Amplify Science is terrible...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which grades is this curriculum? This is horrible! I’m not a science person, but what op shared is alarming. I have not been impressed with ELA curriculum either. My kids are in 7th and 10th.

Your 7th grader should have had Amplify last year and this year. Your 10th grader escaped it.

It started last year for 6th, was used in 6th and 7th this year, and will be 6th 7th and 8th next year.

[Anonymous]

As an educator, I hate that Amplify is almost entirely screen based and eliminates opportunities for collaboration and hands-on activities. How will kids be prepared for AP science classes in high school if they’ve never done a rigorous lab?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an educator, I hate that Amplify is almost entirely screen based and eliminates opportunities for collaboration and hands-on activities. How will kids be prepared for AP science classes in high school if they’ve never done a rigorous lab?

this! my 6th grader took a box of gloves for science class school supplies and brought home unopened end of year. I asked if they’d used gloves for anything in class at all. nope — just simulations on a screen. Amplify is terrible as a stand-alone science class.

[Anonymous]

What's bizarre -- and yet perhaps typical -- is that DCPS knows how bad Amplify science is, and still they remain wedded to it.

Oh well. It's not so important that they actually educate students. It's enough that they checked the "have science class" box.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an educator, I hate that Amplify is almost entirely screen based and eliminates opportunities for collaboration and hands-on activities. How will kids be prepared for AP science classes in high school if they’ve never done a rigorous lab?

this! my 6th grader took a box of gloves for science class school supplies and brought home unopened end of year. I asked if they’d used gloves for anything in class at all. nope — just simulations on a screen. Amplify is terrible as a stand-alone science class.

May I know which school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's bizarre -- and yet perhaps typical -- is that DCPS knows how bad Amplify science is, and still they remain wedded to it.

Oh well. It's not so important that they actually educate students. It's enough that they checked the "have science class" box.

It makes me so angry. Amplify has no differentiation (and admits it). Its definitions and diagrams are wrong. Why is the council okay with spending money on this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What's bizarre -- and yet perhaps typical -- is that DCPS knows how bad Amplify science is, and still they remain wedded to it.

Oh well. It's not so important that they actually educate students. It's enough that they checked the "have science class" box.

Definitely something weird and possibly corrupt going on. How I wish a reporter would investigate this.

[Anonymous]

OP here - cannot emphasize enough how important it is that parents are letting their principals and instructional superintendents know their feelings on this. Teacher input is ignored when we're up against the home-office Wizards of Oz. I'm not comfortable posting specific assessment items since I already took several hits on my evaluation this year over this, but ask your principal to see an assessment. Ask them about screen time and differentiation. You'll be as angry as I am.

[Anonymous]

STEMscopes was also bad and yet, I don't remember people complaining about it much. But yes, go on with your campaign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STEMscopes was also bad and yet, I don't remember people complaining about it much. But yes, go on with your campaign.

Stemscopes didn’t have inaccurate science in it. We also weren’t required to do inane tests from stemscopes with the same 4 questions repeated over and over. How amplify can be so wordy and so lacking in content is astounding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:STEMscopes was also bad and yet, I don't remember people complaining about it much. But yes, go on with your campaign.

The stakes are higher in middle school. Bc middle schoolers in other cities and in private schools are getting a very solid foundation in biology/chemistry/physics/earth science. So these kids will be permanently behind their peers.

Also STEMscopes is good.

[Anonymous]

Our MS is planning to spend PTA money and teacher time to supplement Amplify so maybe the students will learn something. Why can't DCPS just get it right?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:STEMscopes was also bad and yet, I don't remember people complaining about it much. But yes, go on with your campaign.

The stakes are higher in middle school. Bc middle schoolers in other cities and in private schools are getting a very solid foundation in biology/chemistry/physics/earth science. So these kids will be permanently behind their peers.

Also STEMscopes is good.

STEMscopes is not good and if it was so good, why were the science scores so bad (and obviously still are) when it was used for YEARS across many schools?

[Anonymous]

There are many schools where science teachers are told to support math or English instead.

[Anonymous]

I've used STEMscopes for years. I'm fine with it and the structure. I really like the hands on experiments. For elementary students it is perfect.

With regards to the scores, as a teacher I've never received student scores or even standards-based scores. NEVER.