Love2Smile Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Can you tell me how teacher intensive BJU is without DVD's for 9th grade and up? Any reviews would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie in CA Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 I'm wondering the same thing. I was looking at the DIVE website and there is a syllabus that can be used with BJU. A friend gave me her BJU biology and she used the satellite with hers. I have always heard BJU is difficult to use w/o dvds but have no personal experience. Hope someone has some answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 A friend of mine who has an M.S. in chemistry and has taught at the community college level, and used BJUP with her own children found them very challenging to get through. Locally she uses both levels of Apologia Chemistry for the paid classes she teaches because she feels that they are far more accessible for a once-a-week class taught by her. She decided that if she sent the student home to work from the BJUP Chemistry book, very few of them would keep on with the class. Bottom line -- they're books made for teaching in multiple weekly sessions by a science teacher, which means that they're not for most homeschool families. Unless you can prepare and teach science at the high school level yourself, it's going to be a difficult road. They're not set up for self-teaching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 My daughter is finishing the BJU Biology with the DIVE cd this week. She has averaged a 92 on the tests and we both feel that it was a good choice! She did do the labs at a Christian School which made things easier for me and fun for her. The DVD would have been our first choice but it just did not fit in our budget. She will be taking the SAT II Biology test soon. I don't know whether she will do well as there is a great deal of information to review :glare: but we are both hopeful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 It was difficult with the DVDs...... BJUP high school science is very rigorous, we tried Physics and bailed for Apologia. And, you are watching old "live" tapes. Some of the teachers don't update the materials they send, it was very frustrating keeping up with it all. I do know people that use it and like it though... and am open to those who like it who can tell me how to let the kids handle more of it (I was up all hours with worksheets, their keys, text and key and CD with solutions, and lab manual with its solutions, took up the whole kitchen table!). I would love others posting about experiences with the DIVE science as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie in CA Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 I copied this directly from the DIVE website and it looks like the textbook is used as a "supplement". Does this mean the pile of books (meaning the Bob Jones teachers manual, lab manual, answer books) would not be needed? I would be doing the labs at home so I would need to buy the $200 lab kit from DIVE for that and I have a microscope. To me it looks like DIVE will make the Bob Jones less cumbersome. (Liza, was that your experience?) DIVE Science CD-ROMs are college preparatory, interactive video lectures and labs that teach physical science, biology, chemistry, and physics from a Christian worldview. Each CD contains digital whiteboard lectures, hands-on interactive video labs, review questions, quarterly exams, and solutions to every review question and exam question. Digital video lectures and labs allow students to learn at their own pace, pausing and rewinding as necessary until a concept is understood. Except for physics (follows Saxon Physics), you can supplement DIVE Science with almost any textbook. We recommend Bob Jones, Apologia and Abeka, but other textbooks work as well. You can even use the Internet as your "textbook", as there are now many excellent sites filled with general science information and animations. Students who do well with DIVE Science can, with a little extra effort, receive college credit by passing a CLEP or AP exam. Students can prepare for these exams using our CLEP Professor series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted May 26, 2009 Share Posted May 26, 2009 It was difficult with the DVDs...... BJUP high school science is very rigorous, we tried Physics and bailed for Apologia. And, you are watching old "live" tapes. Some of the teachers don't update the materials they send, it was very frustrating keeping up with it all. I do know people that use it and like it though... and am open to those who like it who can tell me how to let the kids handle more of it (I was up all hours with worksheets, their keys, text and key and CD with solutions, and lab manual with its solutions, took up the whole kitchen table!). I would love others posting about experiences with the DIVE science as well. My middler used BJU's Chemistry & Physics with the DVDs and the Physics was EXTREMELY difficult! The material sent just from the DVD teacher was over 900 pages long...and that was not including the regular BJU materials (TM, St Text, Lab Manual, etc). The Chemistry was muuuuch more manageable and not nearly as difficult to follow. In fact, my son loved that class. I personally could not teach BJU's high school sciences. No way, no how. I am not smart enough. If I could not use the DVDs, I would definitely look into the DIVE CD-Roms before ever attempting to teach it on my own. Or I would go with a different program altogether. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimajaro Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Just wished to say that I have enjoyed reading this discussion; I have been trying to decide between BJU and Apologia for next fall. Very helpful to hear comments about both programs. Thanks! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liza Q Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I copied this directly from the DIVE website and it looks like the textbook is used as a "supplement". Does this mean the pile of books (meaning the Bob Jones teachers manual, lab manual, answer books) would not be needed? I would be doing the labs at home so I would need to buy the $200 lab kit from DIVE for that and I have a microscope. To me it looks like DIVE will make the Bob Jones less cumbersome. (Liza, was that your experience?) Laurie, I would not say that the textbook was a supplement. I would say that the DIVE Cd took the place of the TM with a lot of extras. As much as the DVDs? Almost definitely not, but I can't compare them as I have never seen the DVDs. There were NOT lectures for every lesson but I think that there were enough. The "interactive video labs, review questions, quarterly exams, and solutions to every review question and exam questions" were easy to use and extremely helpful. I can't really speak to the labs as she did not do them at home. However, the school she went to for the labs did not do any dissections (not required in NY, can you believe it??) so we will be adding those in a few weeks, after she takes the SAT II. I bought a kit from Nature's Workshop that is meant to be used with Apologia - four animals, easy-peasy. Altogether, Biology was non-cumbersome. Certainly nothing that took over the table, as someone mentioned! ETA: I wanted to make it clear - the only things we used were the BJU texts (it is in two volumes -a LOT of reading for my daughter, but she enjoyed it. Mostly!) and the DIVE CD. Nothing else from BJU. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 I really like Apologia, very homeschool friendly. Dr. Wile answers email questions quickly, and we have even spoken with him on the phone. We have done General, Physical, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. If your student is going to be a science major, I would recommend adding the advanced Apologia if they want to go directly to advanced classes. Also, speed it up, because college science moves fast. My son did Chemistry in the 10th grade, then as a freshman in college took advanced chemistry. Too big of a jump. Barely got a C and was overwhelmed. But he did ask for his Apologia Chemistry book and had it with him the whole semester! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 My dd is doing BJU Chemistry, has the DIve Chemistry CD, and often I end up teaching her myself because she just doesn't get it without a lot of feedback from me. I don't think it is the book, I think it is her. She gets bogged down in vocabulary and misses out on the concept. If I teach her, I interpret the vocabulary and quickly move on to the concept and practical applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 We had to do that even with Apologia Chemistry, my son and I spent a lot of time going back and forth, I don't know chemistry, had to look at study guide answers and test answers to help him. Not looking forward to it next time around. IMO chemistry is just hard! I do have Teaching Co. DVDs, my son looked at them before the college chemistry, he told me to add them to Apologia Chemistry and it would go better. We'll see! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in CA Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 My dd is doing BJU Chemistry, has the DIve Chemistry CD, and often I end up teaching her myself because she just doesn't get it without a lot of feedback from me. I don't think it is the book, I think it is her. She gets bogged down in vocabulary and misses out on the concept. If I teach her, I interpret the vocabulary and quickly move on to the concept and practical applications. Ack! I would dislike that greatly and another reason why I vote for the BJU DVD's over the DIVE CDs. :tongue_smilie: Not that your child will not have a question, but I have found that usually when they do, it's because they were not paying attention to their teacher...who explains things very well. A nice re-watch of the lesson is usually all it took. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted May 29, 2009 Share Posted May 29, 2009 Thanks to everyone. I'm finding this very helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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