Matryoshka Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Someone just linked me to Debra Bell's Aim Academy classes - they look really good on paper. Anyone used them, and if so, how did you like them? :bigear: Right now I'm looking at the Writing and Lit classes for 7th-8th graders, but I'd love to hear about the upper level classes - and they have a Bio class that uses Campbell's Exploring Life! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3andme Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 There's one review of the middle school class in this message. There's also a review of the pre-AP Bio class here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 19, 2013 Author Share Posted June 19, 2013 There's one review of the middle school class in this message. There's also a review of the pre-AP Bio class here. Thanks! In the second post, though, the poster has deleted their review of the Bio class (it says 'nt' now) - wonder what happened there? :confused1: Anyone else?? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Way back in the dark ages my dd took AP English from Debra Bell. At that time she did NOT do recommendations for students whom she did not know in real life. (Thankfully my dd was not counting on her for a rec, but since DB did not post this info but merely mentioned it in the spring as relevant for rising seniors, I imagine this may have caused problems for some students.) If you are counting on recs for college, this might be worth checking out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muttichen Posted June 19, 2013 Share Posted June 19, 2013 Way back in the dark ages my dd took AP English from Debra Bell. At that time she did NOT do recommendations for students whom she did not know in real life. (Thankfully my dd was not counting on her for a rec, but since DB did not post this info but merely mentioned it in the spring as relevant for rising seniors, I imagine this may have caused problems for some students.) If you are counting on recs for college, this might be worth checking out. She must have changed her policy on this, because she wrote recommendations for several of my kids after they took AP English with her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest artmomteach Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 My eldest daughter took AP Biology with Vicki Dincher through CHESS in high school. She felt well prepared and scored a 5 in the exam. My daughter wasn't even particularly interested in science. Two years ago our youngest, a son, took PRE AP Biology with Mrs. Dincher, through AIM Academy. Mrs. Dincher did an amazing job covering a huge amount of material. She was always available to help my son with any questions or concepts he needed answered or explained. He scored well on the SAT II Biology exam as a 9th grader. I know Vicki took all of this past year to prepare for the 2013-14 AP Biology course to meet the new AP College Board test requirements. I know because I was hoping our son could take AP Bio with her this year, but she took this year off to prepare the course by rewriting her curriculum so she could offer it for the first time this Fall. Vicki is devoted to making science exciting and learnable for student willing to apply themselves and work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Lilli Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 My son just finished Vicki Dincher's Pre-AP Physics class through AIM Academy and it was super! Vicki is a great teacher, really understands the material, and presented it in a way that my son found easy to understand. The class was well-organized and easy to follow. My son always knew what his assignments were for the week, when they were due, and found the workload challenging but not overwhelming. As a parent, I really appreciated how easy her classroom website was to use. He took the Physics SAT subject test in May and scored very well. Each week he watched a lecture that Vicki had prepared before working his way through the week's work in the text as well as other assignments Vicki added. Sometimes there were links to other online resources to watch. Vicki was very available for questions and help via email. A couple times during the year when my son was having difficulty with a concept or problem, she scheduled a tutoring session with him so they could work it through in real-time. I really appreciated that. The assignments were varied and interesting. The labs were relevant and not overly time-consuming. There were a couple more extensive projects that he worked on throughout the year that took more time. I thought the class was a good balance between book learning and hands on. My son enjoyed the class so much and has developed a real love for physics that he is going to take AP Physics next year. Unfortunately, Vicki is not teaching it, but if she were, he would have definitely taken her class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted June 25, 2013 Author Share Posted June 25, 2013 Thanks so much for the feedback on the science classes! I'm interested especially for the Biology class - I know evolution is taught, but is it taught in a straightforward, secular manner, or is there any attempt to qualify the information (ie this is the evolution stuff you have to know for the test, but others believe, or here's another alternative...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arborite Posted June 25, 2013 Share Posted June 25, 2013 Excited to read these positive reviews! I just signed up my 13 -year-old for the year-long Chemistry and Physics class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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