BJU Press Distance Learning Biology Review

By the time the high school years roll around, teens should be learning pretty independently. Some kids can open just about any textbook, read, take notes and comprehend everything that is in it. Other kids need a little more instruction to help them process the information. This is especially true with more challenging subjects like science.

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BJU Press Distance Learning Biology

That’s where the BJU Press Distance Learning program comes in. It is a great option for homeschool families who want their teen working independently but also realize that their student needs a little more instruction than what a textbook can offer.

This year my high schooler tackled biology using the BJU Press Distance Learning biology course. This course provided her the opportunity to learn biology on her own, at her own pace, with the assistance of a knowledgable (and fun) science teacher.

BJU Press Distance Learning biology also took a huge load off of my shoulders, as the parent. We used the online option which provided automatic grading for quizzes and tests saving me a lot of time. I went in each week and added in points for labs and other work my daughter did as well as checking to make sure she was staying on track. In just a few minutes each week I was able to stay on top of my daughter’s high school level biology course!

How the Biology Course Works

The BJU Press Distance Learning biology course includes access to video instruction (DVD or online), a biology textbook, a biology lab manual, handouts for the course and a video lesson guide. I highly recommend adding in the Logos biology lab kit so that your student can do the labs.

Let’s look at each component of the course and how it all works together.

First, your student will either log in online or pull out the appropriate DVD for the lesson they are on. The video lesson guide will help DVD users to know which video lesson to watch and what assignments to do. Online users can see what they need to accomplish each day when they log in to their account.

This biology course has 180 days of instruction. Video lessons average about 30 minutes in length and are usually a part of each daily lesson. There are actually 154 video days and 26 non-video days in this course.

Students are encouraged to read the lesson in their textbook before starting the video lesson. Assignments are listed in the video lesson guide as well as online (for those using the online option). The assignments at the end of each daily lesson are review questions found in the textbook.

Quizzes, tests and labs are scheduled throughout the course. Online users will take the quizzes and tests online which will then be automatically graded (except for the short answer/essay type questions). DVD users will be sent paper tests to be taken at home and graded by the parent.

Labs are an important part of any biology course and it is highly recommended that students try to complete as many labs as possible. I found the Logos lab kit to be very beneficial as it contained the supplies that we needed plus an addendum booklet with instructions for how to modify the labs for home use. Most biology courses include work with a microscope. We were not able to purchase (or borrow) a microscope this year so we modified some of the labs that required the use of a microscope.

The last component to the course are the handouts. These are additional materials that the biology instructor felt would be beneficial for the student. My daughter found the handouts to be very helpful as they assisted her in taking notes and reviewing for quizzes and tests.

What I Loved About BJU Press Distance Learning Biology

I cannot tell you how grateful I am for this high school biology course. It allowed my daughter to work independently while still getting excellent instruction in a high school level science course. It also provided me more time in my day to focus on homeschooling my other children.

The BJU Press Distance Learning biology course provided excellent instruction from a teacher who was enthusiastic about biology and even had a little sense of humor. What could have been a boring, difficult science course became an enjoyable class for my high schooler. That doesn’t mean that the course was easy though. This is a rigorous high school biology course. My daughter had to work hard and learn new study skills to complete this course. However, the video instruction helped make the material more manageable and easier to digest.

Another way the BJU Press Distance Learning biology course was helpful to me was that labs were graded by the student (not the parent). After completing each lab, the instructor does a lab check with the student. Questions are asked based on work that was done in the lab manual. The instructor will go over the answers with the student, letting them know how many points to give themself for each correct answer. This means that the parent does not have to grade the lab work at all!

When you choose the online option for Distance Learning, you also have access to the parent discussion board online. This was a great place for me to ask questions about the course as they came up throughout the year. It’s one way that BJU Press helps homeschool parents get the encouragement, support and quick answers to questions that they often need when homeschooling a high schooler. It is always nice to know that other homeschool parents and even BJU Press teachers are available to help me in my homeschool journey.

Things to Be Aware Of

Both my daughter and I would recommend BJU Press Distance Learning biology to other homeschool families. That being said, there are a few things you should be aware of before purchasing this course.

The biology textbook reads like a traditional textbook. This might be a pro or con depending on how you look at it. Science textbooks can be difficult to read and digest for the average student. The BJU Biology textbook is no exception.

However, this can also be a great opportunity to help your student learn how to read a textbook and take notes. This course provided a wonderful opportunity for me to teach my daughter how to read, comprehend and take notes for a class utilizing a traditional textbook. This was important as she plans on taking college courses in the future.

Some of the labs are challenging. That being said, another biology course that I used with another child was equally challenging. I think the nature of high school level labs lends itself to some difficulty.

I mention this so that you and your student won’t be surprised or overly frustrated when attempting a lab. Try to remember your own experience of doing biology labs in high school. I’m guessing they weren’t always easy to complete. Many lessons (both academically and spiritually) can be learned through the struggles of completing a science lab. There was a lot of information that was cemented in my daughter’s brain because she had to work hard to complete each lab.

The course will take time to complete each day especially for students who are not science oriented. It will take time to watch the lessons, read the textbook, process the information and complete the assignments. My daughter spent more time on this course than I had anticipated. She probably averaged an hour and a half each day (5 days a week).

My daughter found herself with a very full workload this past year but it provided opportunities to work on time management and how to handle stress. I’d rather her learn those things while she is at home where I can help her, encourage her and show her a little grace by tweaking the workload occasionally.

Remember, You Can Adjust the Curriculum

One of the benefits of homeschooling is being able to adjust the curriculum to meet the needs of our kids and that’s just what I did with this biology course. While we stuck pretty closely to the course schedule, I did choose to have my daughter skip a few units and pass on a couple labs. We also did some of the daily assignments orally instead of having her write out the answers. Remember that completing 75-80% of a curriculum is enough to count as a high school credit.

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Need more help with homeschooling a high schooler? Watch these videos.

Disclosure: This course was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. I purchased the biology lab kit with my own money.