Are methods and specialist related?

[Holdstill123]

I'm wondering if methods and specialist are related because I am thinking about doing specialist 3&4 without doing 1&2 after finishing methods 3&4.

[Sine]

I'm wondering if methods and specialist are related because I am thinking about doing specialist 3&4 without doing 1&2 after finishing methods 3&4.

Yeah they are related but you should still be treating them both as two different subjects.

I don't see any problem with your idea tbh. Even just methods 1/2 is a decent precursor to spec 3/4. Spec 1/2 can be hit or miss depending on what your school chooses to cover. If they cover a lot of the spec 3/4 concepts at a basic level it can be great but some schools will go by the 1/2 study design and "waste" a bit of time.

[keltingmeith]

some schools will go by the 1/2 study design and "waste" a bit of time.

Kinda an aside, but damn I kinda mad at VCAA about this. You learn some really, REALLY, cool things in 1/2 - but 9/10s of it is useless for year 12, so of course schools are gonna skip over it?? Like, specialist 1/2 has some of my favourite content in it, couldn't they have put it somewhere where it's going to actually get some attention?

[teanatomy]

I'm wondering if methods and specialist are related because I am thinking about doing specialist 3&4 without doing 1&2 after finishing methods 3&4.

Hey Holdstill123,

I was in a similar boat to you - I did Methods 3/4 and Specialist 3/4 both in 2017 as a Year 12 student after having done Methods 1/2 but not Specialist 1/2. I think going straight into Specialist 3/4 without having done 1/2 is definitely ok, especially if you enjoy/are good at maths in general, and from what a lot of my peers said it seemed like 3/4 was basically a repeat of 1/2 content-wise with a few things added here and there, so I didn't feel like I was missing out or at a huge disadvantage there. The only downside to jumping straight into 3/4 imo was that I hadn't been exposed to as many questions and didn't have as much experience with the different question types, and 'tips and tricks of the trade' - but if you've already done Methods 3/4, I think this would help and put you in a better position than I was in.

I wouldn't say there is not a lot of overlap content-wise between Methods and Specialist, but certainly yes in the skillset (specifically critical thinking and problem solving) that both subjects demand. So personally I found that taking one subject often helped my understanding and skill in the other - if that makes sense!