cuckoomamma Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 It's that time of year where we need to lock down our choices for dd for next year, and i wanted to check in for some updated reviews on any of the above classes. I don't think I've ever seen a review for PAH's art history, but my search capabilities are limited :) We are looking for a class which is organized and will prepare well for the AP exam. If you'd prefer to PM, that would be equally appreciated. Thanks so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Also interested in the AP Art History. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Please don’t PM! We all want the scoop! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuckoomamma Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 I agree that posting to the board is better for board members as a whole, but sometimes families feel uncomfortable posting something publicly that they would be okay sending via a pm to all who ask :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Ds is having a good experience with Julia Reed's AP government. It is much richer than I could have done. There is a textbook, articles, videos and discussion. The tests come up about every week, so it can be intense. She also has occasional extra credit, which is nice. I feel ds is really engaging with the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof2cowboys Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I agree with both of you. I'll go out on a limb here and give a review of a PAH AP course, but it isn't one of the classes you have listed there. My ds is in the AP Human Geo course. When we signed him up we were well aware of the mixed and sometimes bad reviews. However, I took a chance and decided to enroll him regardless and just see how it was. (This was our first year to do online courses and I wasn't up for getting one pre-approved to teach it myself.) I'll start by saying your experience may vary, but my ds has really enjoyed the course. It is asynchronous. The instructor, I feel, tried to address some of the negative feedback about her not being active in the course by adding MP4 videos each week with her giving instructions for the week and discussing a bit of what the students would be doing that week. She has also been very quick to reply to any posts on the discussion board and even emails that my ds has sent to her. In this way, I do feel my ds has gotten to know his teacher and if he had an issue he could get in touch with her and feel comfortable doing so. The lessons each week have consisted of a chapter of reading along with either a multiple choice and short answer assignment or a chapter of reading with a map and data type activity. My ds has enjoyed the map activities even if he at first is dreading having to do them. Any feedback on problems he has missed has been thorough and helped my ds understand what he had misunderstood. He is just now getting to the part of the semester that is requiring the FRQs , and so I can't speak much on how the grading will be done on that. And of course, he hasn't taken the AP exam so I have no idea how he will do. I, of course, plan to have him study outside materials to prep for it but I feel like I would have him do that with any course he is taking. Cons: Yes, she did send the self-authored book and wanted us to pay her for it. Plus they were required to write a short response about how geography was related to the book (or something to that affect). Since this was the initial contact with her, it did strike me as something that I'd consider a negative. My ds read the book, he was okay with it, not thrilled but he just took it in stride. Other than that, we have not encountered any negatives with this course and perhaps it might be because the instructor is trying to address and fix some of the previous issues. My only wish is that classwork ended a bit sooner to give them time to really review the material before the test date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof2cowboys Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 Ds is having a good experience with Julia Reed's AP government. It is much richer than I could have done. There is a textbook, articles, videos and discussion. The tests come up about every week, so it can be intense. She also has occasional extra credit, which is nice. I feel ds is really engaging with the material. Is there quite a bit of essay writing involved in this course? Also, does it have required participation in the discussion board? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 There have been 2-3 short essays. There have also been 2 oral reports (5 minutes). They are required to write a short response to one or two questions that are based on the articles/videos. My ds seems to write a paragraph response. I believe they also have to respond to one other person's comments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourisenough Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I agree with both of you. I'll go out on a limb here and give a review of a PAH AP course, but it isn't one of the classes you have listed there. My ds is in the AP Human Geo course. When we signed him up we were well aware of the mixed and sometimes bad reviews. However, I took a chance and decided to enroll him regardless and just see how it was. (This was our first year to do online courses and I wasn't up for getting one pre-approved to teach it myself.) I'll start by saying your experience may vary, but my ds has really enjoyed the course. It is asynchronous. The instructor, I feel, tried to address some of the negative feedback about her not being active in the course by adding MP4 videos each week with her giving instructions for the week and discussing a bit of what the students would be doing that week. She has also been very quick to reply to any posts on the discussion board and even emails that my ds has sent to her. In this way, I do feel my ds has gotten to know his teacher and if he had an issue he could get in touch with her and feel comfortable doing so. The lessons each week have consisted of a chapter of reading along with either a multiple choice and short answer assignment or a chapter of reading with a map and data type activity. My ds has enjoyed the map activities even if he at first is dreading having to do them. Any feedback on problems he has missed has been thorough and helped my ds understand what he had misunderstood. He is just now getting to the part of the semester that is requiring the FRQs , and so I can't speak much on how the grading will be done on that. And of course, he hasn't taken the AP exam so I have no idea how he will do. I, of course, plan to have him study outside materials to prep for it but I feel like I would have him do that with any course he is taking. Cons: Yes, she did send the self-authored book and wanted us to pay her for it. Plus they were required to write a short response about how geography was related to the book (or something to that affect). Since this was the initial contact with her, it did strike me as something that I'd consider a negative. My ds read the book, he was okay with it, not thrilled but he just took it in stride. Other than that, we have not encountered any negatives with this course and perhaps it might be because the instructor is trying to address and fix some of the previous issues. My only wish is that classwork ended a bit sooner to give them time to really review the material before the test date. Is it a one semester course or a full-year course? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momof2cowboys Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 AP Human Geo is a full year course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penelope Posted February 28, 2018 Share Posted February 28, 2018 I do not have feedback for these classes, but didn’t know if you were aware that the AP US Govt course is being revamped and next May the exam format will be slightly different. The final changes aren’t even out yet. I was looking at designing my own syllabus and got a little scared off when I saw that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuckoomamma Posted February 28, 2018 Author Share Posted February 28, 2018 Yes, I know the AP US Gov class is being revamped, but dd couldn't fit it in this year and next year is her senior year :( I know that we always prioritize the outsourced classes, and dd needs to have US Gov before graduation. I'm also not thrilled about teaching it myself in a year that is revamped. Our hesitation with the PAH US Gov class is that we've heard the discussions can be a bit negative. Not sure that's the correct description but that there have been some very conservative views that were not necessarily expressed in the most constructive ways. How does your son feel about the environment of the class, freesia? I know that it may also be a reflection of the class composition from year to year. It's great to hear that Dr. Gillespie was responsive to her reviews. From year to year classes can differ a great deal. I know that one of the other classes dd took was described by some as being pretty interactive, and that element wasn't there the year that dd took it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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