Excellent results for VCE Algorithmics
Though it covers challenging topics not usually taught until first year university, Algorithmics was one of the highest performing subjects in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) curriculum in 2015....
Though it covers challenging topics not usually taught until first year university, Algorithmics was one of the highest performing subjects in the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) curriculum in 2015.
The mean study score for Algorithmics was 35.7 out of 50, a remarkable result. Among all those VCE studies that are normally scaled, Algorithmics did, in fact, emerge as the highest performing one.
The study of algorithmics is not so different to mathematics. According to Professor Bernd Meyer from Monash University’s Faculty of Information Technology, Algorithmics teaches thinking skills that can be applied to any field that requires structured, logical reasoning.
“It’s a really rigorous subject, ideal for students who are interested in maths, computer science and software engineering,” he said. “It equips students with a conceptual framework that enables them to reason on a higher level in a very diverse range of fields, from the sciences to law and economics.”
“What we’re teaching them is a particular way of thinking, which allows them to analyse problems structurally and to systematically explore different strategies for designing solutions,” Professor Meyer added.
Algorithmics is relatively new to the VCE – it was only offered to students for the first time last year. The topic is usually taught at a tertiary level as part of a computer science degree, but VCE Algorithmics has been developed by Monash University and Melbourne University specifically to bridge the gap between secondary and tertiary IT studies.
“Teenagers are naturals at using technology,” Professor Meyer said, “But if we want to enable them to become creators and to shape the future of technology, they need a solid grounding in computer science. This is different from just teaching coding.”
According to Professor Meyer, “everybody is talking about coding now, but without algorithmics, you cannot become a good programmer. Programming is algorithmics plus coding. Algorithmics defines the logic of a program, coding is the implementation. The challenge in solving really hard problems, like natural language interpretation, computer vision, or intelligent robotics is far more in the logic, in the algorithms, than in the coding.”
Professor Meyer likes to quote the celebrated computer scientist and Turing-award winner Edsger Dijkstra, who said, “Computer Science is as much about computers as astronomy is about telescopes.” So it’s not surprising that, despite the close relationship to computer science, much of the course work in Algorithmics is performed “unplugged” – away from the computer screen.
The focus on problem solving and that there is no need to wrangle a machine could be some of the reasons why Algorithmics attracted such a large proportion of girls, compared to other IT subjects in the VCE. Around 33% of the students taking Algorithmics in 2015 were female.
Algorithmics is a Higher Education Scored Study (HESS) subject, which means that students who successfully undertake it will be able to gain credit towards their university course, as well as being able to use their study score fully towards their ATAR.
For more information about VCE Algorithmics, please contact Professor Bernd Meyer at Monash University. Phone +61 3 9905 2240 or email Bernd.Meyer@monash.edu