do an apprenticeship, or if they want to go to university or even go straight into the workforce – they’ll all benefit from taking that baseline level of mathematics.”
He said there are certain fields and subjects that will require a good base of Maths.
“You want to think about, how mathematically intense will my level of tertiary study be?”
He said while Maths is important for every field of study, it’s particularly important for STEM courses.
“If someone wants to do a technology or engineering or science related thing, the more math you do, the better, you will never be disadvantaged.”
He also said when choosing a course, it’s important to be aware of what Maths teaches you.
Maths teaches students to “think logically and systematically”, which Eddie said is “the most important practical application of studying Maths in Year 11 and 12."
Will I ever use Maths in the real world?
Eddie had a resounding answer for this one – YES.
“Maths is just found everywhere, you can’t avoid it,” he said.
Maths can be found in whatever you do, from playing an instrument to watching sport, and no matter your job, you’re almost guaranteed to do some Maths.
“Mathematics is everywhere, and I think that’s why so many people choose it, because they realise it equips them to look at the world around them and make sense of it.”
Maths is so important, so knowing which one to do can be crucial to your future study.
As Eddie said, “when you understand mathematics, it equips you to walk into the world”.
Be sure to check out our Subject Selection Series, so you can head into Year 11 and 12 ready and prepared.
