Anyone using Apologia for Physical Science?

Discussion in 'Homeschooling' started by Cornish Steve, Dec 11, 2009.

  1. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    I'm in the process of creating online quizzes for each module in the Apologia Physical Science course. Each quiz includes 200 questions, with a hint and detailed answer explanation for each question, so it's taking time. Still, once done, students will be able to take the quizzes over and over, seeing different questions on every attempt, to ensure they thoroughly understand the material.

    I'd like to know how children respond to the questions I've put together, so does anyone use Apologia for Physical Science and would you be willing to let your child take these quizzes? I've finished the quiz for Module 1 and should be finished with Module 2 shortly. My goal is to have quizzes for the first eight modules finished by the end of the year.
     
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  3. rmcx5

    rmcx5 New Member

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    My oldest is using General Science now. I'd definitely be interested when she gets to Physical Science. I don't dislike the Module tests with Gen. Science BUT my daughter does get discouraged that there are so few points per test. She took the Module 4 test today and got 18 of the 22 points....an 82%. (I should mentioned that although she is a great student, she DESPISES science generally but so far is not completely dreading gen. science).

    Anyway, her science test grades fluctuate quite a bit. Module #1 was a 95 (missed one question), Module 2 was an 80, Module 3 was a 92 and then today's 82.

    I think having something like you are working on would be more encouraging to her and would allow her to better demonstrate her knowledge (or lack thereof....lol).

    We're actually planning to use Gen Sci and then Physical over her 3 middle school years rather than just 2 so we won't be ready for Physical until next year at this time probably.

    Good luck with your project.
    Rhonda
     
  4. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    Thanks Rhonda. I'll post links to each of the module quizzes as I finish them, so you can access them at will. I'm eager to get some feedback.
     
  5. Lindina

    Lindina Active Member

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    Rhonda, do they now have points indicated on the module tests? I have the first edition of GenSci, and I had to come up with my own scheme of points because none were indicated. For example, a definition I gave one point, or a blank to fill, or a diagram label, or a true/false. Matching where there are more choices than numbered items, I gave 2 points each, but matching where the items/choices are even I only gave one. A List to be written was one point each item in the list, and short answers were 3, with longer answers worth 5. So a true/false with an explanation could be 4 (one for t/f and three for explanation). This way, I could give partial credit for some items, even the one-point ones, as I felt was appropriate. (I say was because I'm not using it this year.)
     
  6. Jackie

    Jackie Active Member

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    I'd like the links, too, Steve! Faythe is also doing general this year, but it's VERY slow going.
     
  7. rmcx5

    rmcx5 New Member

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    Yes, the 2nd edition Teacher's Answer Key indicates the point value of each question and where partial credit is OK (although obviously it's my child and our school so I can change that but so far it's been right on). I did just realize after the Module 4 test, that the author did intend for the grading scale to be a 10 point scale (90-100 A, 80-99 B, etc). This is different than what I normally use but since the tests have so few points, etc...I've decided to use it for science this year.
     
  8. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    I've published the quiz for Module #1. Go to www.sharedstudy.com. To ensure you don't conflict with others using the same account, it would be best to create your own student account. Then select the Quiz tab, and you should be able to register for 'Physical Science Module 1'. Every time the student takes the quiz, she sees a different set of questions. Everything should be self-evident.

    If you would prefer to use a dummy account, log in as 'spot-student' and use the password 'homeschool'. Select the Quiz tab, and just click on the name of the quiz.
     
  9. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    OK - I've just finished the quiz for Module #2. Phew! For anyone interested, I've now published quizzes for modules 1 and 2 of Apologia's Physical Science book. I'd be most grateful for any feedback.
     
  10. AussieMum

    AussieMum New Member

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    Hi Steve,

    This sounds great! We will definitely be checking this out. dd did physical science 2009, ds will start it feb 2010. dd is a good student, and did very well with it. ds has to work a little harder, and does not test well, so this sounds like just the right thing at the right time. So thanks! I will let you know how it goes....maybe you could pm me your email address?

    Did you know that there is a yahoo group for apologia science? I'm sure the folks there would be interested.
     
  11. Lee

    Lee New Member

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    We will be starting it soon. My son was bored with his other science so we are stepping up a grade. I felt their was no sense continuing something he wasn't getting anything out of or should I say has already gotten it. So we will be starting it hopefully within the next week or two.
     
  12. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    Thanks for the feedback. I hope to post a quiz for the third module in the next couple of days.

    Right now, I'm making these quizzes available for free so I can get feedback. Once I've finished building quizzes for the first eight modules, I plan to combine them into a self-study and also an instructor-led study (in which you can, as an instructor, guide your student and assign grades to each activity). After that, I plan to create a full-blown online course, with class discussions, team activities, and so on. From your perspective, which of these approaches would be most useful?

    Thanks for the comment about Yahoo groups. I've never used them, but now I shall look into them to find the Apologia group.
     
  13. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    I've just completed and published the quiz for Module #3. Once again, there are 200 questions in the test bank, so students will see a different set of questions every time they take a practice attempt at the quiz. Each question has a hint, to help students when they are unsure of the correct answer, and a detailed explanation that refers back to the Apologia textbook.
     
  14. goodnsimple

    goodnsimple New Member

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    Steve,
    I would be interested in an online course for science starting in 9th grade...(year after next) as I don't think you can get what you need just by reading a text...and the experiments are often difficult to get supplies for (small town) and expensive. Our HS group does not do classes...just a support and field trip sort of thing.
    We don't have a community college or YMCA or anything like that, so I would be very interested in a interactive online (with video) sort of class....but I am not sure what I would be willing to pay. :}
     
  15. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    This has always been the most difficult thing for us: What to charge educators who use our online system and, if we choose to do this as well, how much to charge students to take a course. I've made plenty of difficult business decisions getting our company to the point of launching, but I continue to wrestle with pricing. In general, if our goal is to help those whose are generally overlooked, I'd like to keep the pricing to an absolute minimum.

    Our local county charges $500 to take an online course, and the courses are, quite frankly, pathetic. There's no interaction, little guidance, no feedback: It's basically a correspondence course in which the quizzes are automated. I have to wonder what the teachers of these courses actually do! Plus, the system they use is awful, and I've found questions in the quiz that are not related to the material. Why pay all that money for such a rotten experience?

    When I did my MBA online (through a consortium of state universities), some of the professors really got it right. The classes were very interactive, with vibrant discussions among the class. The projects were mostly short-term and interesting, and the feedback was valuable. In our system, we built on this so students can actually give feedback on each other's work, for example. The more interaction, the better. MBA classes were about $1,500 each, way beyond what I'd expect to pay for a high school class.

    So - $500? $1,500? Personally, I find both numbers too high. What would I have paid as a homeschooling parent? Probably a maximum of $250 for a semester-long course, and less than that if it's essentially a self-study or a guided study. Plus, if I'm going to sacrifice by paying money, I want my child to really enjoy the experience, not dread it.
     
  16. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    And sorry to go on about this, but I would like to ask another question.

    One of the joys of homeschooling is that we don't have to delegate the teaching to someone we don't really know. What if we built online courses, such as the one I'm putting together as an example for Apologia, and made it available for parents to get together to teach their own children? In other words, not only would the students register for the course but parents would register as the instructors! The course would include all the material that's needed in addition to the textbook and provide comprehensive guidance so the parents know what to do. Grading for quizzes and for participation would be automatic, so parents would simply have to guide discussions, grade reports (for any projects), and grade answers to tests that require written answers.

    Doing it this way, the price would be much less (probably around $60 per student to recover the cost of building the course on behalf of the parents) - because you wouldn't be paying for an instructor. Plus, you'd retain complete control over the teaching process. I'm not aware of anyone doing this today, so I'm not sure how some of the details would work, but it would seem to be an ideal approach for the homeschooling community.
     
  17. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    Progress! I've just finished and published the quiz for Module #4, so now you and your children are free to access quizzes for each of the first four modules. The instructions are the same as before. Once again, there are 200 questions in the test bank, each with a hint and a full explanation. On each practice attempt, students must answer 10 questions in 10 minutes. Any feedback would be most welcome.
     
  18. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    The quiz is now available for Module #5. The login name and password are the same as before.
     
  19. cabsmom40

    cabsmom40 Active Member

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    Cornish Steve,
    We are beginning Module 5 today, so maybe we will check out the quizzes soon.
     
  20. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    Thanks. Any feedback would be much appreciated.
     
  21. Cornish Steve

    Cornish Steve Active Member

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    The quiz is now available for Module 6. To access, use the same login name and password as before.
     

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