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March 28, 2024, 10:36:14 pm

Author Topic: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings  (Read 828674 times)  Share 

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Springyboy

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #525 on: December 18, 2020, 11:53:37 am »
+7
Subject Code/Name: ETC3530 - Contingencies in insurance and pensions

Workload:

1 x 2hr lecture per week (via Zoom)

1 x 1.5 hr tutorial per week (reduced to 1 hr this semester due to teaching constraints, should be increased to 1.5 hrs from next year)

Assessment: 

10% quizzes - each week from weeks 2-11 a quiz was done in tutorials. As long as you attempt the quiz, you get 1% regardless of your mark, so it is an easy 10%. I found the quizzes to be quite basic however, so it should be reasonably simple to obtain the full 10% even without only attempting it once.

10% Individual Assignment - The individual assignment was designed to get you up to scratch with using R, a programming language used in this subject. It mainly involved working with some data in R to create functions that can calculate values of actuarial products, before plotting those on a graph and comparing their shape. This was an excellent assignment, and not too labour intensive. Most students did quite well, so it was not extremely difficult.

20% Group Assignment - Now this was an assignment. Using R Shiny, each student had to create in groups from sizes 3-4 a Shiny dashboard that outputted the values of actuarial reserves. In order to get full marks, you needed to write code from scratch in R and stress test it to ensure that it was perfect. This was extremely labour intensive. In order to do well, you needed to put in a ton of effort so that you could maximise your marks. I found myself working on this very heavily throughout semester, so I am glad that I had the time available to work on it. Most groups did do reasonably well, but try and put in as much effort as possible, as it is worth the reward. I was lucky I had a strong team available to help, so maximised my marks in this regard.

60% Exam - The exam covered all topics, but was heavily geared towards week 9 onwards (as that made up around half the exam). It consisted of 4 short answer questions, which you did online and handwrote before uploading your answers to your computer using either a QR code scanner or emailing your answers through to the exam team due to COVID-19. I found the exam to be very long, as was pressed for time throughout. However, the questions were not excessively difficult, just very long-winded, so if you are taking the exam next year onwards, then be aware that the exam is quite long and you need to try and prepare as much as possible to do questions in the shortest amount of time you can take.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available:  No exams available, though would have been handy if one was provided.

Textbook Recommendation: 
Actuarial Mathematics for Life Contingent Risks - 3rd edition by David Dickson is recommended, but not necessary. What I would recommend though is the CM1 Course Notes from the Actuarial Education Company (ActEd). They will make learning this subject far easier to understand. ActEd knows the syllabus excessively well, and writes it in a way that can be easily understood. The lectures and course content, particularly from week 3 onwards follow the ActEd syllabus, so try and obtain it if you can!

Lecturer(s):

Dan Zhu - Took lectures from weeks 1-2 as well as providing revision material to get you up to date with the subject. Dan covered a lot of mathematical proofs in her lectures that were not examinable, so can be quite dry and intensive watching her lectures. That being said, they were still useful in starting off the course.

Hamza Hanbali - Took the lectures from weeks 3-9 as well as being chief examiner. What a legend! Hamza was recently hired by Monash as a permanent replacement to teach the core actuarial subjects in life insurance. He is amazing! His lectures always had a 'meme of the week' and had lots of timelines to explain actuarial products, which I preferred to long mathematical proofs as it was far more conceptual. I hope that in the future Hamza can lecture all lectures for this subject.

Maziar Nikpour - Took the lectures from weeks 10-12. Maz was great in terms of his industry experience, as he currently works in the industry so can provide more background knowledge as to how profit is calculated and how contracts taught in his 3 lectures are used. That being said, his lectures were a little dry so try rewatch them if you can.

Year & Semester of completion: Semester 2, 2020

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Comments:

Firstly, I'd have a look at Fraxyz review here to provide some context for the subject. Unfortunately Colin no longer teaches this subject, so it has been hard since then to find a replacement. But this year Hamza Hanbali took the subject for the first time, and what a change it was! Hamza sets difficult assessments, but what I like about them is that they are really practical and relatable to what you would encounter at work. The second assignment in particular, although being incredibly labour-intensive (my longest assignment ever tbh) was very very valuable, as it gave an insight into how to apply theoretical knowledge into practice.

Topics covered included life assurance contracts, life annuity contracts, evaluation of those, premiums, reserves, joint lives and contingent benefits, mortality profit, competing risks, unit linked and accumulating with profit contracts, profit testing and reserving aspects of profit testing. All of which are in CM1 from chapters 14-27 (14 is needed as an intro to the subject). Therefore, it’s really imperative that you have access to CM1 in some form, as it reinforces what you’ve taught, which can be quite intensive.

Tutorials - The tutorials were standard going through tutorial questions, plus having a break in the middle to go through quizzes. I had Julie and Farheena as my tutors, and they were both experts and knowledgable in what they taught. I appreciated that they went through each question from scratch - so students could comprehend what was going on in front of them. That being said, the tutes were quite rushed due to time constraints - as because of COVID all 4 tutorials were run back-to-back, so they were only 1 hr duration such that tutors could fit them all in and have a break in between. This was annoying, as more time would've been welcome to go through more questions to understand the concepts. Despite that, they were still near the top level of all my tutorials taken at university, so I really appreciated having the time to understand the concepts being taught, no matter how short they were.

Overall though, now is the time to take this subject. It has been improved so much so that it is by far the best actuarial unit I have taken at university. Would I recommend this as an elective though? Probably not, because it is still quite mathematical and intensive, so I would say only do this if you have to, or want to for actuarial accreditation. But this unit has been redesigned from last year, so does not resemble the unit taught in the past.

But as Hamza has said, the goal for this unit is to make it as job-ready for you as possible. And that is exactly what has happened! Hamza knows his stuff incredibly well, and is the perfect fit for this unit. It is challenging but very rewarding. So try take it when you can, preferably in 2021 or 2022, as it has improved significantly compared to previous years!
« Last Edit: December 18, 2020, 12:38:07 pm by Springyboy »

LifeisaConstantStruggle

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #526 on: December 20, 2020, 02:31:46 pm »
+7
Subject Code/Name: ETC3580 – Advanced Statistical Modelling

Workload:  2x 1-hour lectures, 1x 1.5-hour tutorials

Assessment: 
4x 10% assignments
They were RMarkDown projects on some form of statistical analysis and modelling tasks, which were useful in developing some useful data analysis and R skills.

1x 60% final exam
This was examined using an eExam quiz this year, with a few multiple choice, typed and written questions (of which, you will need to take a picture and upload it on the platform). This year, the exam was reasonable, with quite a few tricky bits.

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available:  1x past exam with solutions

Textbook Recommendation: Faraway’s Extending the Linear Model, this textbook is also provided by the lecturer, and is sometimes a good read to reinforce concepts taught more deeply.

Lecturer(s): Dr. Didier Nibbering. Nice guy.

Year & Semester of completion: 2020 S2

Rating: 4 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 91 HD

Comments:

This unit’s content is divided into 4 sections:
1)   Linear models and diagnostics
2)   Generalised linear models (GLM) and diagnostics
3)   Mixed effects models (and their generalised equivalent)
4)   Non-parametric regression models (and their generalised equivalent)

The unit serves as an extension for the linear model framework (which you should learn in ETC2410 or ETC2420) and goes through many different models that are designed to tackle certain issues, particularly for economic, cross-sectional data. However, this is not a typical econometrics unit, as it was designed to mimic the Faraway textbook for general purposes in statistics. As such, there are some terminologies that might confuse the average, observant econometrics student (random effects, robust estimation, etc.).

Content wise, this unit is not too hard, though some might find the theoretical derivations difficult, which to me was definitely reinforced by doing other units (ETC3400, MTH3260). It is quite applicable for most cases, and definitely a good place to reinforce some foundational skills for graduate programs in quantitative roles, and honours as well. However, I felt that most of the content taught in this unit might be a bit outdated and the learning curve is still high for students who want to explore these concepts further. GLMs are important in the quantitative world, but it’s swiftly being replaced by better techniques (CNNs, boosting algorithms, etc.).

The tutorials were definitely a plus for this unit even when it’s done online. The tutor I had (Joan Tan) was very good and detailed in her explanations of the tutorial questions and solutions, and even added her own opinions to what was being presented to us as solutions, which I thought was very good in helping me understand crucial concepts of the unit.

Enjoyable unit, though it’s not particularly striking in any way.

2018-2020: Bachelor of Actuarial Science (+ Econometrics), Monash
2021: Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), Econometrics & Financial Mathematics, Monash
2022-2023: Work and some soul-searching

Owlbird83

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #527 on: January 23, 2021, 06:46:43 pm »
+6
Subject Code/Name: CHM1052- Chemistry 2 advanced

Workload:
~2h lecture per week
1h workshop per week
1h zoom lab (When irl 4h lab) ev 2nd week

Assessment: 
35% - x6 labs
10% - x10 preworkshop quizzes (1% each)
55% - exam

Recorded Lectures:  Yes

Past exams available:  Yes, two

Textbook Recommendation:  They provide you with pdf/online textbook 'Chemistry: Atoms first 2e' and 'Chemistry, 4e'

Lecturer(s):
Dr Sarah Kyne (unit coord.)
Dr Joel Hooper
Dr David Turner
Dr Drasko Vidovic
Dr Victoria Blair
Prof Stuart Batten
Dr Brett Paterson

Year & Semester of completion: 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: 84 HD

Comments:
-Preworkshop quiz due each Sunday night before you start that week. Helps you keep up to date with content.
-textbook prescribed reading is unnecessary to read imo, I only read for the first week, they cover everything thoroughly in preworkshop material/lectures
-Each week: >read preworkshop material and write notes
     >do preworkshop quiz
     >watch lectures and add extra bits to notes if needed
     >skim (or if you have time try) workshop worksheet
     >workshop (ask questions, try to participate)
     +try finishing lab work soon after lab so it's fresh in your mind
-preworkhop quiz is easy marks, you get two attempts at each.
-labs (-2020 online learning-) were a lot of mc questions/drag and drop/select from drop down, however there were discussions and conclusions that had to be written by yourself. I'm assuming it's harder when it's irl?
-try your hardest on in-sem assessments so you have more room for error in exam. (I found the exam much harder than the in-semester assessments).
-Difference between chm1022 and 1052 is not significant
     >Longer labs (4h compared to 3h) -(not applicable this year labs were identical)
     >1052 has same content as 1022 plus some extra info that's slightly more in depth/challenging (I don't think it's that much more maybe 15/20mins of extra lecture videos and then a couple of extension questions to discuss in workshop)
     >In 1052 you cannot access PASS (peer assisted study sessions) (1h per week of extra revision in smaller groups taught by past students)
     >1052 doesn't have 1h tutorials each week
     >exam is meant to be a tad harder? (can't really compare)
     >I don't think there's any benefit to doing 1052 over 1022 except when people ask 'which chem are you doing?' and you get to say 'advanced 8) ' that's literally it (or also getting intimidated in workshops when everyone seems so confident and knowledgeable and you barely understand what's going on but that's probably all units anyway)

     
2018: Biology
2019: Chemistry, Physics, Math Methods, English, Japanese
2020: Bachelor of Psychology (Monash)

dutyfree

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #528 on: January 30, 2021, 03:01:07 pm »
+5
Subject Code/Name: BIO1022 - Life on earth

Workload:
1 x 1 hr workshop weekly
1 x 1 hr review seminar weekly
1 x 2 hr practical every fortnight
Approx 1.5-2hr online activities

Assessment:
20% Weekly Moodle quizzes
30% Lab assessments
50% Examination

DISCLAIMER: Everything was online, including the labs due to Covid-19.
Recorded Lectures: Workshops and review seminars were recorded on top of being streamed on zoom and echo, Labs were only through zoom and not recorded

Past Exams Available:  Revision super quiz – approx. 500 questions
Textbook recommendation: How life works, 2nd Edition – an online copy is provided

Lecturers:
Dr Thomas Hiscox (Unit Coordinator)
A/Prof. Alistair Evans
A/Prof. Anne Peters
Dr. Matt Piper
Prof. Craig White
Prof. Ros Gleadow
Dr Kelly Merrin
Dr Callum Vidor
Dr Ben Seyer

Year and semester of completion: 2020, Semester 2
Rating: 3/5
Your mark/Grade: 93 HD

Comments:
Overall impression: I generally enjoyed the content in this unit, especially the immunity and evolution weeks, as I was exposed to them earlier in VCE bio. I personally hated the plant section and found it so confusing, when I was first learning it. But towards the end of the semester, the topic became easier, after watching a bunch of YouTube vids on plant reproduction (Khan academy + crash course). I guess the point is to keep an open mind and try different learning approaches to difficult topics. The setup is pretty much identical to BIO1011, with a very structured timeline given to you early in the semester – so make sure you jot down all the key dates for quizzes and lab assessments. As with the 1st semester, if you have an hour to spare, I highly recommend attending drop-in sessions early on, even just to stay and listen to other peers’ questions and their explanations. PASS is invaluable and all the tutors are amazing at simplifying hard topics into engaging activities. Make sure, to ask for help from the lecturers – book a meeting/ email, PASS, and lab tutors, they are usually more than happy to help you out with studies, tips about not burning out, difficulty with the unit, or about future pathways.

Weekly quizzes (20%): Multiple choice, 20 marks, 25 minutes, 1 attempt
Weekly quizzes are based on the videos and/or readings given each week. They are open book, and most are relatively straightforward, with some quizzes including application questions. Make sure to stay on top of the weekly content – this semester, I switched it up and typed all my notes. This definitely saved paper (duh), time and effort. To prevent directly copying, I would copy a slab from the textbook, reword the key information, then from that condensed information -> answer the dot points on the consolidation sheets. Applying feedback from last semester, they decided to add the workshop qs to the weekly quiz and reduced the number of questions. In my opinion, this reduced the stress of having to do two quizzes but made it easier to lose in-semester %, as one incorrect mark was worth more. The time limit is usually only constraining with the workshop questions – I recommend attending the workshop live (it's actually pretty engaging) and completing the activity, as it's nearly always presented as a question on the quiz. With understanding the topics, I relied heavily on flowcharts and diagrams, especially with the different types of plants, timelines in evolution, and respiratory systems. Don’t get caught up with only learning off the textbook, it tends to go out of scope – read through the consolidation sheets and limit yourself to focusing on the dot points, to avoid learning unnecessary details.

Labs (30%): various activities including worksheets, a test, a lab report, and a presentation
You are allocated to a lab session and a tutor at the start of the semester. Make sure you attend these fortnightly as they are essential to get to know the practical and also to ask the tutor all the confusing questions. Prep before each lab!! They usually provide a prep worksheet, so I made sure to complete this and research the questions, they planned to address in the session. Some labs assessed content from multiple weeks, so it helps if you take weekly notes, to refer back to. Unlike some of my friends, I actually really enjoyed working on a group presentation, having a like-minded group definitely helped. Since the allocation is random, I can only recommend that you select a topic that you’re genuinely interested in or is easier to understand. My group had a clear plan and timeline with enough time to submit early – a solid plan agreed by everyone should hold people accountable. In terms of the actual lab assessment, from memory (eek), there’s an application style worksheet, a quiz, a scientific diagram, a lab report, and a presentation.

Exam (50%): 120 multiple choice qs, 2 hrs, and 10mins, open book and non-invigilated
The questions were much easier than weekly quizzes, in my opinion. Few questions were slightly difficult but that’s probably due to my own lack of knowledge on plants. There’s plenty of time to double-check with notes as you can pretty much guess and flag every difficult question and go back to them. The mock quiz was slightly more out of scope and confusing than the actual exam, so use it to only identify which areas you need to focus on during exam prep. I recommend doing the quiz once, before starting exam revision, to set your baseline of retained knowledge and figure out the weak topics, to avoid wasting time restudying topics you are pretty solid at.

Extra tips:
Tip 1: attend the live revision lectures – don’t freak out about your lack of knowledge, just listen to the lecturers skim the topics and try to recall things you’ve learned + write down key weak areas under each week. Ask questions!! – you can even ask them to simplify their explanations for eg: the respiratory system of birds.
Tip 2: go back to the weekly quizzes – especially your worst ones and learn why you got the qs wrong or ask for an explanation during the drop-in sessions.
Tip 3: depending on your learning style – I recommend making mind maps, annotating printed diagrams/ flowcharts and go through the activities on PASS sheets.
Goodluck!  :)
« Last Edit: January 30, 2021, 06:35:14 pm by dutyfree »
2018: ATaR: 98.8
2019: quarter-life crisis
2020: Bachelor of Science @ Monash Uni

dutyfree

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #529 on: January 30, 2021, 06:34:25 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: CHM1022 - Chemistry II

Workload:
2 x 1hr workshops weekly
1 x 3hr lab
1 x 1hr tutorial weekly
Approx 1-1.5hr online activities

Assessment:
10% Weekly pre-workshop quizzes
5% Tutorial assessments 
30% Lab assessments
55% Examination

DISCLAIMER: Everything was online, including the labs due to Covid-19.
Recorded Lectures: Workshops and complementary videos (including a demonstration) for labs were recorded, tutorials and lab discussions with TAs were only through zoom and not recorded

Past exams available: Yes, 2 mock exams provided
Textbook Recommendation:  Chemistry Blackman et al, 4th Edition – an online copy (2nd ed) is provided

Lecturer(s):
Dr Sara Kyne (Unit Coordinator)
Prof. Philip Chan
Prof. Andrea Robinson
Prof. David Lupton
Dr Drasko Vidovic
Dr Victoria Blair
Prof Stuart Batten
Dr Brett Paterson

Year and semester of completion: 2020, Semester 2
Rating: 4/5
Your mark/Grade: 88 HD

Comments:
Overall impression: I enjoyed this unit far better than semester 1 but, I’m biased as I love organic chemistry. In the 1st half of the unit; organic chem only extends a little more than VCE chem, but it can be easily picked up by anyone, by memorization/ exposure to the different mechanisms and practicing nomenclature. I personally found stereochemistry difficult to understand, especially finding enantiomers and naming R/S configurations. The videos recommended on the PASS website were immensely helpful to simplify and visualize the isomers. The 2nd half; inorganic chemistry, primarily focused on ligands, which was a new topic for me (a topic I still haven’t fully understood). Every following week after W9 builds on the previously taught knowledge, so make sure to stay on top of the content. With notes, I would summarise the given pre-workshop info. and add to it after the lectures.

Pre-workshop quizzes (10%): Multiple choice, 10qs, unlimited time, 2 attempts
Similar setup to CHM1011 and were also relatively easy to full mark, given the 2 attempts with identical questions. This semester, it was a bit harder to directly search up questions as most were dependent on a specific diagram/ was calculation based, but they were doable since it's open book with unlimited time. I would skim through or make concise notes with the pre-workshop info, depending on my prior exposure to the topic, before trying the quiz. Something I regret is not keeping up with the lectures weekly as they weren’t tested, but later realized they would’ve been super helpful with the tutorial assessments + pre-workshop quizzes.

Labs (30%): includes a Pre-lab quiz (hurdle): MCQ + SA, out of 5 marks, unlimited time, 2 attempts
Lab reports (3.15-5%): MCQ + SA + discussion and conclusion (350 words), out of 45 marks, unlimited time
Each lab was presented with a video demonstration, discussion slides, a Q&A video, and its corresponding pre-lab quiz. The pre-lab quiz is easy to full mark and most of its answers can be found in the lab manual and discussion slides (aim, safety mechanisms, background).

This semester, the lab reports had a notes section on top of the MCQs, short answer qs, and graphs/ tables.
MCQs usually test theoretical knowledge behind the experiment – can directly be searched up or weekly content must be applied. Short answer qs are ‘fill in the blanks’ in the Method – use the lab manual, observations from the lab videos – I was extra detailed, but I believe its automatically marked as correct, so just write succinctly with keywords (eg: colour, transparency etc.), calculation section in the results – pretty difficult as you must be accurate with sig figs, attend the live lab session to discuss with peers/ tutor and use the given values in the lab video + discussion slides. Lab notes consisted of detailed observations/ results table or a ‘identify x’, providing evidence. My tutor stressed how she wanted a specific structure to our lab notes, so attend the live sessions, to clarify what they are looking for.

The second section consisted of the usual discussion (300+/-10% words) and conclusion (50+/-10% words).
Attend the allocated lab session after completing the pre-lab quiz, so you have access to the lab report section. Dot down the specifics of how your tutor marks the discussion – if they want you to answer the given dot points if you can use condensed formulas instead of words if you need to address errors/ ways to improve etc.
My structure to discussions:
1.   Aim – successful/ or not – link to errors/ changes for improvement
2.   Succinctly state-observed results – possible margin of error
3.   Underlying mechanism of the experiment – usually answers the dot points
4.   Errors/ improvement – DO NOT state human errors (if you’re stuck – search up the experiment on quora)
Tips: be clear and direct, use simple language, and include at least a small statement for each dot point

Tutorial assessments (5%): MCQ + SA, 40 minutes, 15-20qs, 1 attempt
These were the typical numerical questions requiring application of the equations and tests the concepts of the previous week. I recommend attending the tutorial zoom session each week/ watching the recording as you watch the lectures - they go through the tute sheets and explain the working out for each qs, I got lazy halfway and had to complete all the tutorial sheets during revision. I also encourage attending the PASS sessions and attempting their qs as well, to make sure your knowledge is solidified, during these you can also form separate study groups with peers in the breakout rooms. The PASS website also has a lot of links to videos and additional practice qs if you need it.

Exam (55%): 50% multiple choice and 50% long answer qs, 2 hrs and 10mins, open book and non-invigilated
My revision for this exam consisted of redoing the tutorial and PASS sheets, attending the SWOTVAC zoom sessions by the unit and the one by PASS. The mock exams were relatively representative of the exam, but the time limit does creep up on you especially when you’re nervous and some of my peers didn’t complete the exam. Read the question thoroughly, especially for the long answer questions and learn the different types of isomers and how to identify them (focus a bit more on enantiomers).
Goodluck!  :)
2018: ATaR: 98.8
2019: quarter-life crisis
2020: Bachelor of Science @ Monash Uni

dutyfree

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #530 on: January 31, 2021, 09:10:55 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: STA1010 – Statistical methods for science 

Workload:
3 x 1hr lectures weekly
1 x 2hr applied class weekly

Assessment:
10% Weekly quizzes
5% Pre-liminary exercises
15% Assessments (1: 7.5%, 2: 7.5%)
10% Group project
60% Examination

DISCLAIMER: Everything was online, due to Covid-19.
Recorded Lectures: All lectures were live-streamed as well as recorded, the applied classes were streamed via zoom and recorded

Past exams available: Yes, 2 mock exams provided
Textbook Recommendation: um, I don’t think there was a textbook – instead, they had a book with all the course material – lectures, lab worksheets, prelim. exercises

Lecturer(s):
Dr Daniel McInnes (unit coordinator)
And a bunch of Tas
 
Year & Semester of completion: 2020, semester 2.
Rating: 3/5
Your Mark/Grade: 91 HD

Comments:
Overall comments: I found this unit pretty doable after SCI1020 (which gives an intro to most of the content of STA1010 sans probability and non-parametric tests). Personally, I found it similar to SCI1020 - dry and boring but everything is very structured with topics and their corresponding lectures, worksheets, set out from the start. I recommend this unit, if you don’t like numbers, like me or if you’re comfortable with statistics/ further and are looking for a WAM booster.

Weekly quizzes (10%): Multiple choice, 10qs, 1 hour, 1 attempt
These were medium in difficulty but definitely possible to full mark especially given the excessive time limit. Most of the questions were partially copied from other American stat exams and since these quizzes were open book, I utilised my research skills well. Make sure, you read the stems well, and sometimes for some spice, they change the numbers up compared to the qs available online, so be a bit careful with the calculations. Overall, I would say you can easily get the 10% if you’ve understood the lecture content/ have the notes right in front of you.

Weekly worksheet (10%): Short answer mini prep tests, due Monday night the week after its corresponding applied class 
These are meant to be preparatory worksheets before attending the applied class but due to the online setup – changed them to be submitted after the classes. I would recommend, attending the weekly applied classes as sometimes you can practically finish the entire worksheet just from the tutor explaining each qs and they usually drop heavy hints about the qs they want you to attempt. But you can definitely get away with not attending them if you’ve read and understood the lecture notes. Overall, the applied classes are a massive tool for early exam prep as although they are sometimes considerably hard to stay awake in, during the second hour, where you are left to your own devices to complete the worksheet, you can ask all your qs to the tutor.

Assessments (20%): Short/long answer, due approx. two weeks after released
These test approx. 4 weeks at once, as there’s usually one stem with several questions following it, corresponding to each week. This is when the lectures come in handy, as sometimes they do the exact same qs from future assignments along with a clear step by step working out, so make sure not to miss out on these lucky eggs. It's relatively easy to do well in these, if you have been consistent with your lectures and worksheets but if you haven’t (I found these pretty difficult without attending the applied classes– so make sure you start attempting the questions, a week before its due), there are plenty of online resources such as the supplementary videos and online basic stats courses, that give you a step by step for common qs.

Project (10%): 3 parts each with its own due date, spread throughout the semester
Essentially, you have to find a real-life example (such as coins/ the no. of chocolates in a pack) and create an experiment with a hypothesis (eg: fantasy books are rated higher than sci-fi novels), where you can apply a specific hypothesis test. This is an easy 10%, even if you have a bad group, just find accurate data and the descriptive stats on Excel, then perform confidence intervals + hypothesis tests (usually t-test) -> reach a conclusion which does/doesn’t (provide errors if it didn’t) support the hypothesis.

Exam (60%): Multiple choice, 100qs, 3 hrs, closed book and invigilated (eek)
This MCQ exam was unnecessarily given 3 hours but I’m not complaining as I believe, usually its short answer. It’s quite easy to be ready for the exam but only if you had done adequate preparation. A key tip is to make sure; you have completed the mocks as they are relatively representative of the difficulty of the real thing. My tips would be to keep up with the weekly content and attend the applied class, watch the lectures live if possible, and if not, making sure to watch the recordings. In terms of content: attend the very last lecture for exam tips, they list the specific topics that are examined in the exam (mostly the different types of tests, probability).
Tip: I suggest creating a one-note page of a timeline of sort and compiling all the assessment and quiz dates and highlighting whenever a major assessment is due.
Overall, this unit is neatly presented and despite sometimes being boring, you can perhaps seek motivation from the fact that you can do really well with little effort.
Goodluck!  :)
2018: ATaR: 98.8
2019: quarter-life crisis
2020: Bachelor of Science @ Monash Uni

dutyfree

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #531 on: February 01, 2021, 05:54:31 pm »
+3
Subject Code/Name: ATS1298 – Professional writing

Workload:
1 x 1hr lecture weekly
1 x 1hr tutorial weekly

Assessment:
30% Assessment 1: Magazine writing
30% Assessment 2: Social media writing
40% Assessments 3: Essay/ Position paper

DISCLAIMER: Everything was online, due to Covid-19.
Recorded Lectures: All lectures were recorded, the tutorial was streamed via zoom but not recorded

Past exams available: N/A
Textbook Recommendation: Professional writing S. Marson 2019 (can access it online via Monash lib)

Lecturer(s):
Paul Atkinson + TAs
 
Year & Semester of completion: 2020, semester 2.
Rating: 4/5
Your Mark/Grade: 81 HD

Comments:
Overall comments: Damn, this is a unit that you can exert medium-ish effort to get a 90+, but I discounted how much time a good essay takes to write, realistically. I really enjoyed this unit’s content; it's practical and the learned writing skills are applicable in jobs/ marketing or advertising positions. The small tutorials weren’t intimidating, and you can casually speak to your tutor. Mm, this unit is advertised as a bludge/ WAM booster, but I would say, it’s very easy to get a pass, easy to get a credit to distinction/ low HD but above 87-ish requires effort and communicating with the tutors to understand exactly what they want – in terms of the criteria. But yes, I would recommend this as an easy unit to anyone who enjoys creative/ engaging writing (specialist style writing – simple language, caters to the intended audience), conversely, doing VCE English language helped a ton with the analysis part of the assessments (using metalanguage).

Assessment 1 – Magazine writing: 900 word article + 600 word analysis
You have to write an article about a given academic topic, for your chosen magazine (eg: Time, NatGeo, New Yorker). During this sem (pretty sure topic changes every year), I wrote about the consequences of excessive usage of mobile phones as an article for National Geographic. To start off, I read and highlighted the key info in the research paper. Then, I summarised the important findings and selected a few stats I want to add to the article. I researched and read some NatGeo articles to figure out their writing style (this is part of the marking criteria – catering to the audience). You have leeway to be as creative as you’d like, depending on your chosen magazine (eg: narrative, persuasive), as long as you don’t summarise the research paper and make sure to include key findings.

Assessment 2 – Social media writing: 2x400 word EDMs + 600 word explanatory statement
An EDM is one of those promotional emails you subscribe to, from your favourite store. You have to write a marketing campaign for one store (eg: Women’s jewellery store) and an appeal for another (eg: Oxfam). Once again, your tone can be as creative as you like and add any features that specifically cater to the purpose and audience of the email, but you have to explain your reasoning behind each feature and link it to rhetoric (eg: use of slang/ netspeak/ neologisms appeal to the young subscribers). My EDMs were sort of risky, as they didn’t follow the typical promotional structure, but the creativity was awarded, so yes, as long as you can explain and connect it to pathos/ ethos/ logos, your writing style doesn’t have to conform to the structure of usual spam emails (eg: I personified the store’s products and gave names and pronouns to the bucket hats = 92/100 :}.

Assessment 3 – Essay/ position paper: 1600 word position paper or essay
You are given the choice of either writing style and their corresponding topic and have to center the piece on a discussion of a particular issue (eg: student accommodation in Melbourne or inclusivity in writing). You are free to take ideas/ examples from recent research papers and the unit readings and write a cohesive piece with a contention. Unfortunately, I nearly failed this assessment (eek), so I cannot offer much advice other than: start this paper (at least a couple of sentences) more than a week before its due, as it was assigned during when assessments piled up from other units.
Goodluck!
 :)
2018: ATaR: 98.8
2019: quarter-life crisis
2020: Bachelor of Science @ Monash Uni

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #532 on: February 06, 2021, 07:37:43 am »
+2
Subject Code/Name: ENG1060 - Computing for engineers

Workload: 1h pre-workshop videos
2h workshop
3h lab

Assessment: Weekly 2.5% labs
Weekly 0.5% preworkshop
10% (?) assignment
2x 2.5% consolidation quizzes after week 6 and 12
5% lecture participation (answers don't need to be right, just answered during the workshop)
Probably something else but I've already forgotten

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, recorded zoom workshop with students asking questions

Past exams available:  Yes, there were around 4 past exams but they were when exams were on campus without the aid of MATLAB so the actual exam was very different.

Textbook Recommendation:  Don't recall a textbook being recommended

Lecturer(s): Dr Tony Vo

Year & Semester of completion: 2020 Semester 2

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: HD

Comments: This was probably by far the best first year engineering unit. Having done ENG1003 in the same semester, the stark difference in lecturer engagement and tute one on one interaction is crazy. The tutors are all (suspiciously) recruited from the mechanical/aerospace/mechatronics faculty and are usually 4th/5th/PhD students and mine at least was really interactive and good. We were split in groups of 3 to 4 people every lab to work on the lab questions after doing team tasks. During the lab we would be asked individually a question from the team task to get marks for that lab and then would usually either go silent or talk to other people in our breakout room about that week's questions.

Dr Tony Vo is an excellent lecturer and has great interaction with his students. The TAs which assist in teaching in the workshops also explain things very well and connect with their students, making the unit so much less dry (the TA that kept mentioning his love for KFC was great).

As for the content, it starts off with the basics of MATLAB in weeks 1 - 6  and develops those skills in weeks 7 - 12 with root finding etc. It's not particularly difficult and definitely has a lower learning curve than ENG1003. The tutors also help spot errors in your code and break down problems which you don't understand.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2021, 07:56:10 am by undefined »
2018 Methods
2019 English | Chemistry | Economics | Specialist  | Japanese SL

2020 B.Eng/Comm
2021 - 2025 B.CS/Comm Diplang in Japanese @ Monash

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #533 on: February 06, 2021, 07:51:38 am »
+2
Subject Code/Name: ENG1005 - Engineering mathematics

Workload: 3x 1h lectures

Assessment:  5x 6% Assignments fortnightly
10x 1% quizzes

Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

Past exams available:  Yes, a lot

Textbook Recommendation:  Engineering Mathematics book recommended. Noticed a lot of people doing the questions at the start of the semester but none by the end. You don't need to do it but it may be useful in finding a similar question to the assignments.

Lecturer(s): Associate Professor Todd Oliynyk

Year & Semester of completion: 2020 Semester 1

Rating: 4 out of 5

Your Mark/Grade: HD

Comments: This unit is definitely fast-paced with a bunch of content being crammed each week. The assignments are quite difficult and the number of youtube videos I looked at for help only to find they're in Hindi broke me. I heard that in 2020 S2 they changed assignments to be group-based which sounds even more terrible. Regardless, I believe they did this due to the amount of collusion going on between students. My tutor at least, despite never talking to or seeing ever, was a good marker but I've heard that there were very bad markers from other students. I think I dropped like 2 marks in total in the semester despite not knowing half of what I was writing most of the time in the assignments. I recommend learning LaTeX, a maths typescript that makes your assignments look professional even if you don't know what you're saying.

Prof Oliynyk is a very dry lecturer but he's good at explaining what he has to and leaving you confused since there was absolutely no interaction with tutors/lecturers etc. when I did the unit other than the forums. I believe there is also Applied PASS which is like a zoom where you can ask questions though but I never went.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2021, 07:55:15 am by undefined »
2018 Methods
2019 English | Chemistry | Economics | Specialist  | Japanese SL

2020 B.Eng/Comm
2021 - 2025 B.CS/Comm Diplang in Japanese @ Monash

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Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
« Reply #534 on: June 11, 2021, 03:45:22 pm »
+5
    Subject Code/Name: EAE1011- Earth, Atmosphere and Environment 1 

    Workload:  3x1 Hr Lectures per week and a 2 Hr Practical Session

    Assessment: 
    • 10% Weekly Topic Quizzes (Earth Week worth 1%)
    • 40% Weekly Pracical Quizzes (Each Week worth 4%)
    • 20% Weekly Reflective Journals (Each Week worth 1% + Final Reflective Journal worth 10%)
    • 5% Poster in Week 1 - 6
    • 10% Infographic Poster Week 7 - 12
    • 15% Staged Learning Quiz (SLQ 1 worth 7% and covers Weeks 1 - 6, SLQ 2 8% covers Weeks 7 - 11

    Recorded Lectures:  Yes, with screen capture

    Past exams available:  No as there is no final exam

    Textbook Recommendation:  No textbook required

    Lecturer(s): Marion Anderson and too many others to name from the School of EAE

    Year & Semester of completion: 2021, Semester 1

    Rating: 4 out of 5

    Your Mark/Grade: 81 HD

    Comments: Overall, this unit is pretty chill as there is no final exam to worry about and Marion is amazing. That being said, you need to make sure that you attend each Practical Class as the Practical quizzes are based on what we cover in the practical classes, and since they are worth quite a lot, it's worth going to them. In terms of the content of the unit itself, it is pretty interesting and covers a range of topics with the first half of the Semester mainly devoted to Geology before moving onto Atmospheric Science and then Evolution/Fossils/Climate Change in the last few weeks although I personally found the Atmospheric Science content to be quite boring although that's my personal opinion.

    The difficult part of this unit is making sure you spend enough time on your Poster and Infographic since I did leave it to the last minute and paid the price for that. At the end of the day, if you watch the lectures and take notes down, attend Practical classes, and try not to procrastinate with the assignments, this unit should be pretty enjoyable and manageable. [/list]
    « Last Edit: November 11, 2021, 07:23:10 pm by ThunderDragon »
    2019 - Geography [41]
    2020 - English, Methods, Chem, Bio and Psych [39]
    2021 - 2023 Bachelor of Science at Monash

    ThunderDragon's Journey to Med

    Currently offering tutoring in 3/4 Psychology for 2022. PM if interested!

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    Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
    « Reply #535 on: June 18, 2021, 04:55:30 pm »
    +5
    Subject Code/Name: PSY2071 - Developmental Psychology

    Workload:  One 2h lecture per week (recording not livestream).
    One 2h tutorial per fortnight.
    Three 2h recorded seminars (stats) throughout the sem.

    Assessment:
    - Developmental Report [20%] - 1000 words. Watch videos of a made up scenario where a person is talking to a psychologist about their childhood/relationships/family and write structured report about their history + attachment style. (Mostly simple because there are clear guidelines about what to write in each section)
    - Laboratory Report [25%] - 1500 words. Write concisely because it's difficult to get all the important info in within the word limit.
    - Data Analysis Exercises x3 [30%] - Last 3 tutorials go through how to do these on JASP very clearly, so I recommend attending. All MCQ and drag&drop, so aim for as high as possible because they are a lot easier to get high scores on than the assignments.
    - Exam [25%] - 6h take home open book exam. 20 MCQ, 4SAQ (100w each), 3 Extended Response (400w each).

    Recorded Lectures:  Yes, all pre-recorded videos

    Past exams available:  Given around 8 practice questions (SA /extended response).
    Textbook Recommendation:  "Human Development: A Cultural Approach". I didn't really use this until the exam, I think you can get away with using only the lectures to learn everything, but still useful to have. I regret not using it sooner, it's written very simply, easy to read and interesting.

    Lecturer(s):
    Miss Carrie Ewin, James Coxon, Dr Beth Johnson, Matt Staois, Prof Peter Anderson, Dr Ian Harding, Dr Megan Spencer-Smith

    Year & Semester of completion: 2021 sem 1

    Rating: 3.75 out of 5

    Your Mark/Grade: might update

    Comments:
    -Corequisite-> must be taken with PSY2061 Biological Psychology
    -The content is pretty light and easy to understand. Weekly content doesn't really require a big time commitment, assignments take up some time (more so lab report).
    -I recommend focusing on the bigger ideas, rather than small details due the how the exam is structured (if they keep it the same), because you have open book so need to write responses that demonstrate deeper thinking/insightfulness.
    -the textbook is actually really interesting, but lectures do seem to cover most of the important info.
    -the tutes are really helpful for preparing for assignments and DAEs.
    -they ran weekly non-compulsory "flipped lectures" on zoom where there was more application of the content and class discussions. I regret not going to them, please go if you have time. These lectures would be the most helpful for preparing for the application style exam questions. Also it's useful how they relate/apply the theories to real life examples and get everyone to think & discuss.
    « Last Edit: June 18, 2021, 04:57:33 pm by Owlbird83 »
    2018: Biology
    2019: Chemistry, Physics, Math Methods, English, Japanese
    2020: Bachelor of Psychology (Monash)

    Owlbird83

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    Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
    « Reply #536 on: June 18, 2021, 06:07:13 pm »
    +5
    Subject Code/Name: PSY3051 - Perception and Cognitive Psychology

    Workload: One 2h lecture per week. One 2h tutorial per fortnight.

    Assessment:
    -Oral presentation [10%] - In partners. Present findings of a study related to an area covered in lectures (most people did one of the cognition topics), goal was to mold how you present to the specific audience you get. These occur from weeks 5, 7, 9, 11. Definitely recommend trying to pick an early week to get it out of the way before assessments build up.
    -Perception article [20%] - 2000 words in the style of an article for a science magazine. Try to get the info to flow like a narrative, tie your conclusion back to your intro (and maybe title too).
    -Cognition Proposal [20%] - 1500 words. Recommend going to tutorials (4 & 5) as it is thoroughly explained. Keep writing simple and concise as you are writing to convince someone to use your memory or attention intervention (limit jargon). Be persuasive and use evidence.
    -Mid sem exam [25%] - Perception content. Lockdown browser, non invigilated. 30MCQs, 6SAQs (1 or 2 words), 2 extended response.
    -End of sem exam [25%] - Cognition content (wks 7-12). Lockdown browser, non invigilated. 28MCQs, 6SAQs (couple of words), 5 extended response.

    Recorded Lectures:  Yes, pre-recorded videos.

    Past exams available:  1 "mock exam", but only a limited amount of questions just for practicing the format. Weekly "check your knowledge" quizzes with ~15 questions similar to exam questions.

    Textbook Recommendation:  "Perception and Cognition" - I didn't use it. The exams are very closely related to the lectures, specifically the lecture slides, they are the most important. HOWEVER, weeks 9 & 10 (knowledge & attention) lectures are more based on the research rather than key concepts, so just using the lectures for these weeks will not make you very prepared for the exam, the textbook should (needs to) be used for these weeks.

    Lecturer(s): A. Prof Matt Mundy, Dr Trevor Chong, Prof Mark Bellgrove, Méadhbh Brosnan, Dr James Coxon, Dr Joshua Hendrikse

    Year & Semester of completion: 2021 sem 1

    Rating: 3.75 out of 5

    Your Mark/Grade: might add

    Comments:
    -having the midsem exam is helpful as you only need to revise 6wks each time. The exams are easier to get higher marks in than the assignments.
    -perception (wks 1-6) is very biology-y which some people might find more tedious. The content from biological psych (PSY2061) is useful for these weeks.
    -as I said further above, (with the exception of weeks 9&10), exam is closely based off lectures, so I recommend basing your notes off the lecture slides.
    -Perception article might take longer than expected so try starting early! Having a mediocre title can loose you marks. Adding in a made up interview can be a helpful way to get to the word count, and present more info in a different way.
    2018: Biology
    2019: Chemistry, Physics, Math Methods, English, Japanese
    2020: Bachelor of Psychology (Monash)

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    Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
    « Reply #537 on: June 25, 2021, 11:20:58 am »
    +4
    Subject Code/Name: CHM1051 - Chemistry 1 advanced 

    Workload:  1x 1 hour workshop per week, 1x 3.5 hour lab every two weeks, and roughly 1-2 hours of recorded lecture content every week

    Assessment: 
    10 x preworkshop quizzes worth 1% each
    Lab worth 35% altogether consisting of:
    6 x lab reports worth 15% of lab grade each
    6 x prelab quizzes worth 1.67% of lab grade each
    Exam worth 55%

    Recorded Lectures: 
    Lectures were only available recorded. Workshops were also recorded with screen capture

    Past exams available:
    There were 2 practice exams available, being written to match the format of the final exam

    Textbook Recommendation: 
    Chemistry: Atoms First (2019) and Blackman et al., Chemistry (2019)
    Both textbooks are available for free online via the links the chem faculty provide. Atoms First is referred to frequently, while I think I may have only opened the other book once.

    Lecturers:
    A/Prof Chris Thompson, Dr Alison Funston, A/Prof Rico Tabor

    Year & Semester of completion:
    2021 semester 1

    Rating: 4.5 out of 5

    Your Mark/Grade: 87 HD

    Comments:
    I liked this subject a lot. There is a lot of prework assigned. You are expected to read the preworkshop material, do a pre-workshop quiz, and watch the prerecorded lectures. The pre-workshop quiz has two attempts, so is very easy to do well on.
    The workshop is a cross between a lecture and a tutorial, with the first 10ish minutes being spent on giving an overview of the material, and the rest being spent on going through questions. The great thing about the prework is that by the time you get to the workshop, you should have a pretty idea of the material, and what things you might need more help with, so that you can ask the lecturers, who float around during the workshop.
    The material is split into three sections, taken by different professors for each 4 week block.
    The first 4 weeks are taken by Chris Thompson, who teaches about the periodic table and structures of atoms and molecules. A lot of this content is similar to unit 1 VCE chemistry, with a bit of physics added in. Chris is brilliant. He puts a lot of care into making sure we understand the content and his lectures are always engaging.
    The second 4 weeks are taken by Alison Funston, who teaches molecular bonding, thermodynamics, and gases. Content builds upon unit 3 AOS 1 VCE chemistry. Alison's lectures are quite long but generally good for understanding.
    The last 4 weeks are taken by Rico Tabor, who teaches equilibrium and kinetics. Content builds upon unit 3 VCE chemistry rate and yield, as well as adding some acid/base and redox. I found Rico to be especially helpful in answering questions.
    All 3 lecturers are very knowledgeable in their field and their explanations were easily followed

    There were 6 labs, although one was online. Lab content generally reflects the content of the lectures/workshops, although is done before you actually learn the content. I found that although labs sometimes enhanced understanding, the main purpose was to develop general lab skills, like how to use all the different pipettes. You get a lot more independence than in high school, with you being expected to develop your own standard solutions. Two experiments are IDEA pracs, which means you design your own experiment, although you get a lot of hints and get a basic method. Labs rarely ran for the full 3 and a half hours and we were sometimes finished before the CHM1011 lab groups, just because we could work more independently and often had an understanding of the basics of the experiment that wasn't expected from the other groups.
    Before each lab, you have to do a prelab quiz and a bit of work to understand what the experiment is. The quiz goes towards your grade but you can repeat as many times as you like.
    After every experiment, you complete an online lab report. There isn't a lot of actual writing, and the majority of the report is either filling in tables, answering questions, or uploading lab notes. You do have to write a discussion and a conclusion. The discussion is the biggest challenge, as you have to fit everything you need to say in 300 words.
    All in-semester assessments are marked on Moodle, with only your discussion/conclusion of your lab report being marked by a human. My biggest advice is to not be afraid to dispute a mark because sometimes people or computers may make mistakes and sometimes the person marking your work may be harsher than standard.

    The exam was online, non-invigilated and open book. It was definitely a challenge, with questions on the hardest parts of each section but overall, that's to be expected with an open book exam.

    Like with a lot of advanced subjects, there really isn't a huge difference between the regular and advanced version. The biggest difference on paper is that we have 5% extra allocated to our labs and the 1011 cohort has two tests in semester. I do think that having no test in 1051 throughout the semester does negatively impact learning, as you don't ever really review the content until exam revision.
    Like I've mentioned, the 1051 labs generally involve less hand holding than the 1011 ones do. Most of our labs are similar except the first in-person one. There is also some extra content but not a lot

    Ultimately, if you've done high school chemistry and got the mark needed, then you will be capable of doing this subject and doing quite well at it, especially because the in-semester assessment is pretty easy to do well at
    « Last Edit: July 12, 2021, 10:29:58 am by hairs9 »
    2019-Methods [45], Psychology [41]
    2020-English [38], Chemistry [43], Spesh [43], UMEP maths [4.5], ATAR: 99.05
    2021-2024: Bachelor of Science - Advanced(Research) at Monash

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    Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
    « Reply #538 on: June 25, 2021, 12:38:52 pm »
    +3
    Subject Code/Name: FIT1045 - Algorithms and programming fundamentals in python

    Workload: 
    2 x 1 hour lectures
    1 x 2 hour tutorial
    1 x 2 hour lab

    Assessment: 
    Tutorial prep questions-8%
    Laboratory work-19%
    Test 1(weeks 1-3): 3%
    Test 2(weeks 1-8): 8%
    Assignment part 1: 10%
    Assignment part 2: 12%
    Exam: 40%

    Recorded Lectures:
    Yes with screen capture

    Past exams available:
    Yes, 1 practice exam based on the 2020 exam.

    Textbook Recommendation: 
    The following textbooks are recommended:
    Introduction to the Design & Analysis of Algorithms 3ed UK edition by Levitin A
    Introduction to Computing Using Python: An Application Development Focus 2ed by Perkovic L

    Both are used as "recommended reading" at the end of lectures but I personally never used it and you can get by without them

    Lecturer(s): Mario Boley and Buser Say

    Year & Semester of completion: 2021 Semester 1

    Rating: 3.5 out of 5

    Your Mark/Grade: 96 HD

    Comments:
    This subject frames itself as an introductory coding and algorithm analysis unit. I think it does semi-well on the algorithm analysis part but the actual coding introduction is not great. Best advice is to go onto a free coding website and try to teach yourself something beforehand, so you at least have a small understanding of Python or the general basis of code.
    The content consists of basic Python, data types, analysis, computational problems, algorithms to solve certain problems, and strategies used in creating new algorithms. I found the content mostly interesting but definitely challenging at times.
    The two lecturers take 6 weeks each, with Mario taking the first 3 and last 3 weeks, and Buser taking the middle 6 weeks.
    Mario taught most of the coding and some of the more complex strategies to create algorithms. I found that he talked really fast and his content was pretty hard to understand
    Buser focused more on an understanding behind how Python works, teaching algorithms to solve computational problems and the analysis of them. He recorded lectures in advance, as well as doing live ones. Because of this, his lectures were less rushed as if he didn't get through the content, he'd just link the rest of the recorded lecture. I found Buser a lot easier to understand and much preferred his teaching style.
    Although you are not required to attend tutorials or labs, you should attend tutorials. The tutors generally give a much better explanation than the lecturers do and I often found myself confused by a concept until a tutor explained it. Although you can ask questions in lectures, tutorials are where you can actually get a proper answer because there's a lot more time to properly explain it. The tutors are also a lot more experienced on what students struggle with and so are able to spend more time on difficult concepts.
    You don't need to go to most of the labs. You spend two hours working on code and many leave early once they are finished with the work. The only reason to go is to be able to ask questions if you are stuck. However, there are two labs that form part of your assessment and so are mandatory to go to.

    In terms of the assessment, they try to give a lot of easy marks. 8% is for tutorial prep questions. Every week, there is a question to be answered before your tutorial and you get a mark for giving a reasonable attempt to answer the question. There are 11 questions to be answered and only 8 possible marks, so there's a bit of a buffer.
    19% of the mark is for lab work. The work you do in your lab is submitted the following week to be marked, with most being worth a total of 2.5 marks. Some weeks were marked by a tester, which they provide you with so you can maximise your marks. There are a total of 24.5 marks available so there is a buffer.
    The two tests are probably the hardest in-semester assessment. The questions are very similar to exam-style questions and they are good opportunities for revision. Ensure you do what you can properly and learn from anything you get wrong
    The assignments were quite a challenge to understand and took a long time to figure out but it isn't excessively hard. The staff did provide support to assist in understanding what the assignment was. It's basically a bunch of code that works together to solve a larger problem. You also have to do an interview to explain your code, which isn't too hard. Ultimately, if your code works and you can explain it, you will probably score quite well.
    The exam was an invigilated online exam. It is split into three sections: basic understanding, analysis, and using algorithms to solve problems. I personally found the analysis the most difficult, but many students struggled with the last section. They provide you with a coding workbook, which contains many practice questions similar to exam questions and is a really helpful resource that I'd recommend using to prepare.

    This unit was not run very well. It took us 6 weeks to receive any marks after basically begging the teaching team to upload them, even though they told us it would be uploaded earlier in batches. Many students new to coding really struggled with this unit, especially with the fast pace. They also weren't going to give us any practice exam answers until we begged them to do an explanation video of the practice exam. However, the tutors really go above and beyond. One created a whole website to help us with an assignment. Another wrote extra practice questions for the entire unit to discuss, just for the fun of it.
    So, the biggest advice is to work with your cohort to peer pressure the faculty and to use the tutors to your advantage.
    « Last Edit: July 11, 2021, 01:03:46 pm by hairs9 »
    2019-Methods [45], Psychology [41]
    2020-English [38], Chemistry [43], Spesh [43], UMEP maths [4.5], ATAR: 99.05
    2021-2024: Bachelor of Science - Advanced(Research) at Monash

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    Re: Monash University - Subject Reviews & Ratings
    « Reply #539 on: June 25, 2021, 01:20:59 pm »
    +3
    Subject Code/Name: MTH2010 - Multivariable calculus 

    Workload:
    3 x 1 hour lectures
    1 x 1.5 hour applied class

    Assessment: 
    5 quizzes worth 1% each
    4 assignments worth 5% each
    1 midsemester test worth 10%
    Lecture poll participation and applied class participation worth 5%
    Exam worth 60%

    Recorded Lectures:
    Yes, lectures were done over Zoom so the Zoom recording with screensharing was uploaded.

    Past exams available: 
    2 sample exams, one from 2020 and one written for 2021.

    Textbook Recommendation: 
    Calculus, Metric Version (8th edition) by James Stewart
    Not really necessary. The lecturer uploads weekly extra problems without answers, but the answers can be found in the textbook. That's really the only use for it, unless you have a specific interest in looking up proofs.

    Lecturer(s): Norm Do

    Year & Semester of completion: 2021 Semester 1

    Rating: 5 out of 5

    Your Mark/Grade: 97 HD

    Comments:
    This subject was really great. It explores calculus in 3 or more dimensions, looking at vector functions, multivariable functions, and vector fields. It's a natural extension of the calculus already learned. This subject uses some more complex integration strategies (mainly substitutions, trigonometric identities, and a little integration by parts) but complex strategies are either shown in the lectures first or hinted at. The lecturer would often encourage us to "integrate like a champion", thinking of u substitutions as a backwards chain rule.
    The lecturer is excellent. Norm is very engaging and focuses on an intuitive understanding behind the mathematics. It was his first time teaching the subject and so he would be writing the notes while he taught us the content. This helped the lectures to be well-paced. Unlike past lecturers, Norm did not focus on proving any of the theorems, making the unit more accessible to people with all sorts of mathematical backgrounds.
    The applied class involves working with a group to solve problems on a whiteboard, and is usually pretty helpful in understanding some of the more difficult concepts.

    The quizzes were done on paper and usually were pretty easy to do, often taking a similar style to questions done in the applied class.
    The assignments were more challenging, sometimes extending the questions beyond what was on the applied class material, but many were similar and used similar strategies.
    5% of the mark was split between answering lecture polls and participating in applied classes. You had to correctly answer 75% of the flux poll questions asked on the lectures, with there being a 48 hour time period after each lecture to answer it. I thought this was mostly pretty reasonable. You had to attend and participate in 8 of the 11 applied classes to get the marks.
    The midsemester test was pretty easy. A practice test was given and the actual test was very similar, just with a few numbers changed around.
    The exam was also not too hard, also being very similar to the sample exam. Basically, to do well on the test and exam, ensure you can do the practice test really well and understand everything.

    Overall it was a really well run unit and very enjoyable. Some of the integration towards the end was more challenging but it ultimately was all accessible.
    « Last Edit: July 11, 2021, 01:04:01 pm by hairs9 »
    2019-Methods [45], Psychology [41]
    2020-English [38], Chemistry [43], Spesh [43], UMEP maths [4.5], ATAR: 99.05
    2021-2024: Bachelor of Science - Advanced(Research) at Monash