In Person 2024 Workshops | Week 3 | July 22-26
The workshop sessions are small, averaging fewer than 15 participants. Each session is designed to meet the needs of the individual participants to ensure that each teacher returns to the classroom with increased confidence and strategies for success.
The leaders are experienced AP teachers with outstanding reputations in public and private schools. All serve as readers at their respective AP readings and are endorsed by the College Board to lead AP workshops. Many of our consultants are table leaders and members of their respective course’s test development committee.
Biology for Experienced Teachers — In Person
Instructor: Elizabeth Cowles
This course is designed for experienced teachers who seek fresh learning opportunities for your students. We will explore new science kits, review statistics and experimental design, and discuss ways to engage your students. Most of all, we will have fun and you depart reinvigorated and prepared with novel strategies for a successful and rewarding AP year.
Computer Science Principles — In Person
Instructor: TBD
This workshop is designed for beginning (new) as well as experienced teachers planning to teach AP CS Principles next school year. AP CS Principles is an introduction to computer science designed to help students feel welcomed. We will focus on the Big Ideas and Computational Thinking Practices for the course and how to help your students to succeed. In addition, we will strategize about how to recruit students to ensure diversity. We will discuss in detail the structure of the AP CS Principles Assessment including the newly revised Create Performance Task and the Multiple Choice Exam. Scoring rubrics from the most recent AP Reading will be utilized. We will use various sites to explore computer science including programming in python. We will spend time not only understanding the newest changes to the course, including the new 1-hour long written response section of the AP Exam, but also brainstorming about how you can help your students to be prepared.
English Language & Composition — In Person
Instructor: Steve Klinge
During our AP Summer Institute, we will work with each of the main areas of the English Language exam—the multiple choice questions (both the reading and the writing questions), synthesis essay, rhetorical analysis essay, and argument essay—and discuss ways to prepare our students with the skills they will need on the AP test. We will examine the Course and Exam Description book and the resources available in AP Classroom. We will also discuss the scoring process for the test and review the current year’s Language exam essay questions.
As a community of peers, we will collaborate on strategies, practice test-taking, analyze readings and share best practices. We will place ourselves in the position of our students and then explore how we, as their teachers, can improve their skills as writers, as thinkers, as close-readers, as test-takers.
Readings will come from a variety of pre-20th century and 20th-century / contemporary sources; although the emphasis will be on non-fiction, we will discuss the use of poetry and other fiction within the Language course. Prior to the course, I will send a list of essays to read so we have a set of common texts to discuss.
English Literature & Composition — In Person
Instructor: Richard McCarthy
In this APSI, the week will offer teachers a wide range of highly effective strategies for inspiring students to develop their voice as writers and critical thinkers. Because students have an array of experiences and understandings, it is critical to take them “from what they know to what they don’t know” in a way that will help them create insightful understandings of literature. By grounding their literary experiences with some deep, universal tensions, the students can engage with complex poetry, drama, and fiction with a bit more confidence and understanding. In short, offering frames of understanding can help students “accelerate their insight” into meaningful works of literature.
Teachers will be offered an array of approaches for assessing student writing and methods for assuring that students are held accountable for content/skills while also fostering a healthy work culture for both students and instructor. As for exam specific direction, we will work with strategies for both the FRQ and MC questions that are direct and profitable for the students. Furthermore, we will explore how to best utilize the CED and AP Classroom so that students can benefit from the content, and the instructors can make targeted adjustments to their lessons.
And finally, Richard will share decades worth of materials for teaching poetry, drama, and fiction. We hope the week will allow teachers to reconnect with the ideas and passions that drove them to be English Majors and inspired them to become teachers.
Environmental Science for Experienced Teachers — In Person
Instructor: Andy Milbauer
This session is for teachers who have taught the course, completed the audit and are experienced with AP Classroom.
We will explore all nine units in depth as we explore different ways to teach the concepts using laboratory investigations and experiences. Weather permitting, we will do some trips to areas where we can explore forest ecology, aquatic systems and soils. The trips will not require significant agility or outdoor skills. I have had two knee surgeries, I will be understanding of anyone who might need modifications.
This is a great opportunity to think about teaching the course through aquariums, gardening, seed starting, and affordable field trips.
Please bring ideas and labs that you might want to share.
Environmental Science - Project Based Learning (PBL)
Instructor: TBD
This series is appropriate for new AP teachers committed to using this project-based curriculum for their AP course, and for experienced AP teachers interested in adopting this approach.
Bring PBL to your classroom
AP Project Based Learning Series helps teachers adopt a project based instructional approach that anchors their AP course into five sustained projects, which collectively address all the content and skills required for college credit.
Workshops in the AP Project Based Learning Series are designed and delivered by PBLWorks, the premier organization in PBL teaching methodology, and will help teachers:
Understand how to teach the AP course through the five projects that comprise this project based instructional approach
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See how these projects help students achieve all the learning objectives in the AP Course and Exam Description
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Learn how to adapt these five projects to your students’ needs and implement them throughout the year
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Four days of onsite professional learning during the AP Summer Institute (30 hours), including access to curriculum, unit plans, and ready-made projects for your students
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Four online sustained support sessions on evenings during the school year (timed with the expected completion dates of each project). Teachers will be able to choose from several different dates and times for each of these job-embedded sessions.
What’s included in the AP Project Based Learning Series
Like other research-based workshops that are shown to have a positive effect on student performance, the AP Project Based Learning Series requires a more sustained commitment to professional learning than participation in a standard AP Summer Institute.
Accordingly, participants receive more continuing education units (CEUs) than participants who attend a standard AP Summer Institute.
Register today to connect with a community of AP teachers who are bringing PBL to their classrooms.
The registration fee includes both the 30 contact hours during the AP Summer Institute and the subsequent contact hours at the four online sustained support sessions.
(Please note that PBL courses are not eligible for SNHU graduate credits.)
French Language & Culture — In Person
Instructor: Tracy Rucker
Advanced Placement French Language and Culture: Preparing for the Course. Designed for new and experienced teachers, this session will be presented in French most of the time and will be delivered in-person, with some built-in asynchronous work, as needed. Participants will participate as a whole group and will also work individually or with other participants on a unit plan that will be presented on the final day of the course. In addition to sharing the College Board required materials, the consultant will share a Google Drive folder filled with a variety of student-centered activities that can be used to level up vocabulary, apply grammar, and teach for diversity. Materials will be available in the folder, but it might be helpful to be able to print some documents used in the training. During this AP French seminar, participants will explore in detail the AP French and Culture program and examination and the available resources on AP Central. Of equal importance, the consultant and participants will share best practices to improve or implement a good vertical articulation throughout their French program. We will discuss pre-AP strategies, core practices, and methodologies that contribute to success at various levels of instruction. This session will benefit not only AP teachers but all French teachers. Skills and competences necessary to perform well on the AP exam will be discussed, and successful lesson plans and assessments will be shared. Participants will work collaboratively to create shareable lesson plans and review course syllabi for adoption or creation. The workshop is designed to provide participants with the 30 hours required by the College Board.
Physics I for Experienced Teachers — In Person
Instructor: Joe Mancino
This workshop supports experienced teachers as we refine our AP Physics 1 course. We’ll explore the revisions to the CED and discuss how the changes affect planning and pacing. We’ll refine our year-long plans to keep us on track for the school year. With a group of other teachers, you’ll create a general plan for a single unit so that we all leave with a general plan for the whole year. Significant time will be spent sharing our best practices with the whole. Together, we’ll practice and review many AP Physics test questions so that you know exactly what the expectations are for your students. We will have a special focus on the fluids unit so you can brush up on that specific content. Most of all, we’ll be doing a whole lot of science and establishing a cooperative network of teachers who can support each other as we work through the first few years of this redesigned course.
Precalculus — In Person
Instructor: Eliel Gonzalez
This course is for teachers preparing to teach the new AP Precalculus program. A discussion regarding course purpose and philosophy will help guide our week’s work. We will fully debrief the new Course and Exam Description (CED), review content and pedagogy in course topics, and explore AP exam format and questions, AP resources, use of graphing calculators, and classroom activities to maximize learning. The primary content focus will be on the 3 assessed units, which include: Unit 1: Polynomials and Rational Functions, Unit 2: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions and Unit 3: Trigonometric and Polar Functions. Participants are asked to bring a laptop, a graphing calculator and a Precalculus textbook.
Psychology for Experienced Teachers — In Person
Instructor: George Jackson
This hands-on workshop will focus on an overview of the upcoming changes to the AP Psychology curriculum and exam. Primary attention will be given to the increased focus on Research Methods as part of the entire AP Psychology curriculum. Participants will use the college board online resources and participate in simulated AP readings in order to analyze potential changes and past AP exams, as well as plan activities to help students develop skills and master content. Interactive demonstrations, online resources and discussions will provide participants with opportunities to learn about how to integrate new research in psychology and best practices into their teaching. Participants will leave the workshop with a course outline and engaging curriculum to cover the topics and learning objectives in the AP Psychology exam.
Spanish Language & Culture — In Person
Instructor: Thomas Soth
This workshop is designed to enhance teacher experience with the AP Spanish Language & Culture Course and Exam. The course will provide sample materials and take teachers through classroom activities that help students improve their communicative competence and prepare them for the challenges of the AP exam. Participants will actively partake in and share best practices about how to integrate the three modes of communication into instruction (Interpretive, Interpersonal and Presentational). There will also be a special focus and overview of teaching the themes of the AP Spanish Language and Culture course through the use of authentic materials and through the use of AP Classroom. Participants should bring a laptop.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN
- Strategies to increase student motivation through authentic materials.
- How to navigate and help students engage with AP Classroom.
- Techniques to help students organize and improve written and spoken presentations.
- Methods to increase student participation in interpersonal communication.
- Effective grading and feedback strategies for the free response speaking and writing questions to help students and to better manage your time.
- Development of cultural knowledge and understanding.
- Activities and assessments that build students’ communicative and cultural competence.
- Strategies to effectively help students develop the skills evaluated on the AP exam.
HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT
- Examine a range of materials suitable for AP Spanish Language and Culture.
- Learn communicative methods to increase vocabulary acquisition.
- Understand how to build proficiency across the three modes of communication.
- Enhance the teaching of the reading.
- Create communicative activities for integrating all skills using authentic materials.
- Develop lessons around authentic resources.
- Integrate authentic literature in the AP Language and Culture class.
- Apply the scoring criteria to student samples.
Statistics — In Person
Instructor: Laura Marshall
AP Statistics is an incredibly fun course to teach — if you have the tools and fun activities from which to draw upon. We will accomplish much together this week. The first goal of the week is to examine the College Board’s Curriculum and Exam Description (CED), review AP Classroom, discuss the course expectations, discuss equity and access, and share strategies for success on the AP exam. Additionally, we will review and clarify important concepts in statistics, and provide guidance and answer questions about the subject matter. We will review all of the changes that were introduced in the summer of 2019 with the re-articulation of the curriculum. Most importantly, we will work through the curriculum by doing problems and participating in activities that you can bring directly to your classroom. These activities are designed to improve the conceptual understanding when introducing a new idea, and also to reinforce concepts throughout the entire curriculum. You will learn how your students’ responses are scored on the AP exam and how you can use the AP rubrics to score responses of your own students. Not only will you become more comfortable with the topics in AP Statistics, but you will take away ideas to help enhance the learning of your students and subsequently help them to improve their scores on the AP exam. Whether you are new to AP Statistics or a veteran educator, you will come away with valuable insight (and have fun too!). Hope to see you at the super fun Camp St J!
US History — In Person
Instructor: Lou Gallo
AP® United States History is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester introductory college or university U.S. history course. Students are expected to demonstrate knowledge of basic chronology and major events from 1491 to the Present. Special emphases are placed upon development of historical skills, practices, and methods used by historians and students learn to “analyze historical sources and make connections and craft historical arguments as they explore the eight themes of the course. This summer institute will provide participants with an overview of the AP® program and the US history course as well as content, strategies, and skills that increase student interest and knowledge in the course.
What You Will Learn
- Understanding the course design and setting up an AP® US History course
- Working with multiple choice questions
- Using a rubric and grading sample short answer, long essay, and document-based questions
- Helping students analyze primary and secondary sources
- Applying Equity and Access principles in your classroom
How You Will Benefit
- Create a syllabus and pacing guide that incorporates the eight themes and nine historical periods of the AP® US History course
- Explore and choose resources available through social media and those offered in AP® Classroom
- Develop strategies to teach students how to make an argument and write effectively on the AP® US History exam
- Acquire practical classroom expectations and activities