Maths Texts for JC - has the curriculum changed?

CubicleDweller

A friend is home-schooling her son for the junior cycle and I offered to help with the maths. He attended first year in school and has been using the "Connect" series of books from Edco, as e-books on an iPad. I see now that there are newer versions of those books - and I'm wondering if the curriculum has changed or if they're just newer editions?

If he had remained at school he'd probably have taken the Junior Cert exams in 2021. He might still do do, or might not take them until 2022, if that matters.

The books are all listed here: https://www.edco.ie/home/Default.aspx?id=121&parentNavigationId=8&p=1&schoolLevel=2&classYear=0&exam=1&subject=10027&level=0&programme=0&productType=18&searchByName=Connect

He has the three books published in 2014:

Connect with Maths - Introduction to Junior Cycle
Connect with Maths 1
Connect with Maths 2

There are now two new books, published in 2019:

Connect with Maths Junior Cycle Ordinary Level
Connect with Maths Junior Cycle Higher Level

It looks to me like the new books are intended to replace "Connect with Maths 1" and "Connect with Maths 1". But are they just covering the same material or has the curriculum changed?

Any information of this will be gratefully received.

Alex86Eire

The curriculum has changed. The basics really remain the same but there is emphasis on different parts of the course. This years 3rd year students will be the first to sit the new set of exams.

CubicleDweller

Thanks for that, Alex. I'll see if I can find anything about the changes on the departments website.

Alex86Eire

CubicleDweller wrote: »

Thanks for that, Alex. I'll see if I can find anything about the changes on the departments website.

There isn't a syllabus exactly but here is a list of the learning outcomes

https://jct.ie/perch/resources/maths/learning-outcomes-poster-pdf.pdf

onlinemathsgr

Hey Cubic Dweller

Theres no such thing as a syllabus anymore Im afraid, its being rolled out to all subjects, if it hasnt been already.

The D.O.E provide learning outcomes with very little guidance and teachers have to fulfil these as best they can - normally they just use one of the main text books and they dont go too far wrong.

That and plenty of past paper practice is the way to go.

I hope that helps

CubicleDweller

Thanks, both. I'll grab the later textbooks and go from there - and look at past papers later on.