Carol Berman began teaching in 1964 and has been teaching “on and off” since then. “I did retire 10 years ago, but came back two years ago at the request of my principal,” says Berman. Berman has a Master’s degree in Computer Education and is certified to teach first through sixth grade.
Berman teaches first grade at a Title I school in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, where a majority of the students are on free/reduced lunch. Berman’s class of 22 students last year included several with learning disabilities and other challenges.
This past spring, Berman was introduced to Science4Us through her school’s math coach and was able to use it as part of Dade Schools’ Covid-19 distance learning program. She saw its benefits immediately and was glad to see her students were able to log in and use the program.
“Science4Us aligns very well with the Florida State Standards,” Berman says. “In fact, I found it much more beneficial than the text we had been using in class. The online visuals and lessons were much more straightforward and user-friendly for my struggling first graders.
“The students enjoyed using Science4Us, and I found that they didn’t fight to complete assignments, like they did with other courses during their distance education.
“One of my students even said, ‘Gee Mrs. Berman, science is actually fun!”
From a first-grader doing distance learning, that is high praise indeed.